Black Student Can't Be Valedictorian (PINE BLUFF, Ark.)

[kpete]

Source: Courthouse News Service

Black Student Can't Be Valedictorian
By EMMALEE ABEL

PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AR) - A high school southeast of Little Rock would not let a black student be valedictorian though she had the highest grade-point average, and wouldn't let her mom speak to the school board about it until graduation had passed, the graduate claims in Federal Court.

Kymberly Wimberly, 18, got only a single B in her 4 years at McGehee Secondary School, and loaded up on Honors and Advanced Placement classes. She had the highest G.P.A. and says the school's refusal to let her be sole valedictorian was part of a pattern of discrimination against black students.

Wimberly says that despite earning the highest G.P.A. of the Class of 2011, and being informed of it by a school counselor, "school administrators and personnel treated two other white students as heirs apparent to the valedictorian and salutatorian spots."

Wimberly's mother is the school's "certified media specialist." She says in the federal discrimination complaint that after her daughter had been told she would be valedictorian, the mother heard "in the copy room that same day, other school personnel expressed concern that Wimberly's status as valedictorian might cause a 'big mess.'"

Read more: http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/07/25/38410.htm

[rurallib]

1. wow - can't wait to hear this explanation

[bulloney]

55. Looks like the school got pickier when the highest GPA belonged to a teen mother.

[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lucky Luciano]

64. .

:wow:

[No Elephants]

100. What? Article says the student had "loaded up" on Honors and Advanced Placement classes.

Didn't see any mention of basketweaving, though.

What are you talking about?

[Lucky Luciano]

134. Poster I replied to referred to the possibility of the

"co-valedictorian" taking basket weaving. Looks like it got edited out after I posted.

[NOLALady]

143. I really doubt that she was the only teen Mother

at that school. They probably decided to use that as an excuse for avoiding the "big mess".

[Enthusiast]

130. Me too.

Bigotry would my explanation.

[juajen]

2. OMG, I thought we were way beyond this. I hope she sues.

[plumbob]

14. "The Past Isn't Dead. It Isn't Even Past"

William Faulkner said in the 60s that he thought it would take 300 years to begin doing something about racism in this country.

[Taverner]

177. [phone]

America, and particularly the South, is a VERY racist place.

And if you think it isn't, then you aren't paying attention.

[kick-ass-bob]

181. I've seen worse racism in the north than I have in the south.

Overt vs covert, good sir. Stop regionalizing and generalizing.

[Taverner]

186. Not generalizing a bit - I fully acknowlege the North, the West and all of the US has a problem

It is more overt in the South, which makes it easy to catch

Racism in the North takes a decidedly more covert form, which of course, makes it harder to catch

Howwever - let me add the old adage: For every rat you see, there's a hundred you don't

So if the racism is overt - what does this say about the society that tolerates it?

Again, I don't think the South has a monopoly on racism. I posted a while back about how here in 'liberal' Oakland I've seen a good deal of racism and white privilege - and this is considered a largely African American town.

Let me also add that when I was in my 20s (late 90s) and lived here, I worked for a temp agency. Once you got to know them they were hands down the most racist, prejudice, bigoted people I have ever met in my life. This again in 'liberal' Oakland.

[bitchkitty]

201. Go to Idaho, or Utah,

and then come back and tell me the South is more racist.

[Taverner]

202. I don't think you read my post. Sure, the North is VERY racist.

Like I said, the South does not have a monopoly on it

However - if in the South folks can be openly racist without complaint, what does that tell you about the South?

Now I don't think it means they are more racist

But what I do think it means is the South has a very different kind of racism

[bitchkitty]

226. A Southern racist is more easily identifiable.

And a lot more vocal. Most of them are a joke, some are dangerous. The ones that hide in tents and make truck bombs are the ones who scare me.

[butterfly77]

Why did you think that...

haven't you been paying attention to how people have lost their minds because the President is a black man..

[Confusious]

41. Maybe the poster meant

Being so frikin' obvious!

Most times they talk in code words, they don't just come out and do something like this. In broad daylight. might as well hang a sign that says " no coloreds"

[chervilant]

154. Well, now,

having lived in North Arkansas for the better part of my formative years, I can assure you that a significant percentage of Arkansans living north of Little Rock (and, perhaps, a little east of Jonesboro) are racist. Quite a few belong to the KKK or 'survivalist' groups.

In the mid-90s, I returned to visit my mom, driving throughout Martin Luther King Day. Just north of Little Rock, I passed a mom'n'pop gas station/grocery that had paid for a rent-a-sign on which they had posted "The only good N***r is a dead N***r."

[demwing]

42. Maybe juajen thought we were past this BECAUSE the President is a black man?

that's a pretty fucking big deal. It shouldn't be, but it is...

[Enthusiast]

131. The mind losing has been encouraged. nt

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

179. +1,000,000,000!! n/t

[No Elephants]

101. Why would you assume we were beyond discrimination? BTW, did you read past the headline?

[mistertrickster]

142. Because an African-American is president of the United States? nt

[TheEuclideanOne]

172. Really?

You should totally watch the News. Or spend some time listening to a conservative radio station. If you do not have access to any of those things, I am sure you can borrow one or go to any conservative website. That will easily make you way less shocked the next time you read about how racism is thriving here in the US.

In a related story, OMG, the sun is hot?!?!?! I thought that was a thing of the past.

[yourout]

3. Oh man.......this is going to get expensive for the school. And rightly so.

[valerief]

4. Is it 2011 or 1911? Amazing. nt

[No Elephants]

102. It's always 1811 somewhere.

[millych3]

127. I can't believe it either.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. This has nothing to do with the region from which it comes

right?

[CleanGreenFuture]

12. I lived in the county to the west of Pine Bluff in the late '70s. My mom had a friend

from the hotel she worked at in Pine Bluff who had put a down payment on a house in our town. Before her and her family could move in, the house was burned to the ground.

Does that answer your question?

[Ruby the Liberal]

27. "The last African-American valedictorian in McGehee School District was in 1989."

From the article.

Don't injure anything jumping to conclusions on this.

[CleanGreenFuture]

30. Perhaps you missed the part where I said I lived in that area. I don't think

it was racism, I KNOW IT WAS.

I know it very, VERY well.

[Ruby the Liberal]

51. LOL! I was raised in the deep DEEP south (Think My Cousin Vinnie homemade grits south)

...no self respecting southerner would make instant grits south.

Why I am calling bullshit on this.

[No Elephants]

104. What do you think that fact does or does not tell us?

For that datum to be meaningful to me, I would need a lot more information.

If you think that tells us that this school did have at least one African American valedictorian, I would agree. And?

[Dreamer Tatum]

188. So you lived there 30 years ago and you know someone whose house burned down.

Well, I'M convinced.

:eyes:

[AlbertCat]

82. This has nothing to do with the region from which it comes...right?

Right.

