School’s Black History Month ‘animal attire’ letter causing an uproar

School’s Black History Month ‘animal attire’ letter causing an uproar

By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow – 2 hrs 25 mins ago



An elementary school in North Carolina has apologized after what they call a "poorly worded" letter sent home to students in February suggested they wear "animal print" clothing in honor of Black History Month.

WSOCTV reports that the Western Union Elementary School in North Carolina's Union County sent the letter, which also suggested dressing in "African-American attire," in celebration of the school's Feb. 28 Black History Day. The letter was published online by the LGBT rights blog UnicornBooty.com.

"While it was well-intended, it was poorly worded," Union County Public Schools' Chief Communications Officer Luan Ingram said in a statement. "We are reminding all of our principals to be very sensitive in word choices when communicating with parents concerning different ethnic groups and cultures that make up our world."

Ingram said the school had been studying the history of Black Americans who lived in Africa before being brought to America as slaves and that the clothing suggestion was meant to honor that African heritage, not as a reflection of views on modern African-American clothing.

Ingram told the Charlotte Observer that a similar letter had been sent home to students for the past seven or eight years and that none of the students' parents had complained about it.

An image of the letter first appeared on photo sharing site Imgur and quickly made its way to Reddit. The full text of the letter reads:

"Parents, during the month of February, Western Union students have been studying Black History. On Tuesday, February 28, WUES will participate in a Black History Day. We will have speakers from 8-10am. We are encouraging students to dress in 'African American attire.' If you do not have this, students could wear animal print clothing or shirts with animals native to Africa (zebras, giraffes, lions, elephants, etc.) Thank you!"

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/school-black-history-month-animal-attire-letter-causing-173139080.html