Jada Williams, a 13-year old student in Rochester, New York, wrote an essay comparing and contrasting her school experience in 2012 to the educational challenges described in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass“.
Miss Williams quoted Douglass quoting Mr. Auld: “If you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there will be no keeping him. It will forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master.”
Miss Williams personalized this to her own situation. She reflected on how the “white teachers” do not have enough control of the classroom to successfully teach the minority students in Rochester. While she herself is more literate than most, due to her own perseverance and diligence, she sees the fact that so many of the other “so-called ‘unteachable’” students aren’t learning to read as a form of modern-day slavery. Their illiteracy holds them back in society.
Her call to action was then in her summary: “A grand price was paid in order for us to be where we are today; but in my mind we should be a lot further, so again I encourage the white teachers to instruct and I encourage my people to not just be a student, but become a learner.”
This offended her English teacher so much that the teacher copied the essay for other teachers and for the Principal. After that, Miss Williams’ mother and father started receiving phone calls from numerous teachers, all claiming that their daughter is “angry.” Miss Williams, mostly a straight-A student, started receiving very low grades, and she was kicked out of class for laughing and threatened with in-school suspension.
There were several meetings with teachers and administrators, but all failed to answer Miss Williams’ mother’s questions. The teachers refused to show her the tests and work that she had supposedly performed so poorly on. Instead, the teachers and administrators branded her a problem.
Unable to take anymore of the persecution, they pulled her from School #3. Wanting to try another school, they were quickly informed that that school was filled and told to try “this school.” During her first day at this new school, she witnessed four fights, and other students asked her if she was put here because she fights too much.
Long story short, they took an exceptional student, with the radical idea that kids should learn to read, and put her in a school of throwaway students who are even more unmanageable than the average student in her previous school. To protect their daughter, her parents have had to remove her from school, and her mother has had to quit her job so she can take care of Miss Williams.
To date, the administrators of School #3 have refused to release her records, even though she no longer attends the school, and they have repeatedly given her mother the run around. We at the Frederick Douglass Foundation have contacted school administrators in regards to this situation and have also been told to hit the pavement.
That’s what we intend to do. If this school will sacrifice the welfare of an above-average student whose essay, that they asked her to write, they find offensive, we intend to make everyone aware of this monstrous injustice. The school has a job, and it is not doing it.
We would like as many folks as possible to call the Principal of School #3 and complain about this injustice. Her name is Miss Connie Wehner, and she can be reached at (585) 454-3525. This treatment of Jada Williams cannot stand.
What say you? Start by making the call!
STOP! That’s enough nonsense for one day.
What you fail to understand is that the essay was, through and through, an intellectual exercise in speaking truth to power. Here was a young lady who, through the abilities of her mind and her education, able to say to the people who were NOT listening to their students, “you are not reaching us and you are not doing what you were charged to do.”
She called them out. She embarrassed them. She told a bunch of weak-minded adults to grow up and start teaching.
To suggest that she should have had “respect” for them is to ignore the fact that respect appeared throughout her essay–respect for herself, for the examples that have gone before her, and respect for the idea of learning. The teachers demonstrated no respect whatsoever for truth, learning, or a young lady with the ability to shame them.
Whenever you see someone in a position of power abusing their power and wasting their potential, shame them. That’s the American way.
As to the young lady being expelled – how DARE the school? She, even at 13 years of age, has the right to her opinion and the fact that the teacher(s)/administration/etc did not like it is just too bad. What they need to do is ask themselves that if a SUCCESSFUL student feels as if she is not getting the best education possible what then can be done to improve? I know that teaching is a thankless job. I know that teachers are underpaid, underappreciated and overworked. But I also know that every day I step into my classroom I am there for one reason: my kids. If I can do anything to help them then that is what I need to do. This school was wrong in its actions and lashed out because someone called them onto the carpet for an answer to a very difficult question. We all have feelings and they do get hurt. The human reaction is to lash out at whomever causes us pain. But the better person would be strong enough to admit, even after the fact, that they acted wrongly and work with the person(s) involved to make it right. As a teacher, I am ashamed of the administration and faculty of this school and I am very proud of this young lady. Whether I agree with her or not she is brave, strong, and definitely one of our country’s future leaders!
