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louisiana

Education

A teacher asked a great question about superintendent pay. Then, all hell broke loose.

Her earnest question about inequality in our education system was met with a grotesque abuse of power.


Why should a superintendent get a raise while teachers in the same district struggling to make ends meet see their paychecks flatline — year after year after year?

Teacher Deyshia Hargrave begged the question. Minutes later, she was handcuffed and placed in the backseat of a cop car.

The scene was captured below by YouTube user Chris Rosa, who attended a board meeting for Vermilion Parish Schools in Louisiana.

You can watch Hargrave begin speaking about 33 seconds in. The situation starts becoming contentious around 6:35 minutes. Hargrave is arrested at 8:35, and then walked outside in handcuffs and placed in the back of police vehicle.



Teacher Deyshia Hargrave was questioning the school board how they can vote to give the superintendent a raise when school employees have not gotten a raise ...

"We work very hard with very little to maintain the salaries that we have," Hargrave, who teaches middle school language arts, said during a public comment portion of the meeting, stating that she's seen classroom sizes balloon during her time at the school with no increased compensation. "We're meeting those goals, while someone in that position of leadership [the superintendent] is getting raise? It's a sad, sad day to be a teacher in Vermilion Parish."

According to comments Hargrave made to BuzzFeed News, she believes Superintendent Jerome Puyau was already making $110,000 before the board voted to give him a raise of $38,000. The raise alone is roughly the salary of "a teacher, or two cafeteria workers, or two janitors," Hargrave told the outlet.

After Hargrave spoke out again later in the meeting, a city marshal on duty asked her to leave — even though the school board was still addressing her.

"You're going to leave, or I'm going to remove you," the officer told her, as seen in the video. Many people in attendance seemed shocked. "Are you serious?" someone asked, aghast, in the crowd.

Hargrave leaves the room, followed by the officer. But moments later, someone chimed in, "he's putting her in handcuffs" — and the room erupts in disarray.

"I am not [resisting], you just pushed me to the floor!" Hargrave is heard screaming at the officer, as he forcibly removes her down the hallway and out the building in handcuffs. "Sir, hold on! I am way smaller than you!"

Teacher removed from Vermilion school board meeting in handcuffs

According to KATV News, Hargrave was booked in the city jail for resisting an officer — a fact that left many commenters online flabbergasted. School officials are reportedly not pressing charges. "Umm ... what charges could they possibly make?" one Redditor noted.

With help from the Reddit community, Rosa's video has gone viral, garnering more than 600,000 views in less than 24 hours. Clearly, Hargrave's earnest question about inequality in our education system — met with a grotesque abuse of power — has clearly touched a nerve with people across the country.

"I don't know how this teacher could have been more polite and patient in her earnest desire to find out why the superintendent deserves a raise while the teachers work harder with less," YouTube commenter Scott Wells chimed in. "She continued to press because they refused to come up with an answer. Seems like a good question to me."

We agree.


This article originally appeared on 01.09.18

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Innovation

Mardi Gras parades are off, so New Orleans residents are making their houses into 'floats'

bfgomez/Instagram, santi_adams/Instagram

Mardi Gras usually draws 1.4 million people to the streets of New Orleans in February or March, as people party their hearts out for Fat Tuesday. The Carnival season actually begins in January, so in a normal year, Mardi Gras festivities would already be underway.

A big part of Mardi Gras celebrations are the parades, and a big part of the parades are the colorful floats made for the occasion.

Seriously:


Since we're still knee-deep in a pandemic, streets packed wall to wall with people would be a bad idea. So the people of New Orleans are having to get creative with their Mardi Gras celebrations, and boy are they delivering.

Instead of the traditional floats, thousands of New Orleans residents are transforming their homes into colorful "house floats."

According to the Associated Press, the idea took root the morning of November 17, after the city announced that parades wouldn't be happening. Megan Joy Boudreaux posted a joke on Twitter, saying: "We're doing this. Turn your house into a float and throw all the beads from your attic at your neighbors walking by."

