Justice for Ray Widstrand

Ray Widstrand (borrowed from his Facebook photos)

Last Sunday night (August 4, 2013), 26 year old Ray Widstrand was attacked when he attempted to walk through a large group (reports of 30-50 people) of kids and adults involved in what appears to have been a gang fight on St. Paul, Minnesota's Eastside.  According to reports, Ray was knocked down, stomped on, kicked; his pants were ripped off so the participants could go through his pockets and steal his possessions and money.  He was then left on the street when the thugs heard sirens and dispersed.  According to The Pioneer Press:

Police found Widstrand lying on the ground, bleeding from his nose and mouth, his pants removed and shirt torn, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Ramsey County attorney's office.
A witness said someone struck Widstrand in the head and knocked him to the ground; she said she saw blood coming from his head.
The witness said a second man then hit and stomped on Widstrand. A third man removed his pants.
The witness said the man was hit and beaten for no reason.
A second witness said Widstrand was assaulted when he walked into the area. When Widstrand went down, a "whole bunch of little East Side Boys" began to kick him, the complaint said.
When his pants were removed, they went through his pockets.
The second witness said the first person to hit Widstrand did it with a can in a sock. She tried to protect the man from people kicking and stomping him, while another witness said someone at the scene tried to use Mace to stop the attack, the complaint said.
A third witness identified Maiden as a man who stomped on Widstrand, based on a photo taken at the scene, the complaint said.

Three juvenile males and an adult male have been arrested in relation to this brutal assault and robbery.  The adult male is a 19 year old named Isaac Maiden.

According to the criminal complaint, Isaac Maiden has been charged with four felony counts, including aggravated assault and crime committed for the benefit of a gang.  

While Isaac Maiden was in court yesterday (Friday, August 9, 2013), Ray Widstrand was fighting for his life at Regions Hospital in St. Paul: 

"He's in the most difficult time right now, as far as swelling and cranial pressure. We're in that critical time," his father, Peter Widstrand, said. (Pioneer Press)

Ray Widstrand is a 26 year old producer for Suburban Community Channels and a graduate of Irondale High School.  A quick search revealed more than just those two items - Ray Widstrand is obviously a lover of comics, has a great sense of humor and is well-loved by his friends.  He also is an aspiring producer of films, as shown by the videos uploaded to his YouTube channel.

A few photos from his Facebook page: 

And finally, this photo captioned with: "It takes a certain kind of man to rock a poncho. Ask Clint Eastwood.

It takes a certain kind of man to rock a poncho with a giant stuffed banana with dreadlocks. Ask me."

Will there be justice for Ray Widstrand? Where are the people out yelling about this being a "hate crime"? This young man was out for a walk in his neighborhood - a place, according to his father, in which he was excited to be living.  Unfortunately, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time - or that is how it will be portrayed by the media - and was attacked.  But why should he have had to worry about being attacked? He wasn't part of the gangs and their fight.  He was brutally attacked, his pants ripped off so his attackers could ROB HIM and then left bleeding in the street.  A few good people tried to stop his beating by Macing his attackers but being MACED didn't make them quit.  Blood thirsty and angry, they beat him until he passed out.  Now his brain is swelling and chances are high that he will die. 

Some people say that Trayvon Martin was in the wrong place at the wrong time, walking home with Skittles and an iced tea when he decided to confront George Zimmerman by punching him in the nose.  Some people accuse George Zimmerman of profiling Trayvon Martin and "wanting" to kill him because Zimmerman was a racist.  The outrage over the Zimmerman acquittal bled into riots and protests across the country.  

In this case, Ray Widstrand was truly minding his own business.  By all reports, he did not confront his attackers by breaking their noses: he was out for a walk and was brutally attacked. Where is the outrage? Where are the protests? Or will we see no outrage because the man in the coma is part of the most hated of all American groups: a young, employed, white male?  If this man dies from his injuries, will there be protests and cries of justice for his attackers?  Or will the incident pass all but his family by as just another moment of violence in our increasingly violent world?

Please pray for Ray Widstrand and his family.

East Ridge High School, The New Black Panthers & The Zimmerman Trial ~ UPDATED

Back in February, East Ridge High School honored Bobby Seale and Huey Newton and The Black Panther Party during a school-wide announcement.  When ERHS parents cried foul over the honoring of a socialist militant cop-killing group like the Black Panthers, the district "leaders" brushed their concerns aside, opting instead to cave under the pressure by certain groups who insisted that the concerned parents were racist in their objection to the announcement.  The issue caused so many problems for some of the concerned parents that they have opted to remove their children - prior to their Senior year - from ERHS and place them in private schools rather than deal with an administration that refuses to listen to parents' concerns and adequately address the question that it seems that violent groups are being promoted by the ERHS administration and staff under the guise that the announcement was "student led."

