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Protestors serve as a force for change
By Tiffany Cherry
Contributor
Published September 23, 2009
This is in reference to Mary Madewell’s article regarding a speech by Paris High School student Jesse Wallace at the Diversity Task Force block party at the Lamar County Fairgrounds.
I would like to first commend young Mr. Wallace for being someone willing to speak out about positive changes he wants for his community, and wish him much success in his educational pursuits. However, I have to disagree with the notion that protests in Paris have not contributed to progress in regards to raising awareness about the need for change. In fact, I feel confident in saying had it not been for initial efforts by those behind the protests, the Diversity Task Force would not even exist in Paris.
I know first hand how as a student who gets good grades in school, never gets into trouble, and gains the support and appreciation of others, it is easy to fail to see the bigger picture. But life has taught me that my experiences in going through school were not those of my peers, and are not those of every student in PISD, or anywhere else for that matter.
For me to try and tell someone who says they feel the need to protest because their life has been affected by racism, or discrimination of any kind, to go and attempt to talk to the same people who previously refused to listen to them about concerns they have for their child’s education instead, would be wrong.
It is true that we need more parent involvement in schools today. However, I have seen first hand how attempts for some parents to communicate with their children’s teachers and administrators have been met with resistance and negativity at PISD schools. A big eye opener about the unfortunate mentality of some of the district’s educators today, was seeing how some teachers and staff seemed pleased when a 14-year-old black student was sentenced to TYC, completely lacking the compassion one would expect an educator to have for any student, regardless of their school conduct. It was outright appalling.
Contrary to popular belief, the protestors were not all individuals who have not taken the time to be more active role models in the community or initiative in the education of their children.
Aside from changes needed in the education system, the recent protests have been in regards to cases like that of Brandon McClelland, whose mother has not gotten any reasonable explanation as to what happened in the death of her child. Or the case of Aaron Hart, a mentally retarded teenager who was given 100 years in prison, when he lacks the capability of even understanding his crime, and has been unable to communicate with his family because he cannot read or write.
If it weren’t for protestors, many of who actually gave their lives for freedoms we take for granted today, people like I and Wallace, as African American individuals, would not have the platforms to so openly present our opinions, and sit next to people of all races in classrooms, restaurants, and anywhere else we choose.
Racism did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation, and protests and activism of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which are within our constitutional rights to allow us to voice concerns, have helped progress the nation as far as we’ve come today. If we acknowledge that racism and other forms of discrimination exist, we cannot exclude them from being factors in our school and justice systems in Paris.
Tiffany Cherry is a resident of Paris.
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