The idea genuinely grew on her, and she started a Facebook group called Krewe of House Floats, which quickly grew and spawned dozens of neighborhood groups to discuss local plans.

The house floats are every bit as bold and beautiful as the floats we usually see gliding down the streets during Mardi Gras and are an innovative solution to the pandemic parade problem. Perhaps people will tour the house floats the same way people go around to look at Christmas lights.

Check these out:







Megan Boudreaux explained to the AP that it's almost like a reverse parade, and that people can still throw things at one another. "That's actually a very socially distant activity," she laughed.

When a deadly pandemic alters life for more than a year and steals the fun out of normal traditions, we don't give up, we get creative. These house floats will surely bring a smile to people's faces and soften the blow of not being able to celebrate Mardi Gras in the usual way. And just think of the unique memories this year's "parade at home" will create.

Way to pull through under tough circumstances, New Orleans. Hopefully next year you'll be back to packed streets, parade floats, and partying all together again.

Thousands of houses decorated for Mardi Grasyoutu.be

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Culture

Man calls out school board member after she's caught shopping during hearing on racism

Gary Chambers, Jr./Instagram

Imagine the gall it takes to sit in a meeting where community members are sharing their personal stories of racism and scroll through an online store on your computer. Now imagine the gall it takes to not just be in that meeting, but to be one of the people running it anddecide your new clothing needs are more important that the concerns of Black community members.

Gary Chambers, Jr. caught East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member Connie Bernard on camera shopping online during a hearing on changing the name of Lee High School—as in Robert E. Lee— on June 18. As community members shared their feelings about having a school named for the general of the confederate army—the one who fought for the South's "right" to enslave Black people—Bernard appeared to be pondering what color dress she was going to buy.

When Chambers' turn came up to speak, he said he had intended to get up and talk about how racist Robert E. Lee was, but instead was going to talk about Connie Bernard, who was "sitting over there shopping while we're talking about Robert E. Lee." Holding up his phone, he said, "This is a picture of you shopping, while we're talking about racism and history in this country."

Chambers pointed out that it was only white members of the board got up from their tables while people in the community—which Chambers says is 81% Black—were talking. "Because you don't give a damn, it's clear," he said.

He did explain how racist Robert E. Lee was: "Not only did he whoop the slaves, he said, 'Lay it on 'em hard.' And after he said, 'Lay it on 'em hard,' he said 'Put brine on 'em so it'll burn 'em.'"

"And you sit your arrogant self in here," he said, addressing Bernard again, "and sit on there shopping, while the pain and the hurt of the people of this community is on display. Because you don't give a damn, and you should resign."

The entire video is gold, with Chambers explaining how Bernard should have resigned two years ago when she was caught on video choking a student, and how she should now walk out and resign, "because you are the example of racism in this community."

The mic drop moment at the end brought the point home: "We built this joint for free," Chambers said. "And we're done begging you to do what's right."

When Chambers mentioned Bernard "talking foolishness" on TV the week before, he was presumably referring to a June 10th interview with WVLA-33 in which Bernard said that people who didn't like the name of the school needed to brush up on their history.

"I would hope that they would learn a little bit more about General Lee," she said, "because General Lee inherited a large plantation and he was tasked with the job of doing something with those people who lived in bondage to that plantation, the slaves, and he freed them."

After understandable backlash, Bernard issued an apology in a written statement:

"My comments last week about the naming of Lee High School were insensitive, have caused pain for others, and have led people to believe I am an enemy of people of color, and I am deeply sorry. I condemn racial injustice in any form. I promise to be part of the solution and to listen to the concerns of all members of our community. I stand with you, in love and respect."

However, she also told The Advocate that what looked like her shopping was just a popup ad that she hadn't closed out. "I wasn't shopping," she said. "I was actually taking notes, paying attention, reading online comments."

But Chambers wasn't having that nonsense either—he had receipts in the form of a 20-second video of her scrolling through a full screen of clothing while one of her fellow board members—a Black woman—was speaking.