A photo circulating (which apparently has since been scrubbed from the web) on Twitter about the George Zimmerman trial that is wrapping up in Florida sheds light on one of the many reasons why the concerned parents objected to the honoring of the Black Panthers.  Gee, Principal Harper and Superintendent Jacobus, do you still think that the commemoration of the Black Panthers was appropriate for ERHS? Will you continue to rationalize the announcement if the Black Panthers follow through with their threat to "burn down whitey's" neighborhoods? Or will you finally understand the reasons why parents objected to the announcement?

UPDATED 7/11/13 8:35a.m.
Updated 8/14/13 12:24pm

Sent to me by one of the concerned parents:

This is exactly why we had concerns about honoring ANY militant, violent, race baiting groups.
Despite some in the black community noisy objections, this was NEVER about race. This was, and is, about violence and hatred.

Why hatred is being excused because it is black on white is offensive to all Americans, but it is being excused by a segment of the black community, and much of the liberal community.

It would be interesting to hear if those same people, who objected to the ERHS parents concern, have the same elevated opinion of the Black Panthers today?

Do they condone this rhetoric? Do they stand side by side with a group that is obviously racist?
Racism comes in all colors and is not exclusive against the black community.

A country that elects a black man as president....TWICE....does not have a cultural problem with racism.
Does racism exist? Yes, and it will until the end of time, because humans are flawed and sinful. But is there mass racism being perpetrated on the black community? No.

As someone who is a governmental classified 'minority', I take offense to those who continue to divide this country along racial and sexual lines. I have always seen myself as an AMERICAN first, gender second, cultural heritage last.

Maybe if people started seeing themselves as Americans first- a delicious and harmonious melting pot, we might all come together; instead of being constantly pitted against each other, in a 'salad' bowl of warring ingredients, where someone gets to pick and choose what goes in the bowl.

Along with this letter, written to Al Sharpton  by Dr. Ken Hutcherson:

I was born in Anniston, Alabama, in the 50s and had to fight for my equality most of my life. You see, there were many who thought I should be treated like a second class citizen, drink from a different water fountain, sit in the back of the bus, be counted as three-quarters of a person, go to a different school, eat and sit in the black section of restaurants, use a different bathroom; you know, be separate but equal. Then came Dr. Martin Luther King and all that started to change and praise God! I became a Christian in 1969. Today, I find myself again being put in that same category as a second class citizen, and I am not going to have that same fight.

I did not become a Christian to live the 50s and 60s all over a second time. Muslims have more rights and freedom of religion than I do as a Christian. Tell a Muslim he can’t pray at school or at the airport or downtown when prayer time is called for, and see what happens. Tell a Muslim cleric serving as a chaplain in our brilliant military that he has to marry a same-sex couple, and see what happens. Some of you are saying “what is that about?” Well hold on to your hat, there is more to come.

But as a Christian, let me say Merry Christmas on a national holiday called Christmas and you’d think Satan incarnate himself just showed up. I’m sorry that is a bad example because if Satan did show up, he would get more respect than Christians, Jews, Tea Partiers, patriots and conservatives. Thus all the forenamed groups, and any like them, must stand and fight for their equal rights that are disappearing faster than San Antonio fans after game seven of the NBA championship in Miami. This brings me to the point of Al Sharpton’s recent comments about our movement of taking back our civil rights as conservatives.

You mocked Glenn Beck, thus all of us, with your insult on the tea party fighting for their equal rights. Do you think we are going to go find a hole and hide somewhere? Mr. Sharpton that is not going to happen anymore. We refuse to sit by and let you or anyone else mock, attack, demean or laugh at our beliefs, and think it is okay to push us to the back of the Capitol in DC assuming we will just shut up.

Let me see if I can explain something to you, Al, that it seems you have forgotten. When you and Dr. King fought for our civil rights, was it because no one else had their equal rights? Black people were the first to get their equal rights, right? I presume you think that is correct the way you are talking. We both know that the reason why Dr. King and thousands of others fought during the Civil rights movement was because someone else had their rights and liberties, and blacks didn’t. My question to you Mr. Sharpton is who had those rights when we as a black people didn’t? It is true then that equal rights existed first for us to want them. Seems to me it was the white race that enjoyed that freedom. We saw it, said we wanted some of that, and fought and died until we got it. So why is it that you think Judeo-Christian believers, the religious right, tea partiers, patriots and white people in general who are starting to feel like second class citizens and separate but equal; are being scrutinized by the IRS and spied on by the NSA. Why should they not stand up and demand equal treatment under the law and the Constitution of these United States of America? The greatest nation ever founded under the banner of freedom, one nation under God, gives its citizens certain inalienable rights and the promise that they have the right to pursue their happiness. I believe we are endowed with those rights Mr. Sharpton, and deep down you know we are too.

