We have crossed the Rubicon,
if not the racial River Hades itself.

Madison WI public schools are enforcing racial segregation. Bad enough, but MMSD is also pre-judging (the root word of prejudge) the police officer who saved the lives of two black teenage girls from being stabbed to death. (The would-be victims called the police, who saved their lives! More here.) Yeah, the Madison Metropolitan School District called that officer a murderer!

Two separate — but are they equal???? — links to the Zoom! One for “Parents of Color.” Another for White Parents! Had Blaska received this e-mail, he would have linked to POC. Because that is the kind of unWoke, equal opportunity, no B.S., “content of our characters” bastard that he is.

Here’s the transcription of the e-mail sent to Madison West high school families. (Endeavoring to learn if this was district wide.) There ought to be a U.S. Department of Justice equal rights lawsuit somewhere in this mess:

Hello West families:

Looking back on all the police brutality and violence that is going on in our country and or [sic] communities and even after the verdict on Derek Chauvin and the murder of another young Black female, it is very necessary to have space for our families to discuss and process. The most important thing we can do for our students and their families is to continue to build strong, trusting relationships as we engage them through personal and face-to-face learning. Only after we establish these strong connections can we expect students to and families to openly share and dialogue around these complex issues. We want to work together to help our families feel safe, discuss challenging issues productively, and think about how they can make positive changes in our community. Please join us tomorrow (Thursday April 22nd) at 4:30 p.m. to have these difficult but necessary conversations. Please see the Zoom links below:

Zoom link for Parents of Color (updated Zoom link)

Zoom link for White Parents

UPDATED: District response

Spokesperson for Madison Metro School District T.J. LeMonds responds to The Werkes inquiry:

MMSD district office has been made aware of this and is in contact with West staff to address the message and develop further response.

The message you are referring to is, unfortunately, a poorly worded message sent by West staff to West families who identify as families of color, multiracial or blended, to promote the school’s effort to provide them a virtual discussion space and support, utilizing the Affinity Group model. Although their intent was to provide families an opportunity to process their emotions and feelings related to current events, the language used to organize the discussion was less than sensitive.

The Affinity Group model is a well established method to provide opportunity for people who share a common identity to connect with other people who share aspects of their identity, especially in a situation where they feel their identity is marginalized.

Blaska’s Bottom Line: Madison schools cannot teach conflict resolution? How about not stabbing thy youthful neighbor with a kitchen knife? Not resisting arrest? Not doing drugs? Respect for the law? The Constitution and the presumption of innocence? Not prejudicing entire classes of people? Not playing victim? We would settle for just teaching English and math and, of course restorative driver’s ed.

What do YOU suggest for “positive changes in our community”?