Michelle Obama’s brother, his wife sued the University of Milwaukee
Michelle Obama’s brother and his wife, Craig and Kelly Robinson, filed a lawsuit alleging racial prejudice at the University of Milwaukeeprivate school their children attend.
News about Good Morning America Third, the Robinsons said their two sons were kicked out of school last year after parents raised concerns about curriculum bias and the mistreatment of students of color.
Kelly Robinson said of her sons in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network: “It’s heartbreaking to watch them manage this.
USM Superintendent Steve Hancock defended the school in a letter to families Tuesday, though a school spokesman did not respond to questions from the Journal Sentinel. In the letter, Hancock said the student’s rejection was not because parents raised concerns, but because parents violated school policy in the way they communicated.
The Robinsons said they are seeking financial compensation from the school, which charges about $30,000 a year in tuition. Robinsons commit award any monetary awards to initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion in schools.
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The family moved to the Milwaukee area in 2016 when Craig hired to work for the Milwaukee Bucks. They said they chose to enroll their children in middle school and first grade kindergarten at USM because the school is ranked as the best in the area and appreciates diversity.
The Robinsons said they began to notice curriculum problems during the pandemic, when they were helping their children with virtual learning.
“That allowed us to look at the classroom and what we saw was the repetitive use of racial and ethnic stereotypes in the lessons,” Craig Robinson said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. practice at school,” Craig Robinson said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.
In November 2020, they said they had brought their concerns to the USM staff, noting the spreadsheets and projects are offensive to people of color, people with disabilities, Indigenous people, and students. other underrepresented members.
At first, the Robinsons said school administrators were interested in working with them to improve the curriculum. They had a series of calls discussing ideas, and Kelly said at one point Hancock told her she should be on payroll for all the work she took on.
In January and March 2021, Kelly said, she filed two bias reports through the school’s reporting system regarding classwork that contained “socioeconomic insensitivity.” At the time, Kelly said that Hancock disagreed and the move changed.
The Robinsons declined to share specific issues with the documents, saying the main issue was how the school responded to their concerns and kept their children from participating.
In an April email to Kelly, which is included in the lawsuit, Hancock told her she had failed to live up to the school’s expectations for parents, engaging in “disrespectful and promiscuous” media activities. sloppy”. In the same email, Hancock asked her to find another school for one of her sons.
In June, Hancock said the school would not allow either of the Robinsons to return for the 2021-22 school year, according to another email sent with the lawsuit. He again blamed Kelly’s media for the school’s decision, calling the children “students who represent USM’s graduation portrait.”
As other families learned of what had happened, the Robinsons said they had heard numerous stories of other troubling experiences, including the lack of consequences for racial and ethnic writings. other discrimination against students of color. Some of those stories were shared on the Instagram account,”Black in US. “
Another parent, Cynthia McPhedran, said she was just as persistent as the Robinsons about the family issues they have in the classroom, as well as problems with students taking virtual lessons while others are online. next.
When McPhedran heard that the Robinsons were raped, she decided to get her children out too.
Among the problems McPhedran noticed at school: a teacher dressed as a sumo wrestler; a teacher asked students to debate whether they wanted to be a pilgrim or a Native American; and lack of accommodation for virtual students.
McPhedran said she, along with the Robinsons and other families, raised concerns with the aim of helping and improving schools. Following actions against the Robinsons, she said the families feared problems would arise.
Robinsons is calling on USM to take a number of steps: diversify the school’s administration and faculty; conduct race-sensitive training for staff and students; and expand dedicated efforts to support students of underrepresented groups. Of them call to action was signed by dozens of former and current students and parents.
Follow Rory Linnane on Twitter: @RoryLinnane.