A private school in Wauwatosa has apologized for a fourth-grade assignment asking students to give three good and three bad reasons for slavery.
In a letter to parents, Our Redeemer Lutheran School Principal Jim Van Dellen wrote that the assignment “was not explained well” and “the purpose of the assignment was not, in any way, to have students argue that slavery is acceptable.” He said it was meant to spark debate.
“It’s highly offensive and insensitive. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe they sent something like that home,” Trameka Brown-Berry, a parent of a boy in the class, told Milwaukee’s Fox 6. “Not only was my son in an awful position, but the students who weren’t black — that’s what keeps racism going,” Brown-Berry said.
The school is affiliated with the conservative Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.
