Segregated School Field Trip in Michigan
PHILLIPS: All right, I totally get this. You have African- American students at a Michigan elementary school. They're lagging behind their white peers in homework and crucial test scores. So the principal says, hey, these kids need role models, let's go meet one. In this case, a black rocket scientist in Ann Arbor, a successful, smart guy with some good advice for those kids. Here's the problem, the trip was just for the black students. The white kids? They didn't get to go. Does that sound fair? Let's take a look at this report from Kim Bora at WDIV and then let's talk.</s>KIM BORA, WDIV-TV REPORTER (voice-over): It was supposed to be a field trip, a chance to meet a real-life African-American rocket scientist.</s>UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: He showed us his cool, like, lab and stuff he does.</s>BORA: What wasn't cool for some was how Principal Mike Madison chose to handle students in one class after some were heard booing African-American students who took part in this trip. Parents say they were told the principal raised his voice at them, shaming the very students he excluded by not giving them a chance to go on this trip. But not all parents are convinced.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was something that was very simple that was blown out of proportion.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's very important for people to realize that the majority of parents at Dicken are very happy with Principal Madison.</s>BORA: In a letter addressed to parents, the principal said, in hindsight things would have been handled differently. He wrote, quote, "I'm sorry if any kids were upset by the field trip or my discussion afterwards with them, and I have let them know that."</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that and anything they're trying is a good thing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact that kids were booing the kids that were returning from this field trip, in my opinion, would have upset me had I just planned a field trip that I felt really good about and I just saw the kids being really excited by it and inspired by it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think that there has been a lot of reactionary talk. I think that the firing and the lawsuit discussion is pretty absurd at this point.</s>PHILLIPS: OK, here's the thing, white kids need black role models, too. Why? Because, let's face it, there's still racism in this country. KKK members, white supremacists, maybe more casual racists are still raising kids, and there's all kinds of inflammatory, racist garbage on the Internet. Kids might believe that stuff unless they're challenged not to and see it debunked right there before their eyes. Role models come in all colors, all genders, all professions. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. So I'm glad to hear that the program in Michigan is being suspended so school officials can tweak it and make it more inclusive. Good thing, the segregated field might have violated Michigan law. We also talked about this story on my blog and here's what some of you said about it. This comes from Jaynie, "I believe it was a justified lesson. Let's face it, African-American students have been left out of the educational scene for so long that they needed the attention from the African-American engineer. Why can't people understand the private moment was necessary in order to relate to his success from an African-American perspective? This comes from Chas, "It was a racist act plain and simple. If the races had been reversed, there would be picketing at the governor's mansion right now." And this comes from Michelle, "I think this was a missed educational opportunity for the students who did not go on that field trip. I'm sure this professor had a great deal of knowledge and inspiration that was not race biased...but rather encouraging to young minds of all races and genders." Remember, we love hearing from you. Just logon to CNN.com/Kyra and share your comments. I appreciate it.