As a black man Al, who went through the Civil rights fight in the 60s just like you did, and saw the first freedom bus burn in my home town of Anniston, Alabama, on May 14, 1961; I hated Dr. King for his non-violent philosophy. That did not change until I became a Christian later in life. Then I understood God’s biblical truth of love your enemy and do good to those who hate and persecute you. I think I have the right to tell you this sir; I think the likes of you and Jesse Jackson have done more damage to the black race than any white man will ever accomplish. You see as long as you can produce an ethnicity with a victim mentality to keep them in poverty, as the two of you get richer – you know like poverty pimps – and convince them that it is the white man’s fault because he has his boot on their necks, and as long as you teach our beautiful black women that there is a government out there to be their baby’s daddy, the two of you win. You are the self-proclaimed, appointed leaders of the black people. How we as black people have swallowed the lie that we have to have certain black leaders to get on the government teat escapes me.

Community Rifts Exposed by ERHS Black Panther Announcement

The Black Panther presentation at East Ridge High School on February 14, 2013 has exposed rifts in the community: the concerns of the parents opposing the announcement have been minimally brushed aside as silly by some, or worse, the parents are being accused (not directly, but by insinuation) of being racist for their concerns about how the Black Panthers were honored during the school-wide announcement at ERHS.  Those who are focusing on criticizing the concerned parents for their outrage have, for the most part failed to understand that both groups have repeatedly stated the same thing:  The Black Panthers and the history of the '60's era should be taught in history classes, and that American History - of ALL Americans should be taught in school.  This has never been something that has been disputed by either group; unfortunately, there are those in the group voicing their support for the announcement who have either insinuated or implied or, in the case of K. Stanley Brooks in an op-ed in the Woodbury Bulletin and in an online column has claimed that the concerned parents were accusing the school of teaching "Black Supremacy" - something that has never been uttered or written by anyone involved with this issue.  Dr. Brooks, has (apparently unknowingly) articulated the point that the concerned parents have repeatedly made: 

....rather it should engage the reader to understand critically the contents and the purpose of the existence of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Who were they defending? Why was there a need for defense? Were there extreme life threatening experiences that drove them to extreme forms of protection for their families and communities? Do people know that their breakfast program was the pre-cursor to what we currently refer to as Free and Reduced lunch programs? Was it positive that the program rapidly expanded from feeding a handful of kids in an Oakland church, to serving over 10,000 a day before they went to school? They were filling a need in that context that should have been addressed by the school district and state. These should be foundational questions to be answered...

Funny, but that statement should actually be directed at the teacher and Principal of East Ridge for the fact that they used a two minute sound bite of information about the Black Panthers without giving the rest of the teachers any information that 1) The Black Panthers would be the topic of that day's commemoration, and 2) Information and the time to do exactly what Dr. Bro0ks has described: make the announcement into a true learning experience for all ERHS students.  If Dr. Brooks and those who continue to criticize and/or attempt to have this issue swept under the rug would truly listen to the concerns of the parents speaking out on this issue, they would see that in truth, they are all in agreement that the manner in which the Black Panthers were presented to the students did not fulfill the most basic thing school is supposed to do: educate.

As has been endlessly repeated: it is not about the fact that the Black Panther Party was mentioned that the concerned parents oppose, but rather that it was not given the historical context and discussion time for the children of ERHS to fully understand the group and what it was about - and that would include the good the group did as well as the bad.  This truly could have been a great learning opportunity along with the other groups and people picked for the daily announcements would have been.  Perhaps if Mr. Harper would come out and say, "You know what? You all are right: we do need to include notes to teachers about whom we will commemorate in the daily announcements during Black History month and give them classroom time to further delve into why those groups and people are historically significant with their students." Wow! What an amazing learning experience that could be.  One thing that has been repeated by all the people weighing in on this issue is the need for a deeper understanding of our Nation's history (all Americans' history - not just select groups), and that is something that has not been addressed at any time by any of the school administrators or school board members.  There is something that we all can come together on and say, "Hey, we actually agree on this issue.  Now please do something about it."  There's a dialogue we could gladly have.


