ABC News:
“The school district did not do their job,” said the kids’ mom, Brandi Feazell.
EDITOR’S NOTE – Actually an excellent way to demonstrate the brutality of a slave’s life, because the cotton husk is hard with sharp points and edges, and caused injury to hands.
A Washington state family is calling for the removal of a school administrator whose suggestion was to separate two Black students after their mom raised concerns about a classroom assignment the students say involved cleaning cotton.
Twins Emzayia and Zyeshauwne Feazell said they were in their social studies class on May 3 when they said the teacher pulled out a box of raw cotton and told the class they were going to do a “fun” activity. The girls added the students were subsequently instructed to clean freshly picked cotton as part of a classroom assignment to see who could do so the fastest.
The 14-year-olds, who attend Sacajawea Middle School in Spokane, said that they were “hurt” and “shocked” during the lesson and told their mother, Brandi Feazell, about the incident.
Brandi Feazell said she was “floored” when she heard about the lesson being taught in the class.
“For you to pass out cotton and to my children [and tell them] that essentially, they’re going to pick the cotton clean and it’s a race of who can get it clean first, that was extremely bothersome to me and my children,” said the twin girls’ mother. “Under no circumstance … do they need to be taught what it’s like to be a slave or what it’s like to be Black.”
Feazell said that upon hearing about the classroom activity, she wanted to remind her daughters of their worth.
“I reinforced to my daughters that they are worthy and their value,” said Feazell. “That was a horrible time in our history and we should be learning from that and it should never be repeated.”
