A thirst for equality: Dying Navy veteran’s story resonates as Black History Month lesson
A thirst for equality: Dying Navy veteran’s story resonates as Black History Month lesson
One summer afternoon in the late 1950s, eight-year-old Phillip Willis Jr. took a break from
Phillip Willis, Jr
mowing lawns at a home in Jackson, Mississippi. Having worked up a thirst, Willis asked his employer, a white woman, for a glass of water.
That simple and reasonable request required minimal physical effort on the woman’s part. Mainly, it required mere humanity and compassion for a young black kid toiling in the stifling heat and humidity. She begrudgingly gave him the water, Willis said, along with a not-so-subtle reminder that he was a black in America’s Deep South during the Jim Crow era.
Need for diverse curriculum, staff among Poway Unified parents’ concerns
The Mt. Carmel and Del Norte high schools session drew 115 participants.
(Emily Sorensen)
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Use of racial slurs, adoption of more diverse curriculum plus the need to hire more teachers and staff of color are among the top concerns from parents in the Poway Unified School District, according to staff.
The district held the first meeting of the second round of its Racial Equity Community Conversations series Tuesday night via Zoom. The meeting, which drew 115 participants, was aimed at parents of students attending feeder pattern schools for Mt. Carmel and Del Norte high schools. It was also attended by several students, principals and district administrative staff, plus board members Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and Darshana Patel. A previous meeting for Del Norte High School on Jan. 6 was canceled and merged with Tuesday night’s Mt. Carmel High School meeting.