A school assignment asked for 3 benefits of slavery. This kid gave the only good answer.
The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion—but isn't that part of the problem?

A school assignment asked for 3 "good" reasons for slavery.
Back in 2018, a fourth grader's school assignment was so shocking that it took the Internet by storm. Every news outlet from ABC7 to HuffPost to CNNreported on the incident, in which a homework assignment asked students to list three "good" reasons for slavery. Yeah, you read that right.
The assignment was given to fourth graders at Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and also asked for three "bad" reasons for slavery. The absurd and offensive assignment was brought to the public's attention when one fourth grader's mom shared a photo of the homework sheet on Facebook, asking, 'Does anyone else find my 4th grader's homework offensive? "
Now, it's not uncommon for parents to puzzle over their kids' homework. Sometimes, it's just been too long since they've done long division for them to be of any help. Or teaching methods have just changed too dramatically since they were in school. And other times, kids bring home something truly inexplicable.
For mom Trameka Brown-Berry, looking over her 4th-grade son Jerome's homework made her jaw hit the floor.
The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion—but isn't that part of the problem? The shockingly offensive assignment deserved to be thrown in the trash. But young Jerome dutifully filled it out anyway and his response was pretty much perfect:
In the section reserved for "good reasons," Jerome wrote, "I feel there is no good reason for slavery that's why I did not write."
We're a country founded on freedom of speech and debating ideas, which often leads us into situations where "both sides" are represented. But it can only go so far. There's no meaningful dialogue to be had about the perceived merits of stripping human beings of their basic living rights. No one is required to make an effort to "understand the other side" when the other side is bigoted and hateful.
In a follow-up post, Brown-Berry writes that the school has since apologized for the assignment and committed to offering better diversity and sensitivity training for its teachers.
Trameka's follow-up post.Via Upworthy.
But what's done is done, and the incident illuminates the remarkable racial inequalities that still exist in our country. After all, Brown-Berry said to WCTI ABC News12, "You wouldn't ask someone to list three good reasons for rape or three good reasons for the Holocaust."
At the very end of the assignment, Jerome brought it home with a bang: "I am proud to be black because we are strong and brave..."
GIF by Hello AllGiphy
Good for Jerome for shutting down the thoughtless assignment with strength and amazing eloquence, and for being brave enough tell the truth: there are no good reasons for history's most heinous acts. The sooner the world acknowledges that, the sooner we can heal and restore.
This article originally appeared seven years ago. It has been updated.