If she were hispanic and in AZ?

If she was Muslim and in WY?

Perhaps?

You think this could only happen in the South????

Riiiiight

[Qutzupalotl]

6. Off topic, but ... Kymberly Wimberly?

Some parents need a good talking-to around naming time.

[BanzaiBonnie]

10. I agree with you, Qutzupoli

The girl has probably taken a lot of grief over her name.

But not being allowed to be the valedictorian - whoever made that decision was WRONG.

[yourout]

16. I worked with a guy name Richard Wacker.

Talk about cruel.

[formercia]

24. I went to Navy Boot Camp with a guy named Donald Duck

He made Chief of the Boat on a Submarine.

[jberryhill]

25. That explains the sailor outfit, but why no pants?

[formercia]

29. Got drunk while on Liberty?

:rofl:

[demwing]

46. So what did Liberty have to say about that?

and the name jokes just keep on rolling...

[formercia]

47. Libertine Liberty

A Lady for all Seasons.

[alfredo]

169. New a gal born on the 4th of July. Her name was/is

Liberty Day. She's a very good liberal, very smart, very dedicated to helping others.

[formercia]

171. I should have named my daughter Windfall

She was born Dec. 31st.

[alfredo]

190. Ha!

[onpatrol98]

195. Windfall...LOL

[formercia]

197. I see someone got it.

A buck is a buck.

[slackmaster]

40. I had a coworker named Mike O'Kane. He was the EA to the company's owner.

I'll never forget the day the big boss waddled down the hall bellowing "Where's Mike O'Kane? I want Mike O'Kane NOW!"

[X_Digger]

88. I had a support customer named Phuk Boi.

And yes, it sounds just like it would.

[tblue37]

194. In the 1980s I had an international student with the same first name--but the last name was "Yu."

Whenever I had to call on him in class, I just nodded toward him and said, "Yes?" so I wouldn't have to say his name out loud in a room full of American students.

[PotatoChip]

149. There is/was some NH politician named Dick Swett

Saw the political signs years ago while driving through. But I think you win. :D

Getting back to the OP though, I too want to hear what kind of justification the school comes up with. Despite my not knowing all of the facts, it sounds an awful lot like racism to me. If so, I hope the young lady receives some form of reparation. Being Valedictorian is not just some sort of symbolic honor, it can make a huge difference in a person's competitiveness in the world beyond HS.

Sad state of affairs if it is what it appears to be.

[demwing]

44. I once knew I Dick Kuntz

refused to let you call him Richard....

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

87. There used to be a Urologist by the name Richard Chop

Oh, wait, no there wasn't.

We just used to page a Dr. 'Dick' Chop at the hospital. :evilgrin:

[silverlib]

137. There is a urologist in Austin TX named Richard Chop...

for real.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

146. It has been so long...I forgot that we did find it in the phone book

That didn't stop us from paging Dr. 'Dick' Chop.


I just don't think I could see a urologist named Dick Chop. I'd have been worried that he might have routinely
taken too much off the top.

High School was soo much fun.

[loudsue]

161. My dad's urologist in El Paso was named "Dr. Dickie". My dad loved to tell about it.

And there was a guy in Ohio named Dick Ruff. Owned a grocery store.

[xxqqqzme]

164. My BiL's name is

Richard Clapp.

[VWolf]

184. Went to school with a guy named Richard Less

No joke.

[Deep13]

15. Weird spelling of a typical name.

Could be a lot worse.

I had a client who named her daughter "Leather" and another one who wanted to change her son's first name from something typical to "Digger." In case you are wondering, there were both white and lived out in the sticks. My urban Black clients often had even stranger names--typical nicknames as legal names or made-up and vaguely French-sounding names. The worst I saw was a hair dresser's salon called LaTrina's. Isn't a latrine another name for a toilet? The all time cake-taker came from a friend of mine who worked at a Federal claims agency and received a claim form from Beige Couch.

[elehhhhna]

20. Kim Wimberly, otoh, sounds dammned competent. so cut some slack.

[elehhhhna]

21. shit, kym Wimberly sounds like a waspy rich guy on a tennis court.

[tclambert]

133. Her tabloid name can be KimWim.

[Taverner]

176. I dunno, kinda like it nt

[u4ic]

7. !

:wtf:

Un-fucking-believable. The fact that it's been a pattern at that school is even more sickening.

[mdmc]

22. agreed

and :hi:

[u4ic]

204. Hey!

:hi:

[Bosso 63]

8. "Class of 2011"

Thats just unfu*#ing believable.
Somebody in Pine Bluff has a serious learning problem, and its not Ms.Wiberly.

[Art_from_Ark]

74. It's not Pine Bluff-- it's McGehee, southeast of Pine Bluff

Near the Mississippi River, 35 miles north of the Louisiana border.

[SoapBox]

9. Wow! Outrageous...

...stunning. Absolutely stunning.

[FLAprogressive]

11. WTF

[Deep13]

13. So, just plain racism then?

Having an inferior n****r valedictorian would insult the established white families who run the town? Something like that? Super. Guess whose college tuition and expenses you guys will be paying. (Assuming she doesn't already have a full scholarship with that GPA.)

[CleanGreenFuture]

17. The discourse in the country has become so poisoned that all the old ills of our

society are unashamedly and enthusiastically coming back to the surface.

We are in for some rough times.

[av8rdave]

150. There's only one thing that pisses off a racist than a person of color....

And that would be a person of color who outperforms said bigots.

[Deep13]

183. There might be one thing they hate even more than that.

White people who are cheering on said out-performers. They regard it as a kind of treason.

[LiberalFighter]

18. What would cause the big mess?

McGehee Secondary School is predominantly white, and 46 percent African-American, according to the complaint.

That statement to me is incorrect. How can almost 54% be considered predominant? much greater in number or influence?

They discourage african-americans from taking honor or advanced placement classes which leads me to believe that it is one way to prevent african-americans from qualifying for valedictorian or salutatorian spots.

[No Elephants]

105. Seems to me that the lawyer took a short cut.

Probably meant to convey that a majority of the students were white. As long as the percentages were given, it is not a misleading statement.

[craigmatic]

19. Sounds racist to me. They should've let her be valedictorian.

At all black colleges they don't stop white kids from being valedictorian. Fair is fair if she worked for it and earned it she should've got it.

[LisaL]

63. They did let her to be a valedictorian.

She is upset because another student was also a valedictorian.

[No Elephants]

106. If that is not the school's normal procedure, it's still discrimination.

If it was an aberration and she refused to accept it, good for her.

If it was normal procedure, I doubt a lawyer would have taken the case. (Please see Reply 109 for why I doubt it.)

[elleng]

23. Back to Little Rock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine

[johnroshan]

141. That picture always brings me to tears...

Overjoyed that some presidents have the courage to stand up for what is right, sad that it was necessary in the first place.

