Chapter Two: Mis- Education Pt 1
Carmen
"Okay class settle down, because I have an important question for you all." My history teacher, Mrs. Clarkson says as she erases the chalk board and stands on her tippy toes to write something on the board.
"Look at the back porch on her." Gerald, a classmate whispers to another guy name Iris. They then begin to hold a conversation on her looks.
Mrs. Clarkson is beautiful, she has a thin figure with lumpish curves, that never seem to escape the loose fitted button up shirts and pencil skirts she wore. Her skin texture is a dark chestnut brown, a couple shades darker than mine. She always embraces us with a bubbly smile and bright white teeth.
She turns around and clap her two erasers together, ending the class silent conversations. "Okay class. I'm serious now, time to settle down. Do any of you know who George Stinney was?"
The whole class gets quiet as they look at Mrs. Clarkson waiting for her to give us the answer.
"Wow...none of y'all heard of I him?"
"No." Some of the students reply in unison.
She moves up closer to the center of the room, facing all of us as she holds her hands together. "Well...George Stinney was a 14-year-old colored male from South Carolina. He was wrongly convicted of the murder of two young white girls."
"He didn't do it did he though?" Vinny, a boy who sits a few desks down from me ask.
She shakes her head in a dispirited mood, I could tell this lesson was going to be a mournful one. She inhales deeply and raise her head from the ground. "No, he did not do it. It was never proven that he was innocent but of course we all know better than that. The court was racially biased."
A quiet girl in the back of the room named Lynn raises her hand. "What does bias mean?"
"It's when someone is prejudice against you. Kind of how it is today. down south with the coloreds and whites."
She starts to digs deeper into the definition and finish telling us the story about the young boy, George Stinney. Minutes go by until she gets to the end.
"They lied and said he confessed to the killing. His trial was less than ten minutes and he was sentenced to death and to be executed. They murder him with the electric chair." She shares with us. The whole class became silent, I could feel every one's energy lowering as they processed the whole story.
"But he was only fourteen man. There's no way." Vinny speaks with sorrow in his tone.
"I know for today's lesson I want you to write paragraph on what I told you about George Stinney." She then goes to her desk and grab a pile of papers and begin to go around and pass them out. "And I also want you to explain why the situation was unfair."
Walter, another class mate of mine abruptly pounds on the surface of his desk with his fist, catching everyone's attention. "Cause them damn white folk had no consideration and ain't give a fuck ab--"
"Hey!" Mrs. Clarkson shouts, cutting the rest of his sentence short. "Watch ya mouth boy you're in a class room not the courtyard. Now get to writing this short essay, y'hear?"
The class chatters and snickers at her comment. She finally gets to my desk and hand me my paper, I instantly begin writing.
*
Clang Clang Clang
The school bell rings, indicating that class is over. All the students spring out of their chairs quickly.
