BOOKS AND LESSONS: POLICE ARE VIOLENT; RACIST

ANTI-POLICE THEMES IN ROCKWOOD

Warning: Violence and profanity.   

"It was only a matter of seconds before the cop had thrown the guy to the sidewalk and pressed him face first into the concrete.…again and again, smashing his face into the sidewalk. The blood kept coming.”  

                --pages 37-38, "All American Boys"

At least 5 books that Rockwood students commonly read for language arts classes portray police as brutal or racist, or both:

“All American Boys,” “Dear Martin,” “Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You,” “The Hate U Give,” and “This is My America.”

Class assignments also involved anti-police themes:

Black Lives Matter talking points

"The Hate U Give" assignment

"The Hate U Give" novel

"Dear Martin"

Workbook: Racial profiling, police shootings

The assignments spanned 5th grade through 9th grade. The 5 books above are frequently read because Rockwood pushes them to be read for language arts classes. Especially in high school.

9th graders have been reading "This is My America" this school year.

The book focuses more on our judicial system but includes disturbing scenes that portray police in a violent way. 

Here's an excerpt from page 67: 

"They beat his head down, expecting with each punch he was supposed to take it in silence. Each cry he made, they hit him harder until he shut his mouth and they cuffed him.”

Rockwood administrator Dr. Shelley Willott has explained they are trying to provide diverse perspectives and says students have the choice about whether to read them or not. 

Here's what "choice" actually means, according to parents:

A choice between two books, multiple books that all have the same heavy theme like racism, or the books are assigned, with no choice at all.

”I told her to tell her teacher my mom refuses to buy The Hate you give and if she has questions have her reach out to me.”                                       

                                                                                 —Rockwood middle school parent

The parent above was talking about her daughter's 6th grade experience. 

At only 11 years old, she didn't want her to read content like this, on page 396:

“Fuck the police! Fuck the police! Devante continues to shout. Vante, man, come on, says Seven. “I ain’t scared of them! Fuck the police!”                

                       

The district made “Stamped…” a One Read book, which means Rockwood recommended that all teachers and students read it.

“Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You" focuses on racism in our country, and, makes references to police brutality. 

In "All American Boys," "Dear Martin," and, "The Hate U Give," racist police are central to the plots of the books.

From "Dear Martin," page 118. 

An off duty police officer tells the main character and his friend to turn the music down:

“I SAID TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!”  ‘YOU WORTHLESS NIGGER SONS OF BITCHES!”

Two of the books, (All American Boys and The Hate U Give) concerned South Carolina police so much that the Fraternal Order of Police there asked schools not to use the books, calling them almost an indoctrination of distrust of police."  FOP: please don't use in schools

Nationally, the FOP has been sounding the alarm.

The FOP says ambush-style attacks against police officers nationwide are up 103% from last year (since Oct. 2020).

Right here in St. Louis, two officers were recently shot on duty.

The FOP says the increase of violence against officers can be traced to the "defund the police" movement and overall hot rhetoric against police that have created a culture of disrespect. 

Through books and lesson materials, Rockwood has been providing some of that “hot rhetoric” to our children.

(Trouble with the above link? Copy and paste into your browser. https://www.foxnews.com/us/police-officers-shot-128-union-dehumanization-law-enforcement )

“They said in that NPR show that parents were upset because the main characters of these books are black. NO, we aren’t upset about that, we are upset that the book is showing cop hate and making cops look bad. Stirring up the problem and making it worse with our youth.”

                                                                     —Rockwood parent, about 9th grader’s experience

 

In professional development sessions, Rockwood teachers heard suggestions to use racial profiling and stop and frisk statistics in math classes. More about that here: 

Math class: Don't trust police

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DETAILS:

Language Arts

Assignments in elementary, middle and high

Parent complaints 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years