However, this dialogue is unlikely to happen any time soon because, in my opinion, it unfortunately seems that is not how those supporting the announcement are perceiving the issues the concerned parents have brought up.  Instead of truly listening to the concerns, they seem to be hearing only that something brought up during Black History month is being criticized and are taking that criticism as racially motivated due to the fact that it happened during Black History month, the topic in question is the Black Panther Party, and the announcement was (supposed to be) overseen by not only a principal who happens to be of color, but a teacher who also happens to be of color.  

Lest anyone be confused here: racism does happen.  Sometimes people are motivated for racist reasons. However, that does not mean that anytime someone of one race criticizes a person of another race who also happens to be in some sort of a leadership position doesn't mean that the criticizer is racist. What it can actually mean is that person is looking at the leader and saying "Look, I know you know how to do your job.  You are in that leadership position for a reason. I expect that since you are in that leadership position that you are qualified to be there and therefore, I have high expectations for you to fulfill your duties. So, please do your job."  That has nothing to do with race. That is judging a person based on their character and job performance and not the color of their skin.

As a woman, I'd rather have someone judge me based on my job performance, my merit, my abilities, etc. than to be given anything just because I happen to have a vagina and mammary glands rather than a penis and chest hair.  If someone is critical of me based upon their opinion of my lack of writing skills or lack of ability of follow-through, am I going to call them "sexist" for having that opinion of me?  I don't think so.  That demeans both me and the person of whom I would be accusing of being sexist. I realize there will be people who will say that my life experiences as a woman cannot compare to the life experiences of people of color; that racism is far more prevalent and has affected them much more adversely than any kind of sexist behavior I may have encountered throughout my life.  Which may be true to a point; however, the question then becomes, "Based upon my experiences with sexist behavior, does that mean that I view every man I meet as someone who will potentially be sexist and allow that to affect the way that I will perceive everything that men say or do?" My answer would be, "No."  Why not?  Because I don't believe that every man I meet is a chauvinistic pig just because I have encountered some who have behaved that way in the past.  That, my friends, is the essence of stereotypes: judging everyone who shares a similarity - be it sex, race, political beliefs, etc. - with someone who may have acted a certain way as the same.  No one likes to be stereotyped.  

Going through life assuming that because some men choose to discriminate against me because I am a woman means that all men discriminate against women is a pretty sad way to approach life.  The consequence of that assumption will be that because I believe that all men are chauvinists, I will be more likely to read behavior that truly is devoid of bias as sexist because I'll be looking for that behavior to confirm my belief that all men are sexist.  Furthermore, that belief can also become an excuse: I am criticized for poor performance in something in which I truly did perform poorly, but instead of seeing the criticism for what is truly is - a judgement based upon my performance - I choose to believe that the person being critical of my performance is doing it because I am a woman, when in fact, it truly was me who failed in my performance.  But by believing that it wasn't my performance that caused the criticism but rather the criticizer's poor view of women, I can deflect the blame onto the person criticizing me and absolve myself of responsibility for my poor performance. 

If this can be true of matters of sex or gender, than why can it not be true in matters of race as well?  Is it not an easy excuse to say, "Oh, those parents aren't really upset that violent criminals were commemorated, and the teachers not given the opportunity to discuss the group in class with their students and make it a true learning experience," but rather, "They're upset because the people being honored are black and it was done during Black History month."  That removes the culpability of poor judgement on the part of the administrator and teacher, and places it instead upon the concerned parents by implying they are racist and therefore in the wrong for their criticism.

As was mentioned in a previous blog, there were emails FOIA'd regarding the Black Panther issue. The FOIA'd emails included an email from someone calling themselves "WoodburyVine" in which the writer accused the concerned parents of having a "political motive" behind their opposition to the Black Panther announcement.  The writer also did some research on your's truly and put it out in a "Community Alert," along with eviscerating me for having the gall to post tweets found on the Twitter Public Timeline (if you don't want your tweets or your kids' tweets read by all the world, protect your accounts and tell your kids to protect theirs), which not only showed the fact that Mr. Harper was "protecting" Ms. Tishanna Brown, but how they felt disenfranchised from much of the ERHS school community.  Apparently, WoodburyVine believed that I put those tweets up to a) put the children in danger; b) to somehow make fun of them and/or c) minimize their experiences as minority students in "racist Woodbury."  None of the above is correct.  The reason the kids' tweets were posted was because they were direct evidence showing an effort by Mr. Harper to protect Ms. Brown from criticism for the announcement. Something that should also be noted (as it was on April 25, 2013 during the presentation to the school board) is that the school district administrators and Mr. Harper, while protecting the teacher, threw the kids under the bus by claiming the announcement was "student led." Also, based on the FOIA'd emails between Mr. Harper and Ms. Brown, not only did Mr. Harper not vet the announcement, but he apparently didn't listen to it either, and the same series of emails showed that the author of the language for the announcements was not a student, but rather Ms. Brown herself.  Were the kids tossed under the bus because their teacher and principal hoped that fabrication - that the presentation was "student-led" - would deflect criticism away from themselves? (Worth noting here: within those emails it was also shown that there was quite an amazing variety of historically great black Americans honored in the days following the Black Panther announcement including the great performers of the Harlem Renaissance, Congressman Hiram Revels, etc. for which Ms. Brown and Mr. Harper must be given credit.)

