Creative Minds - Unified Lottery?

[Anonymous]

That is such a bad excuse. 6 people sitting around a living room can choose at least one stock photo of a black child- or notice when the designer fails to include ANY photos of black children.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to guess that the folks designing the website did think they were including a black child. And since I have the same skin color and hair texture as the child on the website and I am African-American, I can see why they would think that.

You're pointing at the more nuanced issue of color and the need to respect the ways in which people are excluded not just based on race, but on color (e.g., favoring lighter persons within different races). I think it's obvious that they sat down and said let's pick a really diverse group of kids for the website. Your complaint, it seems to me, is that the black child needs to be brown, rather than lighter in complexion.

Aren't there only 4 pictures on the website: a white child, a (presumably) Latina child, an Asian child, and a Black child? I'm not ignoring the reality that colorism absolutely exists and is something folks need to be open and honest about. I just don't think this particular situation reasonably leads to the conclusions some folks seem to be drawing.

[Anonymous]

Someone starting a public school should be aware of such issues and/ or be open to learning and growing.

[Anonymous]

Someone starting a public school should be aware of such issues and/ or be open to learning and growing.

[Anonymous]

I am guessing if the African American girl was just a teensy weensy bit darker we wouldn't be having this conversation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to guess that the folks designing the website did think they were including a black child. And since I have the same skin color and hair texture as the child on the website and I am African-American, I can see why they would think that.

You're pointing at the more nuanced issue of color and the need to respect the ways in which people are excluded not just based on race, but on color (e.g., favoring lighter persons within different races). I think it's obvious that they sat down and said let's pick a really diverse group of kids for the website. Your complaint, it seems to me, is that the black child needs to be brown, rather than lighter in complexion.

Aren't there only 4 pictures on the website: a white child, a (presumably) Latina child, an Asian child, and a Black child? I'm not ignoring the reality that colorism absolutely exists and is something folks need to be open and honest about. I just don't think this particular situation reasonably leads to the conclusions some folks seem to be drawing.

Yes, I think she is saying the kid isn't "black enough". Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to guess that the folks designing the website did think they were including a black child. And since I have the same skin color and hair texture as the child on the website and I am African-American, I can see why they would think that.

You're pointing at the more nuanced issue of color and the need to respect the ways in which people are excluded not just based on race, but on color (e.g., favoring lighter persons within different races). I think it's obvious that they sat down and said let's pick a really diverse group of kids for the website. Your complaint, it seems to me, is that the black child needs to be brown, rather than lighter in complexion.

Aren't there only 4 pictures on the website: a white child, a (presumably) Latina child, an Asian child, and a Black child? I'm not ignoring the reality that colorism absolutely exists and is something folks need to be open and honest about. I just don't think this particular situation reasonably leads to the conclusions some folks seem to be drawing.

Yes, I think she is saying the kid isn't "black enough". Yikes.

Yes, "Yikes"!.... unfortunately this may be a knee jerk kind of reaction to many centuries of black people who were not "white enough" and the consequences of this perceived lack. It was a real thing for those who worked the fields and those who worked the houses to be differentiated by how fair the skin was. The lighter the better is the implication.
But you say. 'black is black right?'. If only it were that simple. Black is black increasingly is the case but the vestiges of this kind of intra-racial separation live on. And the subtle (or not so subtle) messages that pictures like the CM website send are still being heard...we don't have you here and we don't see you here.
Too much reading in?...maybe...but it all depends on the message reader.

[Anonymous]

I'm Caucasian and the website has never bothered me. However, I think the point is that it clearly DOES bother some people, particularly African Americans that theoretically a school like CM should be trying to attract, given the current demographics. A few months ago, there was a thread on this very topic, and people said they would point it out to the administration. It doesn't seem to me like it would be hard to get permission from current parents to use some pictures on the website or to get some new stock photos. They could even get some free ones from Flickr through the Creative Commons license. I don't go to CM and understand in talking to friends who do go there that the administration is small and busy; however, I can also see how some people would interpret this as a sign that their concerns are not being addressed, particularly in light of comments from people that they have heard that African Americans are not comfortable there. (I say this only because I have heard these complaints on DCUM.)

[Anonymous]

I have been looking at the newsletters, all posted on the website, to get a better feel for the school. All of them have normal photos of normal kids, black and white and all between. Definitely not hiding anything there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been looking at the newsletters, all posted on the website, to get a better feel for the school. All of them have normal photos of normal kids, black and white and all between. Definitely not hiding anything there.

Yep, I did this too. Lots of happy kids of different colors.

[Anonymous]

Well, this AA CM parent loves the close-nit feel of the school and I have never heard other AA parents mention racial issues at the school. We have been there since the school's inception and have always felt included and respected.

[Anonymous]

Can any CM parents comment on the experience or lack thereof of the teachers? It seems that the majority of the teachers do not have more than three to five years of experience. This is in stark contrast to the DCPS schools that I toured (Eaton and Hearst) that seem to have more teachers with longer years in service. This concerns me because often younger teachers are not so good at handling differences.

[Anonymous]

Why is the AA CM parent always commenting on CM threads, by the way? Just curious. Are you looking to leave or do you just monitor the threads? Not trying to be snarky. Is it the same parent always commenting?

[Anonymous]

If ever I read a snarky comment, the above 11:32 is it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is the AA CM parent always commenting on CM threads, by the way? Just curious. Are you looking to leave or do you just monitor the threads? Not trying to be snarky. Is it the same parent always commenting?

"The" AA CM parent? Nice....