[Ruby the Liberal]

26. Sorry, not buying this until I see the other side of the story.

McGehee Secondary School is predominantly white, and 46 percent African-American, according to the complaint.

Bratton says that the day after she heard the "big mess" comment, McGehee Principal Darrell Thompson, a defendant, told her "that he decided to name a white student as co-valedictorian," although the white student had a lower G.P.A.

The last African-American valedictorian in McGehee School District was in 1989.

No sale, but please do post a followup.

[gvstn]

37. I don't see how any of those quotes

would make it less likely that things happened as the complaint states? Except, perhaps, Principal Thompson did not use the word "white" when describing the co-valedictorian.

Maybe, this is part of the reason, "Defendants did not support African-American students, and did not want to see Wimberly, an African-American young mother as valedictorian."?

I, too, am interested in the other side but usually the highest GPA wins--simple as that.

[Ruby the Liberal]

49. I think it is bullshit quite honestly.

Too convenient in the way it is worded, IMO.

I just spent the last ~20 minutes on a google search (and reading 6 pages of a http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=438494">message board thread about this) and nada other than this one account. Not even a newspaper (local or otherwise) account on it. Nothing.

This one sided victim's report claims she 'loaded up' on honor's classes, which negates the claim that black students are told not to because of the challenge. She apparently ended up with all As save one B. Honors classes weigh more than regular for GPA in most schools. That argument is toast.

Some schools do add weight to extra-curricular activities, so that may come into play, but not grounds for a racial discrimination suit.

Likewise, she was a single mother (and may have had a problem with her attendance record) - but also not grounds for a discrimination suit, even if the school took attendance into account in their formula.

Boy who cried wolf = legitimate civil actions aren't taken seriously.

Bring me the other side and we'll talk.

[ashleyforachange]

78. As someone who...

was told by a counselor in Junior High not to take the Pre Ap/IB classes because not only because I would be the only Black person but also the only minority. Which meant being the only one I would get lonely and do badly because of it. BECAUSE OF MY RACE, I WOULD NOT SUCCEED. I know how this girl feels right now and she will win her race.

Also, just because they discourage minorites from taking the classes, doesn't mean that stops minorites from taking the classes.

[snooper2]

148. you may be the worst fucking googler on the planet then

:rofl:

Try this, go to www.google.com

Put in Kymberly Wimberly (Shit, you don't even need quotes as I know that gets complicated :P

And read through the first page of hits...

[chervilant]

160. hmm...

I used the Google, and found a plethora of information regarding this case in only 0.13 seconds--much of it posted yesterday.

Re: your disparagement of the 'one sided victim's report': a quick perusal of the articles posted reveals some significant disparities in the information gathered. However, all sources I saw report that a lawsuit has been filed alleging discrimination, because this young mother had to share her valedictory honor with a white student whose GPA was lower.

The crux of the story--ongoing instances of racial discrimination in this nation--is irrefutable. I find your "other side and we'll talk" stance rather suggestive of a sympathetic regard for the 'alleged' racists who will face this young woman in court.

[quakerboy]

48. The article title is apparently misleading

She was valedictorian. But the school made someone else "co-valedictorian". Anywhere Ive ever heard of, valedictorian is valedictorian.

From another article on the issue:

"A message left with the office of Superintendent Thomas Gathen, who is black, was not immediately returned Monday evening."


It will be interesting to see what the other side is. I don't know why the school did what it did. It sure looks unfair from my perspective, but the why of it is not quite as clear.

[Ruby the Liberal]

52. African American Superintendant?

I knew my spidey sense was tingling on this one.

$50 says its all bullshit and a ploy to raise cash because daughter shared a stage...

[quakerboy]

54. I dunno

Assuming the actual facts of it can be backed up (girl had highest GPA in class, other person made "covalidictorian" had a lower GPA), the situation still seems unfair. The why of it may not be so malicious as the racism proposed, but who knows without being there.

[Ruby the Liberal]

58. Above I mentioned potential other factors that may go into the calculation of highest GPA

1. Honors classes are weighted higher (article claims she 'loaded up on those')

2. Extracurricular activities may affect the final score (not addressed)

3. Attendance record may affect the score (she was a single mother, and as such presumably missed more time than a non-parent between giving birth and other medical necessities).

Holding out for the other side, but I reiterate that I am calling bullshit on the story as written.

[CreekDog]

94. doesn't sound liberal to me

i mean, part of it actually sounds like men who defend women making 80 cents on the dollar compared to men.

and it's not as though you're just not convinced, --you've, without knowing the other side, called this side "bullshit".

in other words, you've called one side of the story, where you need two sides to be convinced, "bullshit" without even hearing the other side.

completely biased and reactionary.

[No Elephants]

108. Your first point goes in favor of the plaintiff and the story says nothing about the other two.

[Demstud]

187. You aren't making any sense.

Agree with the other poser that you sound like a fake liberal.

1. Yes, she loaded up on honors classes, got A's, and has the highest GPA. It's not a difficult concept to understand, but you seem to think but you seem to find some weird contradiction here?

You're calling bullshit with no counter argument or reason to believe the article is inaccurate. Sounds pretty much the way ultra-conservatives react to any report of racism/sexism... Immediately attack the alleged victim based on the smallest of omissions, filling in the blanks with your own less educated opinion.

[FBaggins]

206. Actually, Ruby's post makes some sense.

Yes, she loaded up on honors classes, got A's, and has the highest GPA. It's not a difficult concept to understand, but you seem to think but you seem to find some weird contradiction here?

Actually, it isn't nearly as simple as you claim. There's another school in the same state that appears to have run into a similar situation.

They have a new GPA system where AP classes count an extra 1.0 toward your GPA, but only if you take the AP test. The problem is that the AP tests don't end until after graduation. So if you have someone with straight A's but fewer AP courses, and another student with one B and more AP courses... you could easily have a situation where you don't know who "really" has the highest GPA until after it's too late to pick. As I said, it did happen in at least one case in the same state and I would certainly consider it a "big mess".

I think the "calling BS" was the result of reading the story. There aren't any actual facts in there, but there are lots of the accuser's positons presented as facts. It reads like a fabricated story. It may not be, but it's at least very poor reporting.

On edit - Here's the other story - http://swtimes.com/site/bios//state_news/article_74660816-82f2-11e0-9978-001cc4c002e0.html

[MilesColtrane]

96. I think it's discrimination, but it is probably based on her status as a teen mother.

Of course, that is still wrong, but I don't know if it is legally actionable.

Her mom may have figured that suing on grounds of racial discrimination was her only recourse.

[Taverner]

178. Not all African Americans are interested in stopping racism

In fact, there are some who fight for it right alongside the Whites...

[onpatrol98]

199. ?

[noiretextatique]

what a strange comment eom

[noiretextatique]

182. what a strange comment eom

[LisaL]

67. Some schools allow multiple recepients.

So instead of being one valedictorian, there was two. Is that really such a huge deal as this making it to be?

