Names have been changed but every word is true.
Here's the deal. I'm a white mid-westerner teaching music in urban Phoenix. In the course of a day I teach about 75 students. Of those 6 are Caucasian (one of those is my own child), 11 are African-American, two are Pacific Islanders, two are Asian and the rest are Latin American. Now, if I use short hand terms like white, black and Mexican, please don't jump all over me, I'm not trying to be politically incorrect, I'm trying to be succinct.
I have been accused of being racist because I wouldn't let a black girl use the bathroom. (I also told a white girl and a Mexican girl no.) I shrug it off.
Today however took the cake.
In my choir we are singing Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride from Lilo and Stitch. There are some Hawaiian phrases in it. Lani is Hawaiian and she very respectfully said, " Ms. Mitchell, you're saying that wrong." Great! She has been a big help with the pronunciation. I suggested She sing the solo part for hte concert and the rest of the choir sing the echo.
Chanel, who is black, said, "That's Racist!"
The other students' responses demonstrated that they, too, found Chanel's observation ridiculous.
I calmly explained that Guadalupe was helping with pronunciatin on our Spanish song and if we do a Chinese song I wouyld be asking Melissa Cho for her help.
Chanel was not done yet. "How come we aren't singing anything African?"
Sharday, who is black, looked at her and said, "We are, you dumb beyotch, it's called Gwendete."
Chanel said, "African people don't talk all mumbo jumbo like that."
I said, "Chanel, my darling, Africans in Kenya most certainly do talk like that. Africans in Milwaukee do not."
She gave me the hand and the black girl head wag "I'm just sayin'."
To quote my darling 18 year old child of Irish, German, Swiss, Scottish, English, Cherokee and Romanian descent, "I can't make generalizations about people but one by one they are pissing me off."