86,432,018 petition signatures
Re-instate Celerity Nascent Charter School Teachers
- Target: Vielka McFarlane, Executive Director, Celerity Nascent Charter School
- Sponsored by: Ann White
The school also forbade its students to read a poem, "A Wreath for Emmit Till," written by Marilyn Nelson, or to lay a wreath of flowers as part of its memorial to the slain youth.
According to an article in the L.A. Times, school officials felt that the details of Till's murder were "too graphic" for its younger students. The article quoted Celerity co-founder and Executive Director Vielka McFarlane as saying:
We don't want to focus on how the history of the country has been checkered but on how do we dress for success, walk proud and celebrate all the accomplishments we've made.
Marisol Alba had helped her students plan the Black History Month program and was dismissed for her activity. Fellow teacher Sean Strauss signed a letter of protest drafted by the students after the program was cancelled. He was dismissed for doing so.
In 1955, Emmit Till, a 14-year old Chicago native, was visiting the town of Money, Mississippi when he allegedly whistled at a white woman. Till was African-American. The boy was abducted by two white men, pistol-whipped, shot in the head and weighted down with a 74-pound gin fan before being dumped in a nearby river. The men were acquitted by an all-white male jury. Both of his killers publicly admitted their guilt in a national article in Look magazine. The savage murder and the trial received worldwide attention and galvanized the civil rights movement in the United States.
We, the undersigned, call for the immediate reinstatement of Marisol Alba and Sean Strauss to their former teaching positions at the Celerity Nascent Charter School.
We, the undersigned, acknowledge that education includes historic events that are both graphic and elevating, and we believe that students should have access to all the facts in order to receive a well-rounded and accurate education.
We, the undersigned, hold Celerity Nascent Charter School responsible for educating the youth enrolled in their school in a environment that encourages questioning and that provides for a free expression of their concerns. We believe their students are entitled to the same right of expression extended to Americans under the United States Constitution.
We, the undersigned, believe in academic freedom for teachers in both public and private institutions, in creating their curriculum and methodology, as long as it is in accordance with educational standards set by the respective States.
We, the undersigned, acknowledge that education includes historic events that are both graphic and elevating, and we believe that students should have access to all the facts in order to receive a well-rounded and accurate education.
We, the undersigned, hold Celerity Nascent Charter School responsible for educating the youth enrolled in their school in a environment that encourages questioning and that provides for a free expression of their concerns. We believe their students are entitled to the same right of expression extended to Americans under the United States Constitution.
We, the undersigned, believe in academic freedom for teachers in both public and private institutions, in creating their curriculum and methodology, as long as it is in accordance with educational standards set by the respective States.
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Your signature has been delivered to:Vielka McFarlane, Executive Director, Celerity Nascent Charter School
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