Perhaps the community members critical of the concerned parents wonder if Mr. Harper and Ms. Brown were white and had commemorated a controversial white person or group, would the same concerned parents voice opposition to such a presentation?  Knowing the people who have been vocal in their opposition to the Black Panther announcement, I would have to say "Yes."  Personally, if I found out that during "'60's Week" at my kids' high school a teacher and an administrator decided to do a school wide, two-minute sound-bite commemoration of Charles Manson and his group "The Family," I would most certainly pitch a fit.  If the teacher and administrator used the excuse, "Well, it was during '60's Week and it is historically significant to that era and, you know, commemorate can mean many different things - it doesn't have to mean honor...and it was student led and we really didn't vet the announcement but it's ok...." do you think that I or other parents would just back down?  Not a chance.  And if we didn't back down, would there be people in the community who would be criticizing us and calling us out for religious intolerance since Manson's group was a cult?  If that seems ludicrous to you, why?  How is it any different than a two-minute, sound-bite announcement commemorating a group which was founded by known violent criminals, who advocated for killing cops, as well as the overthrow of the American capitalistic system and the removal of businesses from the people - based on the business owners' skin color - who built those businesses, and which was also on the FBI's most watched list? If you read the history of the Black Panther Party and its founders, would you also have to believe that this was not a group that deserved to be honored in a school wide announcement without including at least some classroom discussion that would put the group into the context of the era in which it was formed? 

Regarding the children's tweets and the lack of connection to the community those tweets showed:  How about a dialogue about why that might be?  How about we as adults sit down and seriously look at our own actions and the values we are demonstrating to our children and consider how those things are affecting our kids' lives and the way they look at the world?  How about instead of constantly focusing on the differences between people, we start looking for the things we share in common with one another?  How about we, as adults, take off the glasses of distrust, and attempt to truly get to know one another as people? How about we start demonstrating to our children through our own behavior that people are people are people - if you take the time to actually talk to someone who may not look or act like yourself or those with whom you associate, you will more than likely discover that you have something in common with that person that you wouldn't have known had you not chosen to talk to that person?  How about we look at ways to teach our children, by our own actions, that most people are generally good people regardless of what race, ethnicity, sex, etc. they are?  How about we start teaching our children that they are Americans first and like family, we care for our fellow countrymen/women regardless of whether or not they look or act like ourselves? How about we teach our children the entire history of our great Nation, including the good, the bad, the mediocre and the ugly? And by teaching them the history of their country, they not only learn to love their country and their fellow citizens, but they also see the mistakes that have been made in the past, understand those mistakes and be given the knowledge on how not to repeat those mistakes?  

How about it - anyone out there up for starting a dialogue about this?

Suburban School Superintendent Brushes Parents' Concerns re The Black Panthers Aside

UPDATE: The South Washington County School District 833 has removed all information regarding last night's meeting sometime this morning.  Please contact the School District at 651-458-6300 for more information. (Updated 10:36a.m. 2/22/2013)
Another Update: According to the District's Communication director, there was an "issue" with the video, so they took it off the website while they update it.  Look for it after 2pm today. (Updated 11:28am)
The video is back up from the School Board now. (updated 2/22/2013 5:50)

As has been reported over the last week on this blog, East Ridge High School in Woodbury, Minnesota held a school-wide presentation honoring the violent, militantly socialist group, The Black Panthers on February 14, 2013.  Parents were appalled by the idea that a group so unabashedly Marxist and founded by convicted felons, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, would be "commemorated" by the school for Black History Month.  The story has been reported on by several news outlets from local TV, radio, newspapers to national online and radio (2/14/13) media outlets.