[No Elephants]

109. I don't know of any instance where there are two valedictorians. One valedictorian and one

salutorian, plus some specialist recipients (i.e., French Award for the best student of that language), Science Award, etc. is the only scenario I know.

Think of this: My guess is that this lawyer has taken the case on contingency, meaning he or she spends time that could be used earning money to pay rent AND pays all the expenses of the lawsuit out of his or her own pocket. If the case is a loser, the lawyer gets stuck for all that. Plus, both client and attorney must sign the complaint and both are exposed to fines for any complaint filed, or any statement made, in bad faith.

Because of these things, lawyers taking a contingency case--or any case--ask a lot of questions before they proceed very far. If a question occurred to a DUer off the top of his or her head, I'm guessing it also occurred to the lawyer. Plus, we don't have the full text of the complaint. That point may have been expressly addressed in the complaint.

[Sgent]

198. I had 6 in my class

everyone with a 4.0 and the same number of AP / Honor's classes was given the honor.

[onpatrol98]

200. Problem

I'm thinking the problem here is, there was no tie.

[NOLALady]

144. Maybe it's a big deal

if it has not happened before.

[CreekDog]

93. you think the person is lying

okay.

let's hear the white side, right? :eyes:

[FBaggins]

205. The other side is only worth hearing if it's from the right race?

What does that sound like to you?

We can't assume that an accuser is telling the truth about racial bias just because the person happens to be of a given race.

[CreekDog]

207. they assumed the complaint was a lie

they made that quite clear.

but go ahead and defend that as fair as is your wont.

[FBaggins]

209. And you assumed that it was true without any evidence.

That too fails the progressive test and plays right into the hands of those who accuse us of "knee-jerk" responses.

Did the reporter even attempt to determine the validity of the claims?

[CreekDog]

210. no i did not

but i don't know what your problem with me is.

[FBaggins]

212. You sure didn't wait for the facts before you made your call

and accused others of being "reactionary" in the process.

If you check #208 and 211 you'll see that a small portion of the "other side" has now been reported - and it makes a whole lot more sense than the intial claim of bias.

The story does read like something other than straight news and the subject matter doesn't make sense in today's world. It's reasonable to doubt it until additional information comes to light.

[CreekDog]

213. no. i said it was wrong to accuse the valedictorian of lying

i was pretty clear on that.

you like what happened in Arkansas --given the intensity with which you're defending this here.

[FBaggins]

214. And yet the poster you replied to never said the valedictorian was lying

That was your mischaracterization of his post. The accuser could also simply be wrong, not lying.

you like what happened in Arkansas

Now see? If I used the same standard you have here... I could accuse you of lying. Instead you're just wrong. I neither "like" a system that makes the determination of a valedictorian less than clear, nor a leap-to-racism-accusation response on the part of a mother who doesn't get her own way.

Nor was there any "intensity" in my posts. Seems rather than read posts you prefer to read in to posts. :)

Did you read the update on the story? It appears that the other individual had equal grades by took an extra half-credit course. The school policy explicitly says that this won't harm your class ranking, yet it would if (s)he were named #2. Can you imagine a situation where you have identical grades yet fall behind a classmate because you took an extra course (and got an "A" in it)?

[CreekDog]

215. calling "bullshit" isn't calling it a lie?

you're reaching so hard, it's embarrassing.

[FBaggins]

216. Um... no.

It means that the story does not accurately present the facts. Or that the poster doubts that it accurately presents the facts.

It's entirely possible for that to happen without anyone lying. The mother may honestly believe this is what happened... and still be wrong. Perhaps because of her own bias (either racial or personal dislike for her boss).

Sorry if that seems to complicated. :)

[CreekDog]

218. no, because the story is covering an accusation and not a complicated one

in THIS case if you call the story "bullshit" and the story is quoting an accusation, you're calling the accusation and the accuser liars.

but the fascinating thing is that defending someone who is calling bullshit on the story.

THAT is what's most important to you.

i've rarely seen you defend anyone else and here, all your energies are devoted to calling into question a black valedictorian.

such are your priorities.

and that's what you live with --not me.

[FBaggins]

220. Actually... it IS complicated. But you refuse to read that.

Any particular reason why you're dodging it? Unwilling to consider the possibility that you might have been wrong and overreacting?

THAT doesn't sound particularly progressive, does it?

in THIS case if you call the story "bullshit" and the story is quoting an accusation

Really? Is that all it does? It just reports that someone made an accusation?

Have you read the story? Or even the title?

but the fascinating thing is that defending someone who is calling bullshit on the story.

You mean defending the guy who turned out to be right? Why would I worry about that?

all your energies are devoted to calling into question a black valedictorian.

I've done nothing of the sort. She deserves to be, and remains, the valedictorian. It's just that there's someone else who would have been slighted if his/her performance was not also recognized. You, OTOH, seem more than ready to attack other DUers (hinting racism) by jumping to conclusions about their posts.

i've rarely seen you defend anyone else and here

And I don't remember you ever defending anyone. Does that mean you never have? Sorry to burst your ego bubble, but I don't remember you at all. :)

[No Elephants]

107. The composition of the student body is irrelevant as this was an administrative choice, not a

student body vote. Also irrelevant because this is a public school, so the principal has little to say about the composition of the student body.

As I posted upthread, I have no idea what you think one African American valedictorian in 1989 provesa, one way or the other.

As for your second quote, I also do not know what you are implying. Suppose he said, "I've decided to make Dora a co-valedictorian with your daughter," and Dora is in fact a white student.

I agree that withholding judgment until the reply to this complaint has been filed is preferable as a general principle, but DUers, also as a general principle, don't seem to operate that way. For instance, although you say you want to hear the other side, you immediately called "bullshit" on this story. In any event, I don't see that your three quotes say or imply what you seem to think they do.

[chervilant]

162. Inconceivable!

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

(I completely agree with your post...)

[christx30]

28. I can't believe the school

screwed over not only this awesome young woman, but all of the kids at the school. Cause after she rightly sues the pants off the school district, she's going to own a huge chunk of it.
Less money for education.
And before people say I'm coming down on Miss Wymberly, I'm not. If my kid broke the neighbor's window, I'd get mad at my kid. Not the neighbor that charged me to have the window replaced.

[Cool Logic]

31. I don't understand...

Initially, it says "high school southeast of Little Rock would not let a black student be valedictorian." Then, in the next sentence, it says "the school's refusal to let her be sole valedictorian."

There must be more to this story.

[Art_from_Ark]

56. Obviously, there's a lot more

First, Little Rock is in the roughly the middle of the state, while McGehee is in the SE corner, 150 miles or so away.
Second, the official name of the school is "McGehee High School".
Third, the student's name in relation to the school doesn't come up on a Google search except for carbon copies of the same story.

