Obama Backlash: Incidents in America's Schools

After the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, the nation experienced a surge of hate crimes and racist incidents. Although the bulk of these incidents occurred outside of schools, the reaction of many K-12 students, and the response of educators, has sometimes been disturbing. Here are just a few examples:

Threats against Obama
In Wasilla, Alaska, a teen describes her fellow students' comments [1] about the new president.

Anti-Obama threats on a schoolbus [2] were just part of the backlash in Snellville, Ga.

More schoolbus threats [3] in a small Idaho town

Graffiti
"White Power [4]" is part of anti-Obama graffiti in an Ohio school

Election discussions restricted
The ACLU looks into allegations that students are banned from discussing [5] Obama in some Mississippi schools

In Georgia, students report being prohibited from wearing Obama T-shirts

Reflection Questions

• Hard feelings after an election are typical. In what ways does this backlash differ from previous presidential elections? What role does race play in post-election rhetoric?
• Some commentators have concluded that Obama's election represents the emergence of a "post-racial" America? What does "post-racial" mean? How does "post-racial" theory appear in the light of this backlash?
• In at least two incidents, students made threats against Obama on a school bus. Why would the bus be a place where these threats are more likely to happen? What can schools do to address that problem?
• In her piece on backlash in Wasilla, Alaska, Waverli Rainey points out that her teachers did not step in to stop or counter threatening speech about Obama. How might things have been different if teachers had spoken up? What is the teacher's responsibility in these situations?
• What philosophy underlies the reactions of administrators in these cases? What advice would you offer these principals to make their responses more effective?