CPS mother outraged by history lesson her child says included reenactment of slavery

A Chicago mother says she was blindsided last week when her 9-year-old son came home from school distressed, saying he’d been made to participate in a reenactment of slavery as part of a Black History Month lesson.Alexis Williams’ son is the only Black student in his third grade class at Portage Park Elementary School on the city’s Northwest Side. Williams’ son told her that his teacher had him play the role of “dictator” during the lesson and instructed him to pull a classmate out of their chair.Williams’ son also told her that other students were asked to use tape — meant to symbolize chains — to bind a classmate’s hands. According to Williams’ son, the teacher said the students with their hands bound would be shipped off in a cage.After the role-playing, according to Williams’ son, the teacher put on an educational video about slavery. The teacher, who is white, then told her son that if he felt uncomfortable watching it, he could step out of the classroom.Chicago Public Schools officials said in a statement that they do not support simulations or reenactments of slavery.Still, the incident points to longstanding questions about how sensitive topics like slavery should be taught to young children, especially in a school with few Black students. Black students make up less than 15% of the student population at about half of CPS’ 646 schools. That includes Portage Park Elementary, where 4% of students are Black.Often schools with this demographic makeup also have few Black staff,…

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