A “woke” history teacher in the South Carolina Lowcountry is advancing some inflammatory views on the topic of racial justice, saying black Americans are entitled to burn the country “to the ground” – while white Americans are not allowed to have any say in the matter.
These over-the-top perspectives were articulated in a viral video that has been making the rounds on social media in the Palmetto State.
Lane Cogdill – who described themself as a “history teacher who cares about racial justice” – teaches at Hilton Head Island middle school in Beaufort county, S.C. According to our sources, Cogdill is active in the liberal “SC for Ed” movement – the organized labor group which staged a school walkout last May in protest of alleged inadequacies in government funding for education.
Emphasis on “alleged …“
Anyway, Cogdill recorded their thoughts on social justice in the aftermath of violent rioting that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Memorial Day.
“I keep hearing people saying like ‘I understand protesting but I don’t understand rioting and looting,’” Cogdill said in the video. “Let me just remind y’all, this country was literally built by black people. You ever been to one of those historic, beautiful cities? Built by black people. Black people’s bodies were literally the currency that our white founding fathers used to fund the revolution.”
Cogdill was just getting warmed up, too … literally.
“So as far as I’m concerned – as a white person and as a history teacher – if your ancestors built this country, you have the right to burn the motherf*cker to the ground,” they said. “And white people? I’m going to need to do better because your opinion on this is at best irrelevant and at worst, literally propagating white supremacy.”
Here is a copy of the clip as it appeared on Facebook …
(Via: YouTube)
According to our sources, Cogdill’s rant was forwarded to leaders at the Beaufort county school district “weeks ago.” It is not clear what – if any – disciplinary action they may have faced in connection with the video.
To be clear: We are not necessarily saying disciplinary action is warranted … although it is typically meted out when the shoe is on the other foot.
Fair is fair, is all we are saying …
One local resident – David Louis Cook – blasted Cogdill’s rant on social media, urging parents to let Hilton Head middle school principal Pat Freda know “you do not support teachers who feel and speak this way.”
“It is her right to say what she wants, but she has to be held accountable for her rhetoric,” Cook wrote. “She has to follow curriculum. This is not curriculum. This type of violent and racist language is not tolerated anywhere in our educational system.”
To recap: This news outlet condemned Floyd’s killing at the hands of a white police officer – referring to it as “the totally unnecessary taking of (a) human life.”
“Whatever preceded it, there is never a justification for suffocating an unarmed, handcuffed suspect,” we wrote.
We further acknowledged the “righteous anger” and “authentic, justified rage” felt by black Americans in the aftermath of Floyd’s death – arguing that failure to call out the “definitive wrongness” of race-related police brutality was “to sin by silence when we should protest,” to borrow the words of the poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
We have since been hosting a conversation (here and here) on what the core government function of law enforcement ought to look like in a post-Floyd world.
Having said that, we vigorously condemned the violent lawlessness that erupted across the nation in response to Floyd’s killing … especially when this violence turned deadly. And especially when it turned deadly against black Americans. Also, we have consistently rebuked the ongoing campaign to erase history … arguing in favor of putting history in its proper context instead.
Isn’t that what real teachers are supposed to do?
Ultimately, we believe everyone has a say in these ongoing debates … including Cogdill. What we will not abide, however, is double standards in those discussions … or anyone who takes Cogdill’s advice and breaks the law by destroying life, liberty or property in the pursuit of “justice.”
Or anyone who presumes unilaterally which people can and cannot participate in the conversation.
UPDATE || The latest …
-FITSNews
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1 comment
Why was she not prosecuted for inciting violence?