Last night, at the South Washington County District 833 School Board meeting (video Item 2.0), the concerned parents were allowed to voice their objections to the presentation.  Two parents, Steve Ellenwood and Lelani Holstad, spoke about the nature of the Black Panther Party and why it was objectionable to have the group honored in the way it was on Feb. 14: Mr. Ellenwood said it was "paramount to indoctrination" and Ms. Holstad ripped the Board for allowing the school to go against its own bullying policies by endorsing the violent Black Panthers.  She also discussed the more recent incidents involving the New Black Panther Party, including the voter intimidation in the last two elections, the "hit" the group put on Zimmerman (in the Trayvon Martin case), and more.  Both presentations were well done, heart felt and seemed to have swayed at least one Board Member because following the parent presentations, Board Member Ron Kath told the audience that the Board and the Superintendent were aware of the issue and that they would be investigating it.  Then, just prior to the next agenda item, Superintendent Keith Jacobus broke in saying that he had spoken to Principal Harper about the issue and that the issue was closed (among other things, including justifying the commemoration of The Black Panthers by students).  Effectively putting the blame not on the teacher, Ms. Tishanna Brown nor on Mr. Harper, but on the students for the presentation.

Did not the SWC 833 hire Dr. Jacobus? Are they not his boss?  Do Jacobus and Harper believe that their lame excuses will just make this issue go away?  East Ridge High School has many issues, this is just one of them.  A perusal of tweets from ERHS kids (some of whom definitely seem to have been involved with the commemoration of the Black Panthers), shows that not only did Mr. Harper directly "protect" Ms. Brown and the involved students but also that there is a disconnect between the students (mostly minority) and the school community: it is obvious that all the emphasis on diversity has done nothing more than cause the children to see themselves as a separate group from the rest of the ERHS student body (language warning):

The School Board has been given the Twitter information as well as the much of the information about the Black Panther Party that has been presented on this blog over the past week and the lesson plans from Ms. Brown's ClassJump website (see link above).  I would hope that the information would pique their interest and cause them to step up and behave like the so-called District leaders they are supposed to be before they allow the new Superintendent to just sweep this issue under the rug.

What if?

I do not believe in censorship.  I believe so strongly in the First Amendment that I refuse to censor even the most inane and/or offensive comments people post on my FaceBook page, which sometimes causes irritation among my friends on FB, but I tell them this: "If I believe that it is acceptable to censor you or anyone else, what is stopping you from censoring me? To condone, advocate or passively stand by while others' rights are taken away is foolish - what is to stop those people from trying to take away my rights if I allow them to take away others' rights?"  If something is offensive, don't read it, turn the channel, turn off the media, switch to a different website.  But don't sit there and complain that someone is offending your sensibilities because you were too dumb to put the paper down or turn off the TV/radio.

However, there are times when caution needs to be taken when it comes to Freedom of Speech, as in the case of the teacher and principal (who claims to not have known what was planned for announcements that day) of East Ridge High School when they decided to broadcast a presentation commemorating the Black Panther Party to the entire school.  It was not Freedom of Speech, it was Propaganda and Indoctrination.   The students were captive listeners in that situation.  The students in school that morning could not avoid hearing the announcements.  They could avoid actively listening to the announcements, but could not leave, turn off the broadcast, etc. during the announcements.

So, last night as I was talking to my husband about the controversy, I re-read the poem in question, "A Black Child's Pledge," and started to think about the ways in which this poem could be taught in a classroom.  As I said in my previous post, the piece on its own and viewed in the context in which it was written, is an interesting piece and in all truthfulness, is an important one as it was written during one of the most tumultuous times in recent American history.  It could be taught in literature and history classes and serve the purpose of educating students about 1960's lit and the Civil Rights Movement.  Unfortunately, the way it was presented to the students on the morning of February 14th, it was used as a method of commemorating a group of militant, socialist thugs: The Black Panthers.

I read the poem again and was struck by the language within it: Instead of pledging allegiance to America, the child is pledging allegiance only to the black members of America.  Instead of pledging to do no harm and to protect other Americans, the child is pledging only to do no harm and protect other black Americans.  The theme of the poem is one of unity within the black community and war with anyone who does not belong to that community.  Is this the inclusive, multicultural viewpoint that has been pushed by educators and Progressive leaders for many years? Or is this more race war tactics of the type that has been perpetuated by our President and other leaders?  And what about the references to "liberation"?  I understand the idea of freedom from the oppressive Jim Crow/segregation laws of the time - but to take the idea of "liberation" forward to the 21st Century makes less sense to me.  When Barack Obama is in the White House, Condi Rice was Secretary of State and Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest women alive, the idea liberation is foreign when viewed through the lenses of race.  Furthermore, how were the children who are not black supposed to take the meaning of the poem?  Were they supposed to raise their fists in a Black Power salute or hang their heads in shame for being seen as oppressors of others? Or were they to just sit there silently listening as a poem affirming black unity was read and linked to a militant, violent group of people who believed fully in the principles being pledged, including but not limited to, killing non-black American citizens if they felt that those non-black people were infringing on their right of liberation?

