Blacks Clearly Unfit to Be President

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That’s the message a Mississippi public school is teaching their students in one of the most effed up school policies post Brown v. Board of Education. Nettleton Middle School is holding typical beginning-of-the-year class officer elections. Students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades will vote for a class president, vice president, secretary-treasure and reporter. Qualifications include good grades (expected), good attendance records (understandable) and oh yeah, you have to be white to be class president.

The official school memo to prospective student candidates lists the standard merit-based qualifications as well as the race requirement for the four offices in each grade. “Black” or White” is listed next to each office indicating the prerequisite race of the candidates. Seriously? Seriously.

In each grade, Nettleton Middle School policy mandates that the class president be white. Of the 12 offices in contention, the policy indicates blacks are fit to hold the offices of 6th grade reporter, 7th grade secretary-treasurer, 8th grade reporter and 8th grade vice president. These educators are telling African-American students during a key social developmental time in their lives that they shouldn’t dream so big. This official tax-funded policy exists even after the country elected the first African-American President of the United States. The message to the kids is “We may have a black President, but the house is still white.”

Nettleton Middle School Principal at center of storm.

The most innocent of excuses is some sort of affirmative action (reverse or otherwise) to ensure a racial mix of school leaders, but what about brown, red, yellow or blue students? The policy could have upped the racist effort a notch and just listed “White” or “Colored” and covered all students It seems if you are not black or white, the closest you’ll get to democracy at Nettleton Middle School is if the lunch ladies ever rename a food item on the school menu. Democracy mac & cheese anyone?

It’s interesting that school principal Van Ross (pictured) is African-American. On some level, the school district has confidence in a black person’s ability to lead, yes? In the counseling section (of all places) on the school Website, Superintendent of Nettleton School District Russell Taylor wrote a very official-looking memo:

"Student elections have not yet been held at Nettleton Middle School for the
2010-2011 school term.  The processes and procedures for student elections
are under review.  We are reviewing the origin of these processes,
historical applications, compliance issues, as well as current implications
and ramifications.  A statement will be released when review of these
processes is complete."

Thank You

Superintendent
Russell Taylor

The story was first published on mixedandhappy.com – a community of mixed-race families – along with an original copy of the memo.