[No Elephants]

110. Please see Reply 109. And, of course, there's more to the story. We don't even have all of one

side, let alone both sides.

The author of the news article, who is not exactly a writer for a major newspaper, gave bits and pieces from the complaint. So, that's all we have so far.

[Xithras]

32. Did a little digging. It's not just because she's black.

Apparently she's also a teen mother, and the school didn't like the way that would "appear".

You'd think that the fact that a minority teen mother could STILL pull off valedictorian status would be applauded. She was also active in science competititons in high school, and medaled in state-level chemistry competitions. She should have been lauded for her achievements. Instead, it looks like they were ashamed of her.

How fucking petty and stupid can these people be?

[oldhippydude]

39. oh yeah

crap if it was Bristol Palin... it might have worked

[Xithras]

45. Conservative double standards are great, aren't they.

Pretty pregnant white girls get lauded for not aborting their babies and "doing the right thing".

Pretty pregnant black girls are publicly scorned and are treated like a shameful embarassment.

Post racial society? Since when?

[Lorien]

90. "pro-life" Bible belters; punishing a young woman for NOT having an abortion AND

"pulling herself up by her bootstraps" at the same time! F*cking racist hypocrites. :grr:

[No Elephants]

111. ? What digging? And how can you say what the principal's motive was?

The OP article mentions that the complaint specified the plaintiff is an African American teen mother. However, how do you know what part her being a teen mom played in the school's decision versus what part being African American played in the school's decision?


Do you know for a fact that a white teen mom would also have been denied under similar circumstances (i.e., one B in four years and "loaded up" on Honors and Advanced Placement courses)? If so, how do you know?

Did you find a comment made by the school board or by the principal or by a lawyer representing that side? And did you find it more credible than the plaintiff's sworn complaint? If so, why?

If you're going to make a statement like that and want it to be credible, you need to tell us the basis on which you made it.

If the school allows teen mothers to be students, it would be as wrong to deny a teen mother the honors she has earned because of bias against teen moms (if that's what happened), as it would be to deny her because the principal is a bigot (if that's what happened).

[Xithras]

175. Well.

Keep context in mind. This is a messageboard, and we're having a discussion. I'm not a reporter or a journalist, and quite frankly don't care whether you consider my opinions "credible" or not. They're my opinions, based on my own experiences and information I've found. Take them or leave them on that basis.

I did what anyone else here could have done. I used Google, searched different forms of her name, looked on Facebook and Myspace, etc. It turns out that you can find a lot of information about this very bright young woman online. You can also turn up Facebook and Myspace discussions from her former fellow students, discussing the controversy back when it happened. Some of the comments from other students are pretty enlightening.

They discriminated against her because of her race. They discriminated against her because she was a young mother. They discriminated against her because it had already been promised to another student and wanted to avoid "controversy". All of these appear to be true. The only thing that really matters, when it comes down to it, is that they discriminated against her without any valid reason for doing so. The school looked at the possibility that a black teen mother could be valedictorian as an embarrassment, and denied her the honors she earned because of it. For that reason, and that reason alone, she should sue their asses off.

[KamaAina]

33. I know someone from Pine Bluff

and his head must be exploding right about now.

Oh yes, he's white.

[Art_from_Ark]

50. He probably doesn't know anything about it

This isn't Pine Pluff-- it's McGehee, which is a small town way in the southeast corner of the state, just north of Lake Chicot, near the Mississippi River and about 35 miles north of the Louisiana border.

[KamaAina]

71. Well, he's in Little Rock now, anyway

ALL self-respecting Arkansawyers should be yelling a collective :wtf: !

[Art_from_Ark]

75. Most "Arkansawyers" (we prefer "Arkansans" now)

probably don't have the foggiest idea that this lawsuit has been filed against a small school district in a very rural part of the state.

[KamaAina]

79. Darn. In my day (1970s), "Arkansans" was frowned on.

Shows what I know. Anyway, they do have Internet there, so they can see it just like we can. :(

[Art_from_Ark]

81. "Arkansawyer" sounds a little too, um, rustic

The state has been trying to ditch the hillbilly image for decades, and "Arkansan" seems to have a better ring to it. This is just my speculation, but I think the switch may have had something to do with the "Talk Arkansas Up" campaign of the '60s. Growing up in the NW part of the state in the '60s and '70s, I don't remember any young person calling him/herself an "Arkansawyer", and as far as I know, all my teachers said "Arkansan".

[No Elephants]

113. Didn't make the papers or the radio? There are some relatively remote parts of Massachusetts, but

we in Boston tend to hear if a racist or anti-Semitic incident has allegedly occurred in some school, temple, cemetery, etc.

[Art_from_Ark]

120. I'm not in Arkansas right now

I can't say anything about the radio. But the web page of the state's largest newspaper doesn't seem to have anything about it.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/latest/

And the web page of the largest NW Arkansas TV station doesn't have anything about it.

http://www.4029tv.com/news/index.html

[No Elephants]

126. I was not doubting you, just saying my own experience has been different.

Not saying Massachusetts is perfect. Far from it. But alleged incidents of that kind do make the news. I can recall, for example, stories about a swastika being painted on a student's locker--and there was no allegation of official involvement in that. Ditto when Jewish cemeteries or temples have been defaced.

If nothing else, I would expect some RWer radio rants saying it was a trumped up lawsuit. But, I would not expect it to go wholly unremarked in the media simply because it occured in some small town on Cape Cod or in Western Massachusetts, rather than in my own school district.

[alp227]

34. but according to conservatives, we have a post-racial society

so the NAACP is unnecessary, and anyone who dares point our racism in society is a dumb liberal! :sarcasm:

But seriously we should all stand up for Kymberly. The anti-intellectual attitude by her school and even American society in general is sickening. The high school's website is www.edline.net/pages/McGehee_High_School...why don't you call 'em up and give 'em an earful?

[Kennah]

43. Minor spelling correction. It's librul.

[beyurslf]

35. Anyone wanna bet the school says it is because she has a child and they didn't want that to

encourage teen pregnancy?

[perdita9]

36. What year are we living in?

Because this story is just shocking.

[Kennah]

38. Wife and I lived in The South for 18 months

The monster usually hides beneath the surface much like the monster of Loch Ness.

Every now and again it would pop up one of it's head.

The monster's name is apartheid.

Being white, and a Yankee outsider, I was roughly in the Colored group. Of course, had someone know about my wife's Native American heritage, perhaps we would have been re-categorized into a lower subgrouping within the Colored group.

[Faygo Kid]

53. Yes, we are naive to believe that institutionalized racism is over.

See Tea Party. Or visit Free Republic.

[LisaL]

60. Where is racism?

It's not like she couldn't be a valedictorian. She is upset another student was also a valedictorian.