What if it were any race or creed or religion other than Black and tied with a militant anti-any-other-race group being commemorated, even if that group played some kind of significant role in history? What if, instead of a "Black Child's Pledge" the poem was titled "A White Child's Pledge"?  What if the poem started with: "I pledge allegiance to my White People....I will learn all that I can in order to give my best to my People in their struggle for liberation....make me less capable of protecting myself, my family and my White brothers and sisters....I will train myself to never hurt or allow others to harm my White brothers and sisters...These principles I pledge to practice daily and to teach them to others in order to unite my People." And, what if following that poem, there was a presentation commemorating the Ku Klux Klan as "The People of the Day"? Like the Black Panther Party, the KKK is part of American History.  They were (are) a militant group that began in the post-Civil War (1866) era of Reconstruction, a terroristic organization used to intimidate black Americans and break up Republican meetings (Frances Rice). (The irony of a "White Child's Pledge" being used in conjunction with the KKK is the seldom-mentioned fact that the early KKK lynched at least 1,000 white Republicans who were assisting the newly freed slaves vote, own property and find their way in their newly acquired freedom from slavery.) What if instead of a "Black Child's Pledge" it was a "You-Enter-the-Race/Ethnicity/etc. Child's Pledge" being read in conjunction with a commemoration of a militant group associated with that Race/Ethnicity?  What if it was a "Muslim Child's Pledge" with a commemorative speech about Al Qaeda following the poem? Would parents be appalled to hear that while the Nazi Youth Pledge was read to commemorate Hitler during "German History Month" that some children raised their hands in a straight-armed Nazi Salute? Would there be an outcry of indignation then? Would people go to the school and demand an apology? Would the parents be calling the principle and teacher and demanding to know why such racist drivel was being inflicted upon their children? Would people stand idly by and be placated as the principle said "I didn't vet the information being presented...I'll try to do better from now on...it has to do with history; we feel that the children need to know about important people in history..." Or would those parents pitch fits, threaten to sue, and harass the school staff until SOMETHING WAS DONE ABOUT IT?

So, if the previous examples are offensive and feel wrong to people, why is a pass being given to the principal and teachers of East Ridge High School?  Or is it true that only black Americans have suffered so much that they are the only ones allowed to salute - pumping their fists in the air in solidarity with the poem as it's read and continuing as militaristic, socialist, anti-white, anti-cop, anti-Capitalism groups are commemorated during the month set aside to focus solely on Black American history?  Or have we all become so afraid, so PC that either we fear reprisals against our kids or ourselves if we speak out or we believe that we can't speak out in case we OFFEND someone? Or, have we all been so completely brainwashed that we AGREE with the poem and the militant Black Panthers - as white Americans, we, by virtue of our heritage and skin color, were the ones inflicting the wrongs on every other race in history even though most of us weren't even born while the atrocities were being carried out nor would we dream of ever treating ANYONE the way minority groups have been treated throughout the history of our country?  Or have we forgotten MLK's dream of a land where People are judged by the content of their characters, not by the color of their skin?

If any of the previous statements is the case, there's no wonder there were people rallying for Christopher Dorner and his sick manifesto in California this weekend without reprisal or condemnation from anyone in the MSM or left-side of the aisle. And there's no wonder why the principle of East Ridge High School and his Sociology teacher, Ms. Tishanna Brown, continue to believe that what happened on Valentine's Day was just not that big of a deal.

Suburban High School Honors Black Panther Party

This story has been picked up by KSTP Channel 5 (Twin Cities); they will be broadcasting an interview with one of the concerned parents tonight on their 6pm program.

East Ridge High School in Woodbury, Minnesota decided to use Valentine's Day as a day to commemorate the Black Panther Party in a school-wide presentation.  Apparently, the day set aside for all things love is the perfect day on which to roll out information about one of the most violent and militant groups in the USA's recent history.

According to the transcript obtained by a concerned parent (after the principal refused to honor her request for a written copy of the announcement that her son had heard that morning. A few hours later a district representative contacted her and gave her the transcript) the presentation, led by Social Studies teacher, Tishanna Brown, began with a reading of A Black Child's Pledge, by Shirley Williams, which was originally published in The Black Panther Newsletter on October 28, 1968:

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO MY BLACK PEOPLE.

I PLEDGE TO DEVELOP MY MIND AND BODY TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE.

