When this Wisconsin fourth-grader was presented with a highly offensive question about slavery in his homework assignment, he gave the perfect reply. However, his mom was extremely upset that this prompt had come up at all. She was completely right to speak out! Thanks to her, the school apologized and promised to make some changes.
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Trameka Brown-Berry shared a photo of her son’s history homework on Facebook in 2018, along with the boy’s brilliant answer to an inappropriate question about slavery. This assignment prompted students to provide three “good” and “bad” reasons for the human rights violation.
“Does anyone else find my 4th grader’s homework offensive?” said the mom in her social media caption.
Trameka’s son, Jerome, was not about to defend slavery. So, he answered the question in the best way he could. His response was excellent.
“I feel there is no good reason for slavery,” he wrote. “That’s why I did not write.”
He added, “I am proud to be Black because we are strong and brave.”
This question is both offensive and unproductive.
Obviously, it’s important for young kids to learn American history, even the ugly parts. However, encouraging them to make a case for slavery, even in theory, isn’t teaching them anything positive. According to ABC7, Trameka explained that her son’s homework question was intended to help children understand why slavery was considered acceptable at the time. However, that’s not how it was worded at all. This type of question makes it sound like there are actually “good” reasons for some people to be kept as slaves.
In response to Trameka’s complaint about the homework question, Our Redeemer Lutheran School apologized for their “lack of sensitivity.” At this mom’s request, they promised to apologize to all the other students and parents involved, too. They would also invest in cultural diversity training for their employees.
Unfortunately, other learning institutions have seen this prompt come up in their curriculum. CNN reported that a charter school in Texas assigned a very similar homework question on slavery to their eighth-grade students. Thankfully, outraged parents spoke out about the issue in this case, too. As a result, the school apologized and decided to reevaluate the history book in their program that was in use at the time.
It can be scary to stand up for yourself when it comes to homework assigned by a teacher. Trameka Brown-Berry must be truly proud of her son for refusing to defend slavery. She should be pretty proud of herself, too, for getting the school to address the problem!
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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