1. A elementary school in Florida has banned a 1998 Disney film about civil rights hero Ruby Bridges, pending a "review."
I've obtained documents revealing exactly how this happened.
Follow along if interested.
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2. At just six years old, Ruby Bridges was the first Black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. It was not easy. She faced a mob of protesters screaming racial slurs and had to be escorted by federal marshals.
3. For years, schools in Pinellas County, Florida, have shown the film about Bridges as part of their Black History Month curriculum. Two weeks before the film was shown, parents were sent a trailer of the movie and asked to sign a permission slip.
4. According to a spokesperson for the Pinellas County Schools, out of 60 second graders at North Shore Elementary, "two families opted to not have their student participate in viewing the movie."
5. One of the parents who opted her child out of the movie was Emily Conklin.
But for Conklin, this wasn't enough.
On March 6, Conklin filed an official objection seeking to ban the Ruby Bridges film for all second graders — and even much older students.
6. On the form, which was obtained by http://popular.info, Conklin says the "theme or purpose" of the Ruby Bridges movie is "racism."
Conklin claims the result of a child watching the film would be to "teach them racial slur [sic]" and that "white people hate black people."
@juddlegum I appreciate you posting the complaint, that is illuminating and usually in these stories I can't find the stated reasons for objecting.
An interesting point in this case is that the parent doesn't object to children being shown the film in class. Instead, the complaint is only about what age it is appropriate for. I haven't seen the film, but maybe Conklin isn't a total nutjob for thinking 7 is too young: MPAA gave it a PG rating, meaning "Some material may not be suitable for children", commonsensemedia says 10+.
Anyway hopefully if the committee agrees with Conklin it will be shown at least to older kids, it looks like a good movie and it's important to teach this history in schools.
@ech @juddlegum PG means “parental guidance suggested”. That’s exactly what the school did — they sent home a permission slip. This lady thinks her out-of-the-mainstream opinion should override the opinions of other parents.