Heritage Erasure In the Schools?

Back when Mark Twain wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry

Finn” he probably had no idea that down the road some
seventeen-year-old black student with a name reminiscent of
something one finds among Nation of Islam members, would
get his literary classic removed from an English Literature
course.

Welcome to the world of book banning al a liberal left and

Islam.

Ibrahim Mohamed, a student in the Birdville, ISD in Texas, was the only black student in a
class discussion about “hurtful statements and how context affects a word’s meaning.” As
part of the class, the teacher wrote several words on the blackboard. Among the words was
the word “nigger.”

Apparently Ibraham felt that he, as a student, should direct the class and insisted that the
teacher remove “nigger” from the blackboard and replace it with “the N-word.” The
teacher refused and continued to use the word throughout the discussion. According to
Ibrahim, when he complained again, the teacher said “hurts, doesn’t it?”

I am left wondering why Ibrahim and the many blacks who opposed the book don’t get their
knickers in a knot over the use of the term “nigger” in every-day black lingo, including
poetry by blacks and rap music?

Oh, you say? What’s that? It’s about CONTEXT?

Wasn’t that the point of the class to begin with? Funny how that genuinely good goal
managed to get lost in the arms of political correctness.

The end result of the situation is that “instructors will receive cultural sensitivity training”
(aka mind-bending indoctrination forced upon those who want to keep their jobs); Ibrahim
will never have to return to that school, let alone, the class; oh yeah, and the book has
been banned from the studies course.

What? You say? Book banning?

Where’s the ACLU? Where are the First Amendment rights people?

Too bad the school district folded. Had they bothered to contact Jocelyn Chadwick,
Graduate School of Education professor, and supporter of keeping Huckleberry Finn around,
they would’ve found out that there’s actually a good reason NOT to ban the book.

Back in 2000, Ms. Chadwick was asked to mediate a discussion about whether or not the
book should be taught in schools in Enid, Oklahoma. The book was retained as long as Ms.
Chadwick agreed to come instruct teachers on the proper method for teaching the book to
high school students.

As one of the foremost scholars on Twain’s literature, Ms Chadwick sees the book as an
important work by a prominent American author. A book deserving of respect if no other
reason than that. Ms. Chadwick recommends that instructors not try and use the book to
solve social issues, rather, to defend the “text” of the book.
NIGGER JIM V. INJUN JOE.
Ron Price, a democrat from Dallas and a school district trustee, put it this way:

“We are here today to say we will not tolerate the n-word being used by any educators
anywhere in any school district throughout our region or the state of Texas. It's critical that
we examine all of our textbooks to ensure that the language is proper and that the
language is not being used to abuse any child in any public school.”

Well, gee, can we get Tom Sawyer out of the school districts while we’re at it, please? Or
doesn’t anyone care about the “Injuns” aka “Native Americans?” Oh wait! Injun Joe doesn’t
count. He’s half-white, which means his evilness is expected, even if his “injun” half is
really the side being blamed for his nastiness in the book.

Can’t I be racially sensitive, too? Or is that only reserved for “non-crackers?”

I find it interesting that Native Americans (yes, I will give non-whiners respect) haven’t
armed up in droves to get Tom Sawyer removed. Think about it for a moment: not only is
the word “injun” the incorrect spelling (it’s Indian Joe for those of you in Birdville) the
character is downright evil! Yet neither full Native Americans nor those with mixed race are
crying for it’s removal from school district classes.

Why not?

Because we LEARN from historic literature. That’s why not.

One of the callers to WFAA news remarked: “those who forget the past are condemned to
repeat it.” I suspect this never crossed the minds of those dealing with the Birdville
situation.

But I had this thought: if you remove a book like this, and it’s contents are forgotten,
aren’t you enabling the repetition of it in the future?

Now there’s a mind-bender for ya! Which is why here, in America, we still allow the Aryan
Nation, KKK, the American Nazi Party, and other such buffoons to have a platform: they’re
living, breathing “don’t let this happen to you” posters.

On the other hand, perhaps we should stop hiding the anti-white groups as well. Notice how
quietly the anti-Caucasian sentiments of members of the Nation of Islam are side-stepped
by the media. Note how suddenly silent the nefarious history of the Black Panthers has
faded into oblivion.

And any attempt to rake up that past will likely be met with stark resistance.
The banning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been in the works for a long time.
Back in 1995 a parent coalition met to determine the fate of the book where eleven high
schools in the San Jose area were concerned.

Someone counted: the “N” word appears 200 times in the book.

Did they actually read the book though? This is, for me, the more important question.
Supporters contended that the book was a living example of racism in American history and
as such, had it’s place in the classroom.

What was the opposing parents coalition concerned about?

“The African-American Parent Coalition argues that their children already are bombarded
with racial slurs that erode their self-esteem and affect their performance in school.”
Are self-esteems’ so frail among African-Americans that learning a bit of THEIR OWN
HISTORY will harm them?

Then may we please take all lessons about slavery out of the text books? After all, learning
that your ancestors were once slaves could mess with a kid’s head, right?

And for God’s sake, stop allowing them to check out ROOTS in the library, or THE COLOR
PURPLE.

Or is it only because a white guy with a scraggly beard and wry humor wrote the classic
novel that there’s an objection?

TWAIN IN THE CROSSHAIRS.

The book had been controversial since it was first published. Some people just didn’t “get
it” when it came to Twain’s satirical approach to the society of his day.

In a New York Times article dated April 16, 1982, administrator John Wallace of the Mark
Twain Intermediate School in Fairfax, Va., described the book as “white trash” and added
that anyone who taught the book was a “racist” as was the man who wrote it. Now there’s
an irony for ya!

