Justify KKK Actions, South Carolina Teacher Tells Fifth-Graders

After a 10-year-old boy went home from school crying, a South Carolina fifth-grade teacher has been placed on administrative leave for asking her fifth-grade class to justify the actions of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction. The teacher, Kerri Roberts, has apologized, but the school district has launched an investigation.

The homework assignment came to the attention of officials in the Lexington-Richland, South Carolina, school district after the boy’s uncle, Tremain Cooper, posted a note about it on Facebook. The post questioned the appropriateness that asks fifth-graders to justify the actions of the white supremacist group born in the smoldering ashes of the Civil War.

Emboldened by the “alt-right” movement, the KKK has attempted a resurgence, but with limited success — the most recent visible display occurring in July at a rally protesting the planned removal of Confederate monuments from Charlottesville, Virginia.

The specific assignment was: “You are a member of the KKK. Why do you think your treatment of African Americans is justified?” The assignment also posed this question: “You are a freedman. Are you satisfied with your new life? Why or why not?”

In another post, Cooper wrote: “Imagine a German teacher with the audacity to send a 10 year old Jewish boy home with a homework assignment that would even remotely suggest justifying Nazi actions toward Jewish people.”

South Carolina does require fifth-graders to study and understand Reconstruction and the role of the KKK and other Southern resistance groups.

In a statement, Lexington-Richland District Five officials said school officials ar “taking this matter very seriously,” WACH-TV reported.

“We took immediate action to investigate once the concerns over the assignment were brought to our attention, and the teacher has been placed on administrative leave as part of our standard personnel investigation procedures,” the statement read. “We have been in communication and will continue to be in communication with families to let them know our actions and next steps.

“South Carolina standards for 5th grade require lessons on Reconstruction and discriminatory groups including the KKK. We must teach the standard, but we are taking steps to ensure this particular assignment will never be used again in District Five schools.

“We understand the seriousness of this matter particularly in light of the events taking place in our country at this time. We want to ensure that our students, parents, staff and community know that we are giving this matter our full attention.”

Image: The Ku Klux Klan protests on July 8, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The KKK is protesting the planned removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee, and calling for the protection of Southern Confederate monuments. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images)