[LTX]

159. So you and your wife lived in the (apparently generic) "south"

for 18 months, and you claim to have personally witnessed "apartheid." Just as a refresher, apartheid is commonly synonymous with racial segregation.

And the ten most racially segregated cities in the U.S.? Why, they're:

10. Los Angeles
9. Philadelphia
8. Cincinnati
7. St. Louis
6. Buffalo, N.Y.
5. Cleveland
4. Detroit
3. Chicago
2. New York
1. Milwaukee

http://kathmanduk2.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/u-s-2010-census-the-10-most-segregated-cities-in-america/

I suppose though, that your explanation for this is that northerners are so much more enlightened that they even give their African-Americans and Latinos their own neighborhoods!

(And just as a reminder about the lead article in this thread, the school at issue is reported to be 46% African-American, with an African-American superintendent. Apartheid at work, I suppose.)

[Kennah]

163. I'm not saying it's nirvana in the North ...

... but there is what I've heard Mike Papantonio describe as aristocracy in the South.

Friend of mine who grew up in the South, and who is African American, was the victim of racial discrimination while the two of us were working on contract at a federal government agency in D.C. He went job hunting and left, but neither of us did anything since we didn't think there was much we could do that would result in anything other than us being tossed off the job.

It was pretty stunning to me at the time, but a couple of years later when the two of us were working together in the South, it happened again and was a lot more pronounced. This time, he brought it to HR, and essentially got a "well, boys will be boys" response and the offender got the equivalent of a wagged finger. My friend and I speculated that behind closed doors the conversation was "next time just don't get caught".

But it was a whole lot more than that. I saw the racial divisions at work, in parks, at the grocery store, in restaurants, real estate, etc.

[Taverner]

180. +100000

I will never forget my shock when I went to a bank to sell software. I brought the Program Manager along, because this was extremely complex software. When it came time to install, the PM, who was Filipino, was told "No - you have to be white to use the computers here." I started to balk, but the PM stopped me. We left shortly after. This was one of the FEW times Management backed us up. We dropped the entire bank as a customer (they were small, so it didn't matter) and management made several apologies for sending him into (although they didn't know it at the time) a hostile environment.

This was the South, BTW (thinking it was TN, but not 100% sure)

[LisaL]

57. That is a very misleading title.

She was a valedictorian. What she is upset about is that someone else was a valedictorian with her.

[Ruby the Liberal]

62. Exacumundo

On top of a whole host of other questions about this 'account' of events.

[Iggo]

152. Are you saying it's not an account?

[Islandlife]

85. True. My sons HS had three valedictorians....

allowing him to be the sole salutatorian. In his speech he thanked the valedictorians for keeping their grades up.

[No Elephants]

114. Why did your son's school have 3? Was it a 3 way tie in their GPA?

If so, that would be very different from the facts alleged in the complaint.

[Islandlife]

173. No, some classes were weighted differently.

At the time I accepted the weighting system even though I didn't fully understand it. Still Don't.

Now I'm wondering if it was arbitrary.

[joshcryer]

118. The lawsuit is alleging more than that.

[Historic NY]

59. Now its a "big mess", because they were ignorant .

[man4allcats]

65. Sue these bastards or whatever it takes! Maybe the ACLU would be interested.

I have relatives in Arkansas. The stuff that goes on there just amazes me. I live in Texas (not a native and not partial to the place, but that's where I am), and even from the standpoint of a Texas resident, Arkansas strikes me as bizarre. IMHO, Arkansas and Texas should both be kicked out of the Union along with the Bushes and all the neocon enabling DINOs we've all come to hate. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[No Elephants]

116. Did you read past the headline?

[man4allcats]

156. Of course.

It would be irresponsible not to click the link and read all the information found there. I always do that.

[mckara]

66. I Thought the "New South" was Beyond this Petty Racism?

The red neck assholes are still calling the shots

[No Elephants]

119. All different colors of necks in all different parts of the country seem to have beefs against

various colors, ethnicities and religious minorities. And women catch it from all directions, even though women are in the majority by a small margin. For instance, Asians and African Americans in Manhattan had a thing going against each other when I knew more about events in Manhattan. Not sure if they still do. And heaven knows, many parts of the country assume no person of Hispanic ancestry could possibly be anything other than an undocumented immigrant (and vice versa).

Granted, the South had Jim Crow laws and seem to have some pride in it, but politically correct bias is still bias.

That said, someone told me a story of driving from New Jersey Fort Bragg in N.C. during the thick of the Vietnam War, to visit a loved one who was then in basic training. As she entered North Carolina in the wee, wee hourse of the morning, she was greeted by a huge billboard proclaiming, "Welcome to North Carolina. You are in the heart of Klan country."

For all the bigots there are in NJ and NY, the only two states she'd ever been in before--and, as already stated, there are bigots in every state-- she had never seen anything like that before.

[Initech]

68. Is this... what... what year is this?

[mrmpa]

69. Asshole administration and school board...don't people

get it. This is 2011, not 1911

[kpete]

70. UPDATE (the case docket)

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/arkansas/aredce/5:2011cv00186/86898/

[Art_from_Ark]

72. A little more information about the case

http://legalclips.nsba.org/?p=7784

[No Elephants]

121. The sole source for that story seems to be the OP article.

[gvstn]

77. Here is a pdf of the complaint.

The lawsuit is genuine. I guess it comes down to how the valedictorian is customarily chosen. If GPA is the sole criteria then it makes no sense that suddenly they decide to have a co-valedictorian. (This is what the lawsuit alleges. She was told by the Media person that her daughter had the highest GPA and was valedictorian and then that was later changed once the Principal read something in the handbook.)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/07/25/Valedict.pdf pages 4 and 5 describe the change in valedictorian status.

PDF link found via MSNBC http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43887197/ns/us_news-life/

[joshcryer]

112. Thanks for the above links kpete, Art_from_Ark, and gvstn. This really tells the story. Huge case!

This is huge, that school just exemplifies the racism that our country still has. And I bet NCLB plays into it on top of all that (why would they discourage black students from seeking honors classes?).

[slackmaster]

157. Thanks. Looks powerful, but I'm sure the response will be interesting too.

:hi:

[Stuckinthebush]

73. Accidentally unreced this...sorry!

I'll Rec it and admit that my fingers are too big for my phone keyboard!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

76. The person with the 2nd highest GPA is the salutatorian.

There is no such thing as "co-valedictorian".

:wtf:

Arkansas, giving us Texans a run for the money when it comes to the stupid and ignorant.

[boppers]

89. Last graduation I went to (earlier this year) had 23 of 'em.

A full 23 valedictorians.

Apparently, it looks good on college applications, and it's not like it costs the school anything to have multiple valedictorians....

Oh, and the speech was given by a popular Social Studies teacher. It was based on a Rebecca Black "Friday" theme.

