Bow Wow Wow

Seems like i'm doing more than usual on Race right now. I guess its a hot issue. Anyway Michelle Malkin talks about race in her latest article, as it relates to education.

"In Oberlin, Ohio, local school board president Tony Marshall argues that only black high school teachers should teach "black history." Non-black educators may be able to teach black students to write well, conduct research, and digest accurate facts and information. But arming black students with the same fundamentals that every other student needs to succeed is apparently not what Marshall wants for his kids: "A black teacher brings an experience and understanding of being black that no else can bring."

If Marshall had to choose between hiring white historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and black rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, in other words, he'd rather have the pot-smoking, profanity-spewing, gang-banging convicted felon in the classroom because of Snoop's skin-deep "experience and understanding."

OK let's unpack this just a little bit. Why does Ms. Malkin assume that a Black history teacher won't give a student the "same fundamentals that every other student needs to succeed?" Are blacks inherently less capable teachers?

Then there is the bizarre comparison in the second paragraph. Would Marshall really pick Arthur Schlesinger Jr. over Snoop Doggy Dog? Or even the other way around, which is of course what I meant to say. Let's go to the video tape, which in this case is a news story from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Michael Williams, interim director of Cleveland State University's black studies program, said schools should choose a black teacher if that person is most qualified.

If two teachers are equally qualified, Williams gives the edge to the black teacher.

"That person still has the advantage of the culture," said Williams, who is black. "They understand the nuances of the culture."

Oberlin School Board President Tony Marshall, who is black, agrees. The phrase "color-struck" might mean nothing to a white person, he said, but a black teacher would know that it suggests a black person who prefers lighter-skinned blacks to darker-skinned blacks.

"A black teacher brings an experience and understanding of being black that no else can bring," Marshall said.

So let's make this point clear--Michael Williams and Tony Marshall appparently agree that if there are two teachers who are equally qualified to teach a class, you should give deference to the black teacher. So I guess, it begs the question; does Ms. Malkin see Snoop Doggy Dog and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as equally qualified to teach history?