Woman Goes Viral On TikTok For Grand Rapids Schools Having ‘Slave Day’
Warning: Audio Not Safe For Work
Scrolling on TikTok has become a part of my daily routine.
Wake up. Scroll on TikTok. After a long work day, I immediately scroll on TikTok. Once I am finally ready for bed, I need to scroll on TikTok.
TikTok is full of fun dances, think pieces, and more.
However, I did not think I would find this story on the app - especially when I learned that it was about East Grand Rapids.
Uche, known on TikTok as @cluche, did a storytime about 'slave day' happening at her school when she was younger.
She described it as a certain group of students becoming 'slaves' and others would become the 'masters.' The other classes were split into either friends or foes. The 'slaves' would go over to the school looking for friends or foes.
Listening to this storytime brought tears to my eyes and anger. The saddest part is her story is not the first that has happened in Michigan.
In April of 2021, East Lansing Public Schools apologized for its curriculum on slavery.
According to Fox 47, the 'slave day' assignment was given to eighth-grade social studies students at MacDonald Middle School.
Director of Curriculum Glenn Mitcham told Fox 47 that the school
"asked students to put themselves in a place of what it would feel like to be a slave. And it did it in a number of different ways. One time it asked them to look at an artistic rendering of a slave, what you would assume to be a slave owner abusing a slave, and ask students to write about how it would feel to be that slave."
It is truly disgusting and mind-blowing that these events are seen as okay in 2022.