I WILL LEARN ALL THAT I CAN IN ORDER TO GIVE MY BEST TO MY PEOPLE IN THEIR STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION.

I WILL KEEP MYSELF PHYSICALLY FIT, BUILDING A STRONG BODY FREE FROM DRUGS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES WHICH WEAKEN ME AND MAKE ME LESS CAPABLE OF PROTECTING MYSELF, MY FAMILY AND MY BLACK BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

I WILL UNSELFISHLY SHARE MY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING WITH THEM IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE MORE QUICKLY.

I WILL DISCIPLINE MYSELF TO DIRECT MY ENERGIES THOUGHTFULLY AND CONSTRUCTIVELY RATHER THAN WASTING THEM IN IDLE HATRED.

I WILL TRAIN MYSELF NEVER TO HURT OR ALLOW OTHERS TO HARM MY BLACK BROTHERS AND SISTERS FOR I RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEED EVERY BLACK MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD TO BE PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY STRONG.

THESE PRINCIPLES I PLEDGE TO PRACTICE DAILY AND TO TEACH THEM TO OTHERS IN ORDER TO UNITE MY PEOPLE.

The presentation went on:

"Good Morning, East Ridge! I'm _____________. 'Power to the People' and 'Black is Beautiful' are two of the slogans associated with todays "Black History Month" person, or should I say, "People" of the day.  Today we commemorate Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, co-Founders of The Black Panther Party for Self Defense.

In October of 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. In the most part to address the rampant police brutality faced by many black communities around the country.  The Panthers practiced militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S. Government, and fought to establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs such as free lunch and medical programs. The party, consisting mostly of men and women under the age of 25, was one of the first organizations in U.S. history to militantly struggle for ethnic minority and working class emancipation" (SIC)

Page 1 of Original Transcript

Page 2 of Original Transcript; note the change in
font and lack of punctuation; evidence of the
teacher "cutting and pasting" info from
www.marxist.org

According to an East Ridge parent, the principal told her that this presentation was one of many the school was doing for Black History Month and meant to draw attention to the historical significance of the Panther's movement.  So, basically, folks, there is no reason to freak out because this was just an educational exercise.  There were no other groups that are historically significant in Black American History that should be given the same level of honor and significance.  There aren't any other positive historical Black Americans from which to choose, nope, we must choose the ones that somehow manage to mix "revolutionary socialism" and "militant self-defense" with "organizing and community based programs such as free lunch and medical programs..." (Which, by the way, how did the teacher say that sentence with a straight face?)

It is no wonder that with the glorification of such groups as the Black Panthers that there are people who are excusing and adoring another cop-killer this week, Christopher Dorner.  It is no wonder that our kids have no real concept of American history when they are fed sound-bytes like the one above.

It is offensive to me and should be to any American that out of the many people and groups who could be honored for Black History month that East Ridge would choose The Black Panther Party as one that they chose to honor. I wonder if I were to go to the school, enter American History classes and ask random students who Hiram Revels was, if they'd know he was the first Black American elected to the Senate in 1870? Or what about CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) a group of which MLK was part, which focused on non-violent actions to gain racial equality?  Google or Bing "Black Americans in History" and hundreds of links pop up - even a lazy teacher could do that and come up with better examples of Black Americans in History than the Black Panthers.  Either the East Ridge Principal, Aaron Harper and his cohort Tishanna Brown are ignorant of the great tapestry of Black American History and too lazy to research examples of people worthy of honoring or they have an agenda that they are following to further some perverse purpose of encouraging children to believe that "militant self defense" against the US Government and police is ok as long as one is combining that with "free lunch and medical programs."

Another point: say a student's interest in the Black Panther Party was piqued during this presentation, so s/he goes online to check out the group.  What will that student find? The following is an example of what a brief search would give that student:

In October of 1966, in Oakland California, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The Panthers practiced militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S. government, and fought to establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs. The party was one of the first organizations in U.S. history to militantly struggle for ethnic minority and working class emancipation — a party whose agenda was the revolutionary establishment of real economic, social, and political equality across gender and color lines.

Oh, but wait, isn't that the EXACT language used by the teacher in the presentation? Why, yes, it is.  Funny, but isn't that called PLAGIARISM? Which website did Ms. Brown steal this from? That's right, www.marxist.org.    It looks like Ms. Brown cleaned it up and made it a bit nicer by adding "like free lunch and medical programs," but otherwise, she seems to have been at a loss as how to write an original statement about the Black Panthers herself.

But, never mind that, parents, there is no agenda here. This was an educational opportunity used to enlighten and educate the students on Black American History.