Thread by @stephaniedrenka

#FBF 🧵: Found my old "Letter to the Editor" submission which was published (heavily edited) in the now defunct Southlake Times. Dated September 8, 2009. #flashbackfriday @Carrollisd #Southlake

@Carrollisd I wrote this piece after learning @Carrollisd would not allow teachers to show @BarackObama's address to students during class. Parents had to remove them from school if they wanted their children to watch it.

@Carrollisd @BarackObama "This decision is less about time constraints and more about the collective closed-mindedness of a community. It is about the fear of exposing children to different ideals than they have heard at home-- that they might actually form opinions according to their own free will."

@Carrollisd @BarackObama "There is no doubt in my mind that Carroll students are some of the brightest and most intelligent, a result of high-caliber, blue ribbon education. What they lack... or rather, the community as a whole lacks, is empathy and appreciation for diverse ideas and cultures."

@Carrollisd @BarackObama "I do not want to make a generalization that all Southlake residents are inherently racist, but instead acknowledge the blatant bias exhibited by the institution of Southlake Carroll in not allowing Obama's speech to be aired in the classrooms"

@Carrollisd @BarackObama I stopped speaking out after this letter was published in 2009. My mom (a school librarian in the district) received angry emails about the article asking if I was her daughter. It wasn't until she retired ten years later that I felt comfortable sharing my experiences again.

@Carrollisd @BarackObama For some, my Twitter feed might seem like a broken record - lamenting about growing up in Southlake. But it breaks my heart to think about how many other students suffered during those ten years of silence. It's why I will not stop fighting now. The reason I joined @SouthlakeARC.

@Carrollisd @BarackObama @SouthlakeARC I don't know if we'll be able to transform the tradition in Southlake @Carrollisd, to be honest. White Supremacy was rooted there since the beginning. But what we can do is let students know they are not alone, they deserve better, and we will do everything in our power to help.