From poodle skirts to traditional African wrap skirts and head ties the students at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Theatre of Color class tell a story of their school and city s history from segregation to present-day all in a matter of 40 minutes. DA HANDS, the first production from the theater class, is a devised piece that tells the story of the school s namesake, local civil rights activist Douglas Anderson. It celebrates Black culture and progress in Jacksonville with a mix of traditional African dancing, powerful monologues and nuance. We visit current Douglas Anderson, we jump to the Fifties when it was an all-Black school and then we jump to the Twenties when our amazing school was founded by Douglas Anderson, a Black man, said Danyel Clark, a senior who plays the role of Robin.
Douglas Anderson principal is at least temporarily out, following diversity criticism
Faculty is not to contact her during that time period, but her title at the school remains principal. Author: Florida Times-Union, First Coast News Staff, Emily Bloch Published: 4:32 PM EST March 5, 2021 Updated: 5:29 PM EST March 5, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
(Note: The video above is from a previous report.)
The Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Principal is out, for now, while she receives diversity training. Faculty is not to contact her during that time period, but her title at the school remains principal. It’s unclear how long she’ll be away from campus.
The Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Principal is out, for now, while she receives diversity training. Faculty is not to contact her during that time period, but her title at the school remains principal. It’s unclear how long she’ll be away from campus.
The news follows a tumultuous week for Melanie Hammer, where she faced criticism for her and the school’s attempt to host a series of student diversity and inclusion meetings that were separated by race.
On Friday, teachers and faculty at the school were notified at an internal meeting that Hammer would receive diversity and inclusion training from the University of North Florida Center for Urban Education and Policy, at least two staff members who attended the meeting confirmed.
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After months of watching civil rights demonstrations through the country and on the streets of Jacksonville at times even participating themselves the students were surprised when in February the school district didn t seize the opportunity to use Black History Month as an education tool to drive lessons about local racial justice movements and Black history.
Instead, the school district launched its own inaugural month-long campaign for mental health and suicide awareness called You Matter Month. While that campaign had its own issues because it encouraged students to #TakeOffYourMask during a global pandemic, some students worried the language minimized Black Lives Matter campaigns and hijacked the attention from the sole month annually centered around Black lives.