Appalling Slavery "Demonstration"

A white teacher in Rockland County, NY bound the feet and hands of two 13-year-old black girls and had them go under a desk for a "lesson" on slavery.

Christine Shand says it was a terrible experience for her daughter, Gaby, descended, like most Jamaicans, from slaves. "She burst into tears, she was crying and she was horrified," Shand told CBS 2 HD.

In a social studies class at Haverstraw Middle School, teacher Eileen Bernstein chose Gaby and another girl for a demonstration of conditions on ships that carried slaves out of Africa.

One African-American student raised her hand to volunteer for the demonstration. Gaby did not volunteer, but was chosen anyway.

"She taped their hands together, taped their feet together, and she had them crawl under the desk as if they were on a slave ship," her mother told CBS 2.

Mrs. Shand said Gaby was traumatized. She questions the teacher's judgment.

(read whole article here)

The teacher has not been fired, and I couldn't find any reports of discipline. The principal simply called it a "bad decision."

There are a few good comments on this that speak to the teacher's disgusting treatment of these girls:

Teacher Binds Students in Lesson on Slavery from Feministe

Teaching Slavery from Womanist Musings