[Islandlife]

91. Was there only one Salutatorian?

just curious

[boppers]

92. I didn't count them.

There were a similar number of salutatorians, and also a number of other "awarded students" (Honor Roll, Dean's list, etc.) Think about a children's beauty pageant where everybody gets a trophy, as about half the graduating class was on on some kind of "special" list or another.

[CreekDog]

128. then why not make #2 a salutatorian?

that's what my school did.

#1 was valedictorian

#2 was salutatorian

not once did they make anybody with the different grades share the spots.

if this school made someone share an award and that wasn't the ongoing policy before, then they got a civil rights problem, because now it appears to be based on race.

[Blue_Tires]

153. that's what we did at my school...

[joshcryer]

115. To be sure, if the case is proven, it will show a systematic racism on behalf of the school.

The filing is pretty damning and it appears that they can prove it.

This school only has had one valedictorians but I bet you that the rules for naming a valedictorian allow there to be two or more, and that will be their attempted defense. But the case goes further than that and alleges serious racism against blacks in that school.

[No Elephants]

Dupe

[No Elephants]

122. If that were the practice in the school district in question, the lawyer who took this case

is not likely to be in business very long, assuming he or she is not independently wealthy. Please see Reply 109.

As far as making 23 valedictorians not costing anything, I would not be too quick to jump to that conclusion. My guess is that it costs the reputations of that school and its honor winners something, esp. the one with the highest grade point average.

You may be able fool some of the college admissions officers some of time, and all of the college admissions officer some of the time, but you can't fool all of the college admissions officers all of the time. The school nd its scholastic awards have probably become a joke in some quarters and discounted heavily, even when they shouldn't be.

[RobinA]

166. Here in the Northeast

we seem to have quite a few of these valedictorian skirmishes. I've seen the teen mother fiasco, the disabled student with accomodations brohaha, and don't forget the AP class versus some sport to-do. Some years it seems like they should just do away with the whole thing, the world's become too contentious. I can't quite believe the colleges care all that much, aren't most potential valedictorians accepted into college long before the ultimate choice is made?

[AlbertCat]

80. might cause a 'big mess.'"

And so it has....

but it ain't HER fault.

[millych3]

129. Those acting like cowards fearing a big mess usually end up in a bigger mess

[Odin2005]

83. Racism AND bigotry against teem moms? Disgusting!

:grr:

[RedCloud]

136. The Mom part of it makes it a second profile in courage!

[trud]

139. No, the Mom part

makes it a profile in stupidity and irresponsibility.

[LanternWaste]

151. Or 'choice'.

"makes it a profile in stupidity and irresponsibility..."

Or 'choice'. I imagine though it's six of one and half a dozen of the other to many people.

[trud]

168. choice

to have unprotected sex as an unmarried teenager = stupid, not courageous.

[AllyCat]

84. Dear God, little has changed. My hat is off to Ms. Wimberly. May she find justice in this matter

She deserves justice at a minimum.

[sudopod]

86. It'll be great when she pays for her Harvard education with the lawsuit settlement.

Justice.

[lonestarnot]

97. I would love to see that but question the reality in our stupid fucking courts these days.

[sudopod]

99. eh, it is getting more hit and miss, isn't it? nt

[joshcryer]

117. This young woman will get a scholarship.

Any money she gets from this she can spend on whatever she wants! :D

[No Elephants]

123. If Harvard had half her brain, it would offer her a full scholarship and help with child care.

Don't know about racism, but I've heard plenty of women in Harvard med school and Harvard research programs complain about gender discrimination.

Ant then, there was that Larry Summers remark about women.

This would be positive pr for Harvard on that account.

[GOPBasher]

95. WTF? I was under the impression that we left that century. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

125. You didn't leave it behind

You hid it.

[Maraya1969]

98. And people still think the republicans refuse to work with the president because of politics.

If he was a black man it would be different. Jimmy Carter said it best when he said that many people believe that a black man is not qualified to be president of the US.

[Hosnon]

103. A lawsuit is one side. This would be quite appalling if true.

But most lawsuits are.

[No Elephants]

124. Some posters on the thread assume racism; some seem very motivated to say it is not racism.

Me, I'll wait for more facts.

[slackmaster]

192. The main question that comes to my mind is whether or not the school violated its own policy

Hopefully it's in writing, and unambiguous enough to answer that question.

(Of course if the written policy is racist, or vague, or they have no policy, then the school is toast in court.)

[BlueMTexpat]

132. This may be exactly what it looks like, but

we certainly do not have all the facts. The sad thing is that racism and bigotry are still alive and well in the US, being nurtured and given credibility and license by RW talk radio hosts day in and day out and there are so many instances of racism in fact that many of us have seen firsthand that we are all too ready to believe the worst from the get-go.

Whether this situation is one of those instances is still up for grabs, IMO.

One salient fact is that the selection of "valedictorian" in any class anywhere can be - and often is - a subject of controversy. Some schools have in fact selected co-valedictorians, according to Wiki, and I have heard of this occurring myself, although it is rare. Wiki even provides a specific example of a co-valedictorian in its write-up. GPA, in and of itself, may not always be the sole deciding factor.

" ... How an individual school confers the title is typically based upon the highest grade point average. Generally, the graduate deemed to be the highest academically ranked student in the class, as determined by the academic criteria of the school, is given the title of class valedictorian. They must be the best representative of the graduating class. Some institutions confer the title on the class member chosen to deliver the final graduation address, regardless of the speaker's academic credentials. Historically and traditionally, however, schools confer the title upon the top ranking graduate of the class, who thereby earns the honor of delivering the valedictory address.

Some institutions award the title based upon various criteria such as overall academic record of grades and credits, a student's grade point average, the level of rigor within a student's academic program of studies, a vote by school administrators, the level of participation in and dedication to extracurricular activities, and one's public-speaking skills and abilities. In other schools, the position may be elected by the school body or appointed directly by the school administration based on various systems of merit. Some schools may feature "co-valedictorians" in lieu of conferring the title on a single individual from among the graduating class. This may occur in the case of a numerical tie in grade point averages, as part of a Latin honors system, or to promote a form of affirmative action such as gender or racial balance. ... "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valedictorian#Selection

**********
That said, the riffs on names in this thread are DUZY-worthy. I haven't laughed so hard since the last DUZY selection even though the thread topic is hardly amusing. Please Mods, bring the DUZYs back! They are badly needed.

[Pooka Fey]

135. Is it really so hard to let merit speak for itself?

[trud]

138. Not enough info

Did she get passed over because she's Black, or because she's a Baby Momma?

[MarianJack]

140. My Son has been the target of Racism on a few occasions.

He was young enough and innocent enough that he didn't know what was happening. My son is exactly what the baggers hate about President Obama. He is articulate and handsome (imagine an 11 year old Denzel Washington) and certainly smarter than the bigots.

My wife (who, as a Hispanic woman has also experienced this) and I knew what was going on and we felt as though we were being punched in the stomach.

