Doby's Gone: Summary

EE107 is a 12 year, 3-month-old African American student in the 5th grade at ABC Elementary School. EE107 attended Pitt County Schools before attending ABC Elementary School in Beaufort County in the 5th grade. EE107 was retained in kindergarten. After 3rd grade, she was placed in a transition classroom for her 4th grade year. While EE107 was in the transition classroom, her progress was reviewed by the

Doby attended Eastside High School where he received eleven varsity letters. In 1942, Larry Doby joined the Newark Eagles. He later joined the U.S. Navy where he served 3 years. Larry re-joined the Newark Eagles after the Navy. In 1947, Bill Veeck offered Doby a contract with the Cleveland Indians. He came into MLB 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson. Larry was the 2nd African American to play professional baseball. He paved the way for African Americans in all sports.

Her statement would undermine the confidence of her predominantly African American students. She is now unable to effectively function as an educator due to a loss of trust between herself and her students. This constitutes a disruption that warrants a limitation on her freedom of speech (Essex, 2012). In addition, it has damaged her credibility and ability to effectively interact with her fellow teachers. This adds another layer of “material disruption to the school district” (Essex. P. 204, 2012) and renders her unfit for her

school system towards young black girls, that then lead to their imprisonment (Morris, 2015). Black girls hold multiple identities that intersect; they are not just black, just girls or just poor, the amalgamation of those identities lead to unique struggles in themselves (Morris, 24). Morris also states, “Black women and girls in America are subjected to dominant assumptions about their sexuality, “anger,” or their “attitude.” They have long understood that their way of engaging with the world-how they talk, how they walk, how they wear their hair, or how they hold their bodies-is subject to scrutiny, especially by those in positions of relative power” (Morris, 24). We see that within our school systems there is a lack of understanding towards girls of color and a high level of policing which lead to punitive consequences, often unfairly implemented and biased in nature and derail their academic careers.

On September 4th, 1957, Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to Little Rock Central High school, preventing any of the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High. Elizabeth Eckford was the only student that went to school on this day because of a lack of communication with the other students. She arrived at the school alone and was antagonized by the angry mob. “At first she felt reassured when she saw the troops, whom she assumed were there to protect her…When she tried to squeeze past a guard, ‘He raised his bayonet, and then the other guards moved in.’” One can only imagine what Eckford felt like, being completely alone in a mob of people screaming “Lynch her!”, only to realize the people you thought were there to protect you were actually not. The students finally were able to enter the school on September 23rd, 1957. But the fight was not over. The Little Rock Nine continued to face extreme harassment, both physical and verbal. Melba Pattillo recounted many of these incidents in her book, Warriors Don’t Cry. One that stuck out the most was when she recounted going to bathroom, the one place her guard could not join her, and having girls “scratch and giggle” outside the door. She writes, “ I promised myself I would drink less water so I wouldn’t have to take that risk so often.” Her stories of the vulgar language and the harassment when the guard was or wasn’t around, shows the extreme condition she faced trying to make a charge for her generation. She compares her experience in Central High to being soldier, just trying to survive. Another factor that created this environment for the Little Rock Nine was the lack of discipline of students by teachers. Pattillo writes about how her friend Minnijean Brown had faith in school officials, faith that they would step in. “She continued to count on them to respond with compassion to

Melbas teacher said, “if you move, you move the the office and see the principal”. (Beal 114). Melbas teacher was one of the first people in this school to actually stand up for Melbas and the harsh way she was being treated. She had the courage to actually stand up for what was right, and confront racism. Melba was treated badly all her life, and now it’s hard for her to trust

Author, Dr. Beverly Tatum a clinical psychologist whose main study of interest is Black children’s racial identity development wrote the text Why Are All the Black Kids sitting Together in the Cafeteria? After receiving a letter from a school principal in New Jersey applauding her on her reason of why, in racially mixed schools all over the country, Black kids were still sitting together in school cafeterias. In the text Tatum shares her thoughts about the development of racial identity faced by the African American population and how it is interrelated to racism at the turn of the twentieth century while highlighting the Black-White relation in childhood and adolescence age group. The book entails controversy in that, Dr. Tatum understanding of racism is centered heavily on race. Tatum’s explanation of racism suggest that Blacks cannot be racist based on the fact their racial bigotry do not stand or rest on a structure of advantage.

