BY: Walker
Published 3 years ago
It’s not unusual for people to make their opinions known at community gatherings, but a recent Texas school board meeting took an unusual, and probably controversial turn when it unfolded yesterday.
via: Complex
The incident occurred during the “citizens comments” portion of the Leander Independent School District board meeting. The woman, who was identified as “speaker seven, Sheryl,” took the mic and spoke about N.W.A.’s 1988 record “Fuck tha Police,” which she claims is included in the English III curriculum.
The woman began by calling out the school board members’ perceived hypocrisy, accusing them of wanting to defend the police while also requesting officers’ presence at the meeting.
“Officers—I hope they’re in here listening—and by the way, we appreciate you. The same hypocrites sitting in front of us that hate you, still call you when they feel threatened. You cannot make this stuff up. And, of course, we are seeing the hypocrisy of the left all around the country.”
She went on to claim that the lyrics of “Fuck tha Police” were placed in the student learning resource portal and have remained there despite multiple complaints from community members.
“We have the f-word 59, we have the n-word eight to nine times,” the woman said before reciting the following lyrics from Ice Cube’s verse.
I don’t know if they f*gs or what
Search a n***a down and grabbing his nuts
And on the other hand, without a gun, they can’t get none
But don’t let it be a black and a white one
’Cause they’ll slam ya down to the street top
Black police showing out for the white cop
Ice Cube will swarm on any motherfucker in a blue uniform
Just ’cause I’m from the CPT, punk police are afraid of me
A young n***a on the warpath
And when I’m finished, it’s gonna be a bloodbath
“This is in your curriculum,” she said after the uncomfortable moment. “How do you defend that? Are you proud? Your curriculum. This is what you’re teaching our kids. It’s sick.”
As pointed out by the Daily Dot, the issue goes all the way back to the spring semester when parents accused the district of including “Fuck tha Police” in the list of approved resources for teachers. An April 13 post on the TEACH Parental Rights Coalition Facebook page states one of the suggested resources is a Vox article about “History of American Protest Music.”
The post went on to encourage parents to participate in the #LISDsickday protest on April 28, when they would keep their children from attending class.
“On the song list is NWA’s ‘F*ck Tha Police,’” the post read. “This is *not* appropriate for the classroom. What are the curriculum developers thinking? There are dozens more examples just like this. Many teachers are asking for parents to speak up, as they don’t feel safe doing so. They don’t want to teach this to your kids and they need your help.”
Watch video of the moment for yourself just below.