Thursday, March 28, 2024

Michelle Obama’s Brother Sues Milwaukee School Over Racial Bias in Curriculum | VIDEO

Craig Robinson
Craig Robinson and his wife Kelly Robinson (Photo credit should read YURI GRIPAS/AFP via Getty Images)

*Michelle Obama’s brother Craig Robinson, and his wife Kelly, have filed a lawsuit against an elite private school in River Hills, Milwaukee, alleging racial bias in the curriculum. 

The lawsuit claims the University School of Milwaukee expelled the couple’s two sons after the Robinsons called out the racial and socioeconomic bias in the school’s curriculum and the conduct policies, per Blavity.

“As a lot of parents, we heard what was going on in the classroom because of COVID and there were repeated use of racial and ethnic stereotypes that were in actual assignments,” said Craig on “Good Morning America” this week. “The use of the word plantation and things of that nature. In addition to the racial and ethnic stereotypes, there was an insensitivity to socio-economic status and as well as a disregard for the children who weren’t physically in the classroom,” he explained to host Robin Roberts.

READ MORE: Viola Davis Mocked Over Her Michelle Obama Portrayal in Showtime Series

“The first bias that we noticed I did put a report in and was told that the reporting system was not working,” said Kelly. “The head of school told me that this was not a bias — Each other time following when any bias was reported, instead of acknowledging and working to make it better, they ended up dismissing our students.”

She added that “one of the other stories that we heard was about how the Black students seem to get more harsh punishments than their white counterparts.” 

The school allegedly has a system in place to report bias incidents but when the Robinsons attempted to reports, they were told by school officials that the system was not working.

“They retaliated, kicking two young children out of school,” Craig told WISN 12 News.

“We want to hold the University School of Milwaukee accountable not just to our two children who they retaliated against, but more importantly, there’s a whole community of people who are out there that we wouldn’t feel right if this happened moving forward,” he said on GMA, The Hill reports. 

Their sons, ages 11 and 9, were expelled last year and are now enrolled in a different school. 

In a letter to parents about the lawsuit, the head of the private school, Steve Hancock, said he could not comment on the specifics of the case, WISN 12 News reports.

“However, we can tell you that USM’s enrollment decisions had nothing to do with complaints of inequity or discrimination and we intend to vigorously defend the school against any claim to the contrary,” Hancock’s letter read. “We cannot and will not tolerate persistently disrespectful, bullying, or harassing behavior directed at our devoted and hardworking teachers and administrators. Such conduct that makes faculty feel unsafe not only violates our Common Trust pledge and Parent-School Partnership, but also interferes with USM’s operations and precludes a positive and constructive working relationship between the school and the families we proudly serve. When such parental conduct threatens the educational environment we have created, we have no choice but to take action.”

He said the school does not tolerate discrimination.

“We encourage any member of our community who believes they have experienced or witnessed discrimination to promptly report it,” Hancock wrote. “Consistent with our established and enforced policies, all such reports will be taken seriously. We actively encourage and highly value feedback from all our constituents regarding our educational programming. It is through continuously examining our practices and curriculum that we remain a strong institution.”

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