A group of parents and educators from a middle school in the Bronx are not happy after a principal allegedly blocked a Black History lesson. According to reports, they organized a protest outside of I.S. 224, which is reprotedly 95 percent black and Hispanic, and they’re calling for the Department of Education to fire Principal Patricia Catania.
So here’s what happened… An English teacher name Mercedes Liriano-Clark claims the principal shut down her entire lesson plan after she saw her teaching students about the 1920’s Harlem Renaissance in art and literature. “She’s trying to stop us from teaching our students about their own culture,” she told The New York Daily News. “She tried to stop Black History from being taught in my class.”
Why? “She was told that was not her subject area. She was told that is a social studies subject. We all know that black history is a part of every subject,” said Natasha Capers, coordinator of NYC Coalition for Educational Justice. “A black teacher was told she could not continue her Black History Month lesson.”
In her defense, a friend of the principal told NY Daily News, “I’ve known her for over 20 years. I worked with her at another school. I do know her, and I can say she’s a wonderful human being. They have an agenda. This is wrong.”
There is currently an investigation underway. “African-American history is an important part of the school’s curriculum,” Education Department spokesman Douglas Cohen said in response to the protest. “Students are currently working on projects related to Black History Month that will be presented and highlighted at the end of February.”
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