But was Mark Twain truly racist? Perhaps when teaching the book, there should be some
understanding of the author.
Mark Twain, aka Samuel Clemens, grew up in Missouri in the 1800’s. His father, a judge,
had also been a slave trader and his uncle owned some twenty slaves. Clemens had
witnessed the abuse of slaves throughout his own childhood, including seeing one murdered
by having a rock thrown at him merely for “acting oddly.”

What did Twain have to say about “niggers” and slavery?

From a 1853 letter: "I reckon I had better black my face, for in these Eastern states, niggers
are considerably better than white people."

In 1904 notebook: "The skin of every human being contains a slave."

In
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court: "The blunting effects of slavery upon the
slaveholder's moral perceptions are known and conceded the world over; and a privileged
class, an aristocracy, is but a band of slaveholders under another name."
In The Lowest Animal: "Man is the only Slave. And he is the only animal who enslaves. He
has always been a slave in one form or another, and has always held other slaves in
bondage under him in one way or another…”

Twain was painfully aware of the prejudices of his day and the horrific nature of human
slavery. More importantly, he seemed to have looked past the color to the character and
ability of the person.

A letter, dated from January 12, 1851, written to then, General James Garfield upon his
election to the office of President of the United States, contains what could reflect
Clemen’s actual view of blacks as individual people.

In the letter, which had been held by scholars until placed in a special collections at the
University of Virginia in 1997, Clemens petitions Garfield to retain Frederick Douglass, the
renown former slave turned abolitionist and writer, in his position as Marshall of the District
of Columbia:

"I offer this petition with peculiar pleasure and strong desire, because I so honor this man's
high and blemishless character and so admire his brave, long crusade for the liberties and
elevation of his race. He is a personal friend of mine, but that is nothing to the point -- his
history would move me to say these things without that and feel them too."

Far from being an anti-black racist, Twain’s life experiences led him to become a
controversial figure who addressed the inequities of his day in a creative, often satirical
manner. Sadly, in our world of political correctness, men like Samuel Clemens are being
mistaken for monsters, rather than movers and shakers.

The fact that Clemens depicts Nigger Jim as the racists of his day- the GENUINE racists-
probably saw most blacks, is to his credit. This doesn’t make Twain a racist, rather, it
exposes racism. For some reason, those with the more delicate self-esteems cannot
comprehend this classic literary approach to difficult social ills.

CONCLUSION.
Should books be banned? I believe there are some books which should not receive instant
access. The Story of O isn’t appropriate for minors. But I see nothing wrong with adults
(over 21) reading it, if they’re into that kind of stuff. I believe Lolita shouldn’t be available
to minors nor to pedophiles. And I think the Anarchist’s Cookbook needs to be very
carefully monitored, however, you can read it online so…

But these are extremes. I am a libertarian when it comes to books. By book I don’t mean
Playboy and Penthouse hardcover (no pun intended) editions. I mean BOOKS. You know-
those things that are all words with few, if any, illustrations.

I cannot abide book banning/burning/ destruction with the only exception being if you
actually OWN the book and decide it’s not for you. But to pull things from schools, off of
library shelves, etc., because the book might “offend” someone?

No. I won’t go there.

Where children are concerned, in particular minors, I believe we have to simply use
common sense. It truly isn’t appropriate for first graders to “learn” about Heather’s Two
Mommies. Just as it isn’t appropriate to have them reading copies of Jane’s Military
Vehicles and Logistics. Some things simply are beyond the scope and maturity (not to
mention necessary interests) of the younger among us.

On the other hand, by High School, our self-esteems and egos should not be so fragile, and
our minds so mushy, as to suddenly become shocked by our collective, national past.
Instead, we should be mature enough (especially by seventeen) to realize that a national
movement to remove the “N” word from our sociological discourse can only amount to a
stifling of important discussions on race, race relations, and the need to remember the past
in order to be grateful for our present.

Banning of books like Huckleberry Finn only serves to create more strife. And I would say
this: if you don’t like the N word, if it offends you that much, then stop using it,
yourselves. You don’t see Orientals going around saying: hey, chink, what’s up? You don’t
see Jews going around saying: yo, Shalom Kike man! What’s happening?

This notion of “I can do it but you can’t” is the ultimate in social childishness and either it
needs to stop, or we have to let the past truly teach us. Banning the past won’t help you in
the future.
RESOURCES:
Note:

Ibrahim Mohamed is Muslim according to a report from

www.birdville.k12.tx.us

which has since been removed from the website but may be found on Free Republic:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919588/posts

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/01/america/NA-GEN-US-Racial-Slur-
Classroom.php

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2000/09.28/huckfinn.html

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/huckcen/vshuck1.html

http://www.lib.virginia.edu/press/96-97/twain.html

http://www.marxists.de/culture/twain/noteach.htm

Read banned books online at: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html

See the news story:

http://www.dallasnews.com/video/dallasnews/hp/index.html?nvid=188564
NOTE: The Coalition of those demanding the ISD remove the book consists of members of
the Dallas chapters of the National Black United Front, the New Black Panther Party, the
Nation of Islam, the Black Coalition to Maximize Education, and the NAACP. It also includes
DISD board member Ron Price, the Islamic Center of Irving and the Council on American
Islamic Relations:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/110107dnmethuc
kfinn.1c65c58d9.html
In case you are feeling politically correct:
http://943wybc.com/event_guide/stopthenword.html

Please note the logo: “Divided we Stand”. If you can figure out what that means, please let
me know.