North Carolina School Goes Viral For 'White' And 'Colored' Door Decorations
Teachers at West Charlotte High School in North Carolina celebrated Black History Month by using real life examples of racism, decorating school doors with jarring displays of segregated entrances.
The picture of two classroom doors, one labeled "colored entrance" with dark brown paper and the other labeled "white entrance" with white paper, went viral on social media.
Above the doors was an additional sign that read: "Sears Department Store — 1930."
Although the image had already swept social media, once the school's leadership was notified about the decorations they were taken down in a couple hours.
There were mixed responses on the matter, with some taking the angle that the jarring display of segregation could spark engaging discussions. Daughter of one of the teachers in question, Laquinta Caldwell, spoke with WCNC Charlotte defending her mother's vivid decoration tactics.
"The purpose of the door was to show that Sears, which is a department store, was one of the first stores that allowed Blacks to shop with white people," Caldwell explained. "Her only thing was making sure that the kids knew, or could see, a visual of how things were back in the day."
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In a statement, the Charlotte Meclenburg Schools (CMS) called the decorations "inappropriate" and insisted that teachers be retrained.
"The school district is required to provide social studies and history lessons to all our students in an age-appropriate manner. Teachers at West Charlotte High School decorated doors that displayed inappropriate content. The activity is not aligned to State Standards or with CMS curriculum and approved lesson plans," they began. "Moving forward, the district's teachers will be retrained in the specific social studies curriculum practices that can be utilized in lesson plans to teach students."
Despite the controversy, Caldwell believes her mother's mission was accomplished, whether reactions were negative or positive.
