A Florida-based preschool, Building Brains Academy, is currently under scrutiny following an incident involving a role-play activity about Rosa Parks. The NAACP and parents of a 2-year-old Black girl have criticized the school, alleging the activity was “racially unethical.”
Details of the Incident
On December 1, a class of 2- and 3-year-olds at the minority-owned and operated preschool in Osceola, Florida, were learning about civil rights activist Rosa Parks. During the re-enactment of Parks’ 1955 arrest for her defiance against segregated seating on a bus, the girl, reportedly the only Black student in the class, was assigned the role of Parks.
Photos from the re-enactment by the NAACP, show a peer pretending to fingerprint the girl with paint and holding her hands behind her back, actions that the girl’s parents found disturbing. Within 30 minutes of viewing these images, they withdrew their daughter from the school.
Parents’ Reaction
The girl’s mother, who preferred to remain anonymous, expressed her disappointment to NBC News, saying that Rosa Parks was a figure of respect in their family, but this incident had tainted that image. The parents have not received what they consider a formal apology or an adequate response from the school.
NAACP’s Involvement
The girl’s parents reached out to the NAACP, which subsequently sent a letter to the school condemning the activity. They deemed it an insensitive trivialization of a pivotal historical event and psychologically harmful, particularly to Black students. The NAACP’s news release also alleged that the girl was handcuffed and fingerprinted by a white peer, a claim the school’s spokesperson, Sandi Poreda, denied, clarifying that the peer was not white and no restraints were used.
School’s Response
Despite the NAACP’s claims, the preschool’s spokesperson refuted allegations of refusing to apologize and clarified that the role-play did not involve any actual restraints. The school maintains that the activity was a part of a lesson plan and was not intended to cause distress or trivialize the historical significance of Rosa Parks’ actions.
Conclusion
The controversy at Building Brains Academy highlights the sensitivity required when educating young children about complex historical events, especially those involving racial issues. The incident has sparked a conversation about the appropriateness of certain educational activities and the impact they can have on young minds.
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