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Utah charter school officials said ‘few families’ have asked for their children to be excluded from Black History Month program
A charter school in northern Utah is allowing parents to remove students from its Black History Month program and the decision has sparked debate.
Micah Hirokawa, The director of the Maria Montessori Academy said on Friday on the school’s Facebook page that he had “reluctantly” sent a letter explaining that families were allowed “to exercise their civil rights by not participating in the Month of the Year. ‘black history in school’, according to NBC News.
Hirokawa said “few families” have called for their children to be excluded from education related to Black History Month, but declined to give the exact number of parents or why they are doing so. request.
Read more: White teachers behind a black history joke to transfer
“We should not protect our children from the history of our nation, the mistreatment of its African-American citizens and the courage of civil rights leaders, but should educate them about it,” Hirokawa said, adding that the parents’ request saddens and disappoints. him.
Maria Montessori Academy, which serves elementary and middle school students, incorporates Black History Month into its regular social studies and history classes throughout the month of February, according to Hirokawa.
It infuriates me. This achool is ok for pampering the views of racisim & White Supremacy. If I received this letter, I would pull my child and go to another school. Do parents have the right to withdraw from white history? https://t.co/VtdTv2Je0r
– Seeking Joy (@JoyRuthann) February 6, 2021
Hirokawa, who is of Asian descent, said his social media post went against his personal beliefs. As someone whose great-grandparents were sent to a Japanese internment camp, he said he saw value in teaching children “about the mistreatment, the challenges and the obstacles that people of color face. had to endure in the United States, ”NBC News reported.
Read more: In this Black History Month, how can we make sense of the American white list?
Data from the Utah State Board of Education shows that of the 322 students who attend the academy, only three students are black and about 70% are white.
Some parents disagree with the school’s decision, arguing that giving parents the right to opt out of the black history program allows racism.
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The message Parents Allowed to Remove Students from Black History Month lessons first appeared on TheGrio.
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