by Cherranda Smith
A private school in metro Detroit is facing backlash after it assigned a worksheet that compared former President Barack Obama to monkeys.
Earlier this month, a high school biology class at The Roeper School in Birmingham was asked to identify “endangered” primate species. The former president’s photo was among the photos of primates listed on the assignment, which was entitled “An Introduction to Primates.”
Roeper is the nation’s oldest K-12 school for gifted children, according to FOX 2 News in Detroit. The outlet obtained a photo of the assignment from someone in the school’s community who was flabbergasted by the racist assignment. According to the local news station, the worksheet came from a teacher.
“We are aware of the lesson taught and continue to review the incident,” a spokesperson for the school said in a statement Tuesday (May 17). “We are not providing additional information out of respect for the privacy of our community members.”
FOX 2 News also obtained a letter sent to parents that attempted to explain the worksheet. The school claimed the assignment was taken from “a highly regarded university” website before being assigned to the high schoolers.
“On behalf of Roeper’s School Leadership, I would like to acknowledge the disturbing racial offense contained in this worksheet and sincerely regret its use and the harm it has caused,” the letter reads in part. According to the letter, the teacher took responsibility for the assignment and admitted to not properly vetting its source –– which remains unnamed.
Students impacted by the worksheet are being offered counseling services and the school has vowed additional racial bias training for the classroom.
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