Friday, August 27, 2010

Want to be class president? Not if you're black in this school - U.S. news - Life - Race & ethnicity - msnbc.com

Want to be class president? Not if you're black in this school - U.S. news - Life - Race & ethnicity - msnbc.com: If you’re black and a student at one public middle school in Mississippi, you can’t run for president – only whites need apply.

Nettleton Middle School in Nettleton, Miss., has segregated its elected class positions by race, according to a memo sent home with children at the school last week that was obtained by NBC News.

The memo was first brought to light when Brandy Springer, a mother of four children, contacted blogger Suzy Richardson, founder and editor of the blog mixedandhappy.com. It was also reported by Gawker.

“My [eighth-grade] daughter came home from[Nettleton] school telling me that she wanted to try out for the school reporter, but it is only open to black students,” Springer wrote Richardson. “They told her ‘she should run for class president, that was open to only white students.'”

The memo indicates that only white students can be president of the school’s eighth grade, while only black students can be vice president.