(Image The Blaze)
When most of us were 10 years old we were thinking mainly about comic books, barbie dolls, and cartoons. You know, the normal stuff 10 year olds should be concerned about.
But it seems in 2015 some schools feel today’s 10 year olds should be concerned with things much more adult in nature. Such as racism, and the Black Panther Party.
Stop Common Core NC reports that 4th Graders are being forced to read a book which contains a story where children are sent, by their mother, to a camp run by the Black Panther Party:
“What did you read when you were in elementary school? An engaged parent’s radar went off after reading an email describing upcoming assignments, see 4th Grade Reading Topics. I promised to update you as I learned more and right out of the gate is a story of concern. Some 4th Graders in Wake County are reading about the Black Panthers in the assigned book One Crazy Summer. There is so much to be concerned about with this story not just the Black Panthers, they read about broken families, racism, etc. These are heavy topics for 4th graders, let’s start the indoctrination early. The review from StorySnoops (bold emphasis mine):
“Eleven-year-old Delphine lives with her grandmother and father in Brooklyn, helping to take care of her two sisters after their mother abandoned them seven years ago. Her life changes suddenly when her father flies the three sisters out to Oakland to stay with their unfamiliar mother for the summer. They find themselves alone with a cold mother who, uninterested in them, sends them off to a summer camp run by the Black Panthers. Set in 1968, the civil rights movement is in full swing in Oakland, and Delphine finds that blacks are treated differently than they are in Brooklyn. She does a great deal of growing and learning during this one crazy summer — about family, racial pride, and responsibility.
This excellent book about family, stereotypes, and race relations is a great read for girls and grownups alike. Beautifully written, it is at turns heartbreaking and triumphant. Delphine is a positive female African-American role model for girls. She displays tremendous responsibility and loyalty to her family. Her mother, however, is mean. At one point she tells Delphine that she should have gotten rid of her when she had the chance, but there is no indication that her true meaning is understood. The Black Panthers are portrayed in a positive light, and the reader is educated about some of the charitable community programs they set up.
As one of the positive reviews on Amazon points out, One Crazy Summer makes it clear that the concerns by some suggesting that the subject matter maybe too adult for children are all wrong. Because the book makes it clear that the Black Panthers are just fighting for equality, against racism and the cultural enforces, the White police (Pardon?):
“A few reviewers complain that today’s young people won’t understand the story as well as they could because they’ve never heard of the Black Panthers nor are familiar with some other historical content. But I feel the comments and context make it clear that such references deal with black groups fighting for equality and against being discriminated against by the white establishment and its cultural enforcers, the white police.“
So it would seem that some 10 year olds are being force fed propaganda at school. Because instead of teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic some schools would rather push racism, a glossed over version of the Black Panther Party, and anti-police literature.
