Looting and burning is a pathway to social justice. That’s the message from a video recently added by Chicago Public Schools to its website as a response to perceived economic injustice for blacks. The district calls the video an “equity tool,” but the reality is it promotes hopelessness. Titled “How Can We Win?,” the video’s message is clear: there is no way. Better to riot, loot, and burn. It sounds unbelievable, but in Chicago’s schools, it’s not.
Some CPS students have difficult lives. Too many face the possibility of violent crime and gang harassment, and loss of friends and family.
Schools, and CPS in particular, are meant to be places of hope and growth, where learning can be a ticket to a better life. CPS leadership and teachers are meant to push kids beyond where they are, to help them read and do math and to think and to succeed. There’s no question that’s a challenging objective. But there must be optimism, high expectations, and possibility running through it all.
Instead, with this video CPS is promoting a fatalistic, nihilistic message to kids. There is no hope in its message.