It seems to me that Julie Landsman doesn’t actually see these kids as bad kids, just as kids that have done not so good things. She sees them as kids that may have had some troubles and are trying to get through their lives. She has many kids in her READ Program. Julie Landsman is a very patient person, if I had her job there is no way I would not be able to scream at the kids once in a while. All of the kids that go to the school that Julie Landsman teaches at are kids that either got kicked out of their other high schools, or middle schools, for not listening, getting into fights, or even back talking a teacher. She knows as much as she needs to about these kids. When a new kid comes into the school’s program she knows better than to fully

Imagine you’re a little black girl, living in one of the most segregated cities in the South. A city where you not only had to obey your parents’ rules, but the rules of revengeful white men, who would do everything in their willpower to make sure you would die, if you didn’t. What little girl do you know, would like to be exposed to this type of unnecessary chaos? Little girls are supposed to be having fun, playing with baby dolls, and learning their ABC’s, not worrying about whether or not they would become the next victim of rape or be lynched by the Ku Klux Klan.

The school, Winchester University, is a white ivy leagues school where they have a minority of black kids. Throughout the movie, there are many comments about race, and people are not afraid to say what they think, for example in the movie it is said that having just one African American as friend is not enough to pass as a non-racist. In the movie just the fact that you are white is an advantage, because you get better treatment, and you are put in a certain category, you are put in an inner circle. In the movie white kids are put together to living in the same houses while black kids would be all put together in the same house. In the movie there are clearly certain moments where people used their color as an advantage. An example of using color as a privilege, when they wouldn’t let Lionel in to a party just because he wasn’t part of an excuse or elite group

If I could interview those children now when they are around 60, I would ask why did they do that? Pretending to shoot someone and laugh, what did that symbolize and what did that mean to them? I would also ask how they viewed race growing up. What was race to them? I would also ask what if it was the year 2015, would they still do that as kids? I would expect them to be surprised about the first question. As children, we do not understand what we are doing, but we should know right from wrong and laughing at someone, pretending to kill them is unacceptable. I would expect them to answer what it meant to do that and I think they would explain that they were only kids and that it was a different time and society in 1955. I would expect them to answer how they felt about race growing with obviously saying that the colored people were looked down on. If they were to do that now in 2015, they probably would not do that in the first place, it is a completely different time period and everyone is

Children learn the rules of racial ‘etiquette’ by seeing other children they went to school

The time of racism, segregation, and discrimination in the Civil Rights era was a difficult time for many people: whites, other races, and even children. Racism brought the realization to many people to think about how racism might affect their children and the way they were brought up. The real interesting fact is, that even though most Americans showed concern towards children there wasn 't a large percentage that took in consideration the feelings, thoughts, and affects that African- Americans and other racial children, including whites had towards the consent segregation, discrimination, and racism that went on in the Civil Rights era. Even the

How to minimize the hurts of non-white children once their belief on the theory of a society is fair and equality is completely collapsed when the reality is happening in the opposite. In the reading “Why the Myth of Meritocracy Hurts Kids of Color” Mildred Boveda, an assistant education professor at Arizona State University, said: “I will admit that it sometimes felt risky to tackle these difficult conversations, but this [research] underscores why we cannot equivocate when it comes to preparing our children to face injustices.” I agree with her opinion. Because finding the proper solutions to fully empower and equipping the best knowledge that can help children cope better is not easy, but it is the responsibility of the family, the school, and society. The three elements need to act and work together in an effort to dare to speak about the truths mentioned above.

Just as family does, education plays a major role in the shaping and development of your identity throughout your childhood and adolescence, during primary and secondary school. Although completely unaware, the teachers, bullies and friends at school are influencing the decisions made and ultimately are part of the personality that defines who you are. Sandra Laing, although having a coloured appearance, was for a short time allowed to attend an all-white school; because at first, legally Sandra was white. However after many beatings, bullying and downright humiliation, Sandra was expelled from the school, because, as her parents were told, “Sandra does not belong here”. Little did they know this action turned out to define the way Sandra accepted white people into her difficult life. Point being that, no matter how insignificant situations, experiences or environments may seem; the interpretations, memories and influences can last a whole life long. This fact plays out not only in the school yard, but also later in life in work places and in relationships.