Racism is ugly and disgusting ALL THE TIME! The sad thing is that having an African American president has only given racists an imagined license to make their ugliness public once more. Sick bastards.

I hope that this young lady and her family publicly nail the school board's & administrator's collective ass to the wall.

PEACE!

[sinkingfeeling]

145. Yes, Pine Bluff is in Congressional District 4, where some on DU intend to elect

a highly progressive candidate to replace Mike Ross.

[skypilot]

147. Here's a nasty little twist to the story.

The school superintendent, who would not let the girl's mother speak to the school board and who would not let her appeal his decision until after graduation, is black.

[Fire1]

155. No different from dumb ass tea baggers who think they're in

the club. Uncle Remus is as alive and well as racism itself. They depend on Uncle Remus to keep the other darkies in line and in return Remus becomes the white man's "pet."

[NoodleyAppendage]

189. Uncle... n/t

J

[Clear Blue Sky]

158. WTF? Gotta be more to this story...

[Smilo]

165. I was going to say WTF,

but then I look around and listen to the ignorant, clueless, moronic, hate filled, bigots and sadly, this is not such a surprise. As others have pointed out this is 2011, but for some it will always be the 19th Century.

[McCamy Taylor]

167. Face it. Intelligence is not admired in this country, even in our valedictorians.

At my high school, they selected a fairly bright (but not genius level) kid out of all the ones perfect gpas, because he was the most "clean cut." The smartest ones were also the most likely to question teachers, and they got snubbed.

[jwirr]

170. Just goes to show what a poor excuse they are for a school. The

greatest learning tool they had was this young woman and they hid her from view. Sorry and I hope they have to pay.

[begin_within]

174. Might cause a "big mess?" Don't they have a much bigger mess on their hands now?

[thelordofhell]

185. Single Mother Can't Be Valedictorian

Other black students have been valedictorian at that school before, and the principal is black. It still is a prejudice, just not the one people are automatically assuming.

[slackmaster]

191. I'd like to see the school's written policy on how valedictorians are designated

If school administrators violated their own policy, they are probably toast in civil court. If not, the school might prevail.

[Blasphemer]

193. A big mess? Oh Really?

It's going to get a lot "messier" for these racists. How completely disgusting.

[patrice]

196. Plausibe Deniability = They're going to claim that because she's daughter of staff, that looks suspi

cious for her to be valedictorian and then they'll get some buddies of their to back them up "for the sake of the school".

Sound familiar?

[RowdyRacer]

203. In The Late 80's...

There was a tennis match between Forest City (Arkansas) High School and another local high school. Forest City High played their home matches at the local country club. The visiting school had a black girl on their tennis team. When informed of the country club policy of NO BLACKS ALLOWED, what do you think the tennis coaches decided to do? If you think they did the right thing and moved the match somewhere else, you would be WRONG. They made the black girl play her match at the municipal court in town.

[patrice]

219. :- ((((((((((((((((( !

:cry:

[gvstn]

208. Update from CNN

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/26/valedictorian-sues-school-was-she-snubbed-because-of-race/

In regards to recognition of a valedictorian, the McGehee handbook says that "students must be continuously enrolled at McGehee High School the last two semesters without transferring during this time to be considered in class ranking or eligible for valedictorian or salutatorian status."

The handbook says students will be given the same class rank only if their grades are the same, but in deciding class rank, students with lower GPAs who are taking more or harder classes will not be penalized. Gathen said the Wimberly's co-valedictorian had half a credit more than Wimberly and the difference in the students' GPAs was .03 or .05. Gathen said the outcome would have been the same were the situations reversed.

"I would have made the same decision," he said. "I was the one who made the ultimate decision."

Wimberly said she knew of students sharing the valedictorian position in the past, but only if their GPAs were the same, “down to the very last decimal point.”

I, personally, highly doubt that Mr. Gathen would have made the same decision had a white girl who was not a teen mother had Wimberly's GPA. Whether it was racism or motherhood that caused him to go to the handbook I cannot say but I am fairly sure it was one or the other.

[FBaggins]

211. That does add some to the story.

Say you have two students with straight A's and each took three AP classes and further assume that the AP class grants and extra 1.0 to your GPA for that credit.

Six courses (just guessing) times four years (plus the three AP additions) is 24 credit hours and 99 points. For a final GPA of 4.125
The second student also has straigh A's and three AP courses... but took one extra half credit course. That's 101 points divded by 24.5 credits or 4.122

The first student does have the higher GPA, but only because (s)he took fewer courses. That means that the second student is "penalized" for "taking more...courses". That very well could cause a "big mess".

[gvstn]

221. I obviously didn't take AP math

But when I see your calculations I can see where there may have been a legitimate question brought up by the other student as to who deserved the honor. I appreciate the example you provided. :)

[MellowDem]

217. What a misleading article...

now that more information is available. Nice "crying wolf" though. Guess they got their 15 minutes of fame. We won't remember this. But conservatives that think most cries of racism are false surely will. Good for race relations.

:silly:

And many on DU once again shows its proclivity for "jumping to conclusions" before all the information is in.

And now, any (perhaps true) accusations by the student of blacks being discouraged from taking AP courses will likely be ignored.

[Islandlife]

229. True...

Seems many threads end after a clear understanding of the issue is discovered. That happens after the initial "knee jerk" reactions are posted and discussed.

[NOLALady]

222. More information

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/politics-raising-children/2011/jul/26/black-arkansas-student-validictorian-white/

[gvstn]

223. Thanks for this update

I really think this story is important just because there was so little in the local press.

I am awaiting the school district's reply but a reply is rarely detailed. It will just be boiler-plate--"accepted"; "denied" type of thing.

I truly think there is a story here. Probably more to do with an unwed mother than racism. But you can't sue for prejudice against unwed mothers (as far as I know) so the attorneys are focusing on racism. Probably a combination of the two made it a "mess".

I say there was some wrong done. If you can't get them on denying an unwed African-American mother her due then I say go ahead and get them on only denying an Afro-American her due. You have to fight to win and I hope her attorneys have chosen the best path to get the truth told.

If the truth is that co-valedictorians was appropriate then so be it. But I wonder why the district didn't make great efforts to prove that before the case was filed. They surely had the chance as most attorneys contact the other party to reach a deal before filing suit.

[alp227]

224. Some famous Arkansans who can stick up for Kym include former prez Clinton

also basketball stars Derek Fisher and Scottie Pippen
or former US Senator Blanche Lincoln

[bitchkitty]

225. I hope she wins.

She sounds like an exceptional young lady. Balancing school and motherhood, and attaining the highest GPA in school - those people are fools.

[Marrah_G]

227. I hope she gets enough through a law suit that it pays for her eduacation....

All the way through a doctorate.

[Morizovich]

228. This is disgusting!

And I swear to you does not reflect the majority of my state!