This school and it’s officials should be held accountable for there actions and held to the US Constitution.
Bless this child.
She is actually saying that it is not only up to the teacher but also to the student. After reading these comments I realize why America is in the situation it is economically. If not even the teachers reads the whole article above and still comments how are they expected their students will do the same? To all teachers who comments her essay with that kids are not willing to learn please read again and then comment. BTW I think this Girl should be exported to a country that appreciates her free thinking, not a fascist state like US.
Also, at a stage of learning when education is critical the school is turning a student away when she has done nothing wrong. The administration needs to held accountable for unspeakable actions. Replace them!!
Miss Williams is spot on in her criticism of her teachers as she sees it. I believe that reaction of the teachers and administrators of School 3 should be ashamed of themselves for what they did to this promising young woman. Like they say, “the truth hurts”.
The “real” racists in this tragedy are the people who were miffed by the opinions of a 13-year old teenager. I may have been there, but I’m more than certain that the very people who kicked this young lady out of Rochester City’s School # 3 were white people who couldn’t bear the criticism and truth spoken from this young lady’s mouth.
For those readers who just happen to be white and refuse to accept Blacks’ criticism of the characteristics and traits of the system of racism, it is understandable what your reactions will be in the dialogue that follows. But remember this: your refusal to acknowledge the truth, as reflected in Ms. Williams essay, not only puts you on the defensive but cofirms the existence of “an unspeakable understanding among whites [and honorary whites].” If you would only chose “justice” over “racism”, both Blacks and whites would be more successfully in preventing such tragedies as experienced by promising young people as Ms. Williams.
The most EVIL word in society used to manipulated & control the masses is “person” – look up the meaning in Black’s Law Dictionary – it means “corporation” – which is a DEAD THING.
IFF you claim to be a “person” you are tricked to believe you have given up you G-d given unalienable rights which is untrue -
as you cannot give up what was given.
The society perpetrates this fraud using uneducated, mentally incompetent, disingenuous teachers, & other Public Servants to convince & manipulate the population.
We can & MUST do better.
SHAME ON PRINCIPAL Connie Wehner, who is supposed to encourage students to dig deep when learning, and strive for excellence in education, not thwarp their educational efforts. She needs to go someplace where she will be more useful. AND her last name is Wehner – how quickly she forgot!
Whether or not the teachers like what Jada said, the girl is right and they should learn to accept criticism and do something about it — something that does not include punishing a bright young girl who is willing to say what she sees. The emperor and all his minions are naked.
Jada was a mostly A student before her teachers came down on her, and clearly knows right from wrong. What is your point, exactly?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNmhYLRElOM
Here this young lady produced an exceptional analysis of the writings of Frederick Douglass and was brilliant enough to recognize that not much has changed since Douglass made those assessments, and not only has she been terrorized, outcast and unduly punished by a racially based caste system of injustice, but deliberate road blocks have been put in place by malicious acts such as not transferring her records, forcing her transfer in the first place and totally disrespecting she and her family.
America is determined to totally destroy African-Americans by any means necessary, but it must be clear in understanding that cutting off its nose to spite its face is only going to come back to bring it down to its knees as a whole, for what one affects us all. No man is an island entire unto himself as we are all interdependence on one another. This putrid hatred that these idiots are obsessed with spewing against the disenfranchised, will creep back upon them sooner than they think. America, built by blacks who get the least benefits of citizenship of anyone here, is not the invulnerable non-black paradise the delusional think it is. Karma is real. Even is blacks never wake up and free their minds, the sins of this racist regime will come back to haunt it eventually. Evil has its rewards, but its not always a pretty picture.