An elementary school in Seattle has cancelled their annual Halloween parade saying, "it marginalizes students of color who do not celebrate the holiday." The Benjamin Franklin Day Elementary School sent out a newsletter to parents informing them of the cancellation of the parade and other Halloween related activities saying:
"Halloween events create a situation where some students must be excluded for their beliefs, financial status, or life experience. Costume parties often become an uncomfortable event for many children, and they distract students and staff from learning. Large events create changes in schedules with loud noise levels and crowds. Some students experience over stimulation, while others must deal with complex feelings of exclusion. It’s uncomfortable and upsetting for kids."
The decision to cancel all Halloween related activities was pushed forth by the school's Racial Equity Team. Parents were not consulted on the cancellation. One parent called into local Seattle Talk Station, 770 KTTH saying this was an "exercise in affluent white vanity that is wokeism".
A spokesperson for the Seattle Public Schools told local outlets in a statement that:
“Historically, the Pumpkin Parade marginalizes students of color who do not celebrate the holiday. Specifically, these students have requested to be isolated on campus while the event took place. In alliance with SPS’s unwavering commitment to students of color, specifically African American males, the staff is committed to supplanting the Pumpkin Parade with more inclusive and educational opportunities during the school day.”
WOW. Many questions come to mind after seeing all this information...
1) How is it NOT racist to even hint at the idea that African Americans don't celebrate Halloween?! WHAT?!
2) Even if the argument is that a majority of African Americans in the area can't afford Halloween costumes and therefore the whole idea is marginalizing to them, why do you have to do away with ALL Halloween activities, even those that do not include costumes? Follow up point, why can't you create costumes through community efforts through fundraising or donations from local clubs and organizations?
3) You're telling me that after 5 years of deliberations the best idea was to ax Halloween all together under the (in my opinion) racist notion that African Americans just don't celebrate Halloween and it's not fair? When Halloween was adapted in America it was not for a specific group of individuals only that excluded African Americans. Put the European pagan and religious origins aside, in American in the 1920s and 1930s Halloween became a community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide Halloween parties as the featured entertainment. Look into the history, HERE.
Bottom line, this decision to ax ALL Halloween activities at the school is absolutely ridiculous. All of the reasons (excuses) the Racial Equity Team named here can be easily solved in a way that does not ruin the holiday for all the kids. Again, I refuse to believe that African Americans, and specifically African American males don't celebrate Halloween. That's an absolutely ignorant statement if I've ever heard one. It's actually racist in my opinion, the very thing the school is trying to address but in their attempts, they actually created. Unbelievable. I still can't get over this... even if there are some African Americans who don't celebrate Halloween, you can't just blatantly say the population as a whole does not. What gives you the right to make that distinction? Furthermore, what about other kids of various backgrounds who might not celebrate Halloween? According to the school there, it's only African Americans...if there are kids who do not want to celebrate, fine create an entirely different program filled with other activities for those children and leave it up to the children and parents to decide what they will participate in, the Halloween program or the alternative one. Problem solved. What ever happened to being all inclusive? You accomplish being all inclusive not by excluding activities a good portion of the population participate in. You include something for everyone. Why is that so difficult? This is wokeism at it's finest.
-Producer Lightning