Another attendee at the meeting, Arthur Pania of Baton Rouge, corroborated Chambers' account on Facebook, "I personally watched her for about eight minutes, attempting to decide between a beige and red dress," he wrote. "The only thing I had issue determining from my sight was if it was a short dress or nightware."

People with this much blatant racism in their bones and a willingness to blatantly lie in an attempt to cover up that racism has no business making decisions for anyone, much less school children in a community of mostly Black families. As Chambers wrote on Instagram, "Our children deserve better, our community deserves better. If she remains it gives permission for others to do the same."

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From school to Mardi Gras, these students are keeping their city's unique spirit alive.

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New Orleans Tourism

When Rabeetah Hasnain teaches, she resists telling her students what to think.

There’s no need to just drill them on facts they memorized.

Instead, she loves to witness her special education students’ eyes light up with understanding and growing confidence in her fourth- and fifth-grade classes at ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy in New Orleans.  

Her students think for themselves and learn how to solve problems — but in a fun, free-spirited way that mirrors the celebratory, artistic culture of their city.

All images via Turnaround Arts New Orleans/ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy​, used with permission.

For Hasnain’s math classes, she choreographs the fluid movements of a mathematics dance to help her kids learn how a decimal point moves when multiplying by 10.

For English, she has them create a three-minute improv theatrical scene to review their reading comprehension of the "Matilda" chapter she assigned for homework.

Older students even learn U.S. history through rap battles inspired by the mega-hit Broadway musical "Hamilton."

That's because at this academy, art isn’t a separate subject tacked onto education — it's ingrained in the school's culture, just like it is in the city of New Orleans.

It makes sense that their education style is as unique and jubilant as their surrounding city. After all, if you take a walk through New Orleans, you'll see artists lining up their original artwork every day along the sidewalks and fences of Jackson Square. You'll see Dixieland jazz musicians roaming the streets, playing for those that pass by. From its Cajun and Creole cuisine to its multicultural artistic population to its historic architecture, this is a city where beauty and expression in all its forms are celebrated.  

The school, then, takes its cues from the spirit of New Orleans, infusing art, music, and performance into many aspects of the learning experience.

They do this with the help of Turnaround Arts, a national program that aims to transform low-performing schools by using arts education as a strategic tool to boost confidence, creativity, and academic achievement.

"Arts integration doesn’t have to be this extra crazy thing that teachers do," Hasnain says. "It’s just good teaching." Especially when you can connect students with a city's vibrant arts community.

Take Preservation Hall, for example. Situated deep in the heart of the iconic French Quarter, this music venue is known for its unforgettable jazz concerts, which further a living tradition of New Orleans jazz music and culture citywide. It’s also known for its music groups, like the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and it is those very band members who are orchestrating the future of this storied musical tradition through Turnaround Arts.

Twice a week, Preservation Hall sends professional jazz musicians to ReNEW Academy to work with the school band, so the students can learn jazz and marching band styles that mirror the jubilant streets and famous venues of their city.

And the kids get to take their art outside the classroom too.

Band students also perform in the city’s Mardi Gras parade, further connecting these students with the local arts scene and allowing them to be part of one of the city's most famous creative traditions. That’s a big deal for anyone enchanted with the city’s defining music.

At this New Orleans academy, their approach to the arts is creating a whole new generation of young artists that are both inspired by and shaping the culture of their city.

Just last January, the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center (just north of St. Charles Avenue) hosted "I’m Glorious," a collaborative installation featuring works from the city’s three ReNEW schools.

A month later, local artists visited homeroom classes at ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy to help them design a mural or art installation around the theme of growth. And the New Orleans Museum of Art donated banners and frames for the project.

In New Orleans, providing children with the space for thinking creatively and for free expression isn’t just to improve academic performance.

It’s about furthering this spellbinding city’s legacy.

"In New Orleans in particular, you’re not only a musician, you’re a culture-bearer," Hasnain says.

"That’s why we bring so many community partners here. ... It would be horrible to be in a city that has so much culture and the kids not be part of it."

It's a culture and a legacy recognized around the world — from the dazzling parades, to the sweet sounds of jazz music in the French Quarter — shaped every day by the youth who live and learn there.

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