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Parents horrified as black girl, 2, ‘handcuffed’ at Florida daycare during Rosa Parks reenactment
The civil rights group NAACP has asked the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate Building Brains Daycare in Saint Cloud, Osceola County
A black girl, 2, was made to take part in aRosa Parks reenactment where a lighter-skinner child “handcuffed” her in front of her peers. This incident took place at a Florida preschool classroom.
Shocking pictures of the incident were shared online. The civil rights group NAACP has asked the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate Building Brains Daycare in Saint Cloud, Osceola County. NAACP wrote in a letter to the department that the black child was “subject to an alarming act of simulation, where she was handcuffed and fingerprinted by a white peer” earlier this month.
Although photos of the incident shared online had the children’s faces blurred, unedited versions showed the children visibly disturbed, according to the Daily Mail. Describing the situation as “horrific,” the parents of the child removed her from the school. A female teacher who was involved in the incident continues to work there.
Building Brains Daycare told the Daily Mail that the activity was not planned but only a spontaneous incident. It said that the teacher involved “apologized profusely” to the girl’s parents, adding that “no physical restraints” were used in the classroom.
‘She got very quiet and very, very reserved’
The child’s parents first saw the photos on the school app. “Her hands (were) restrained behind her back as if she was being taken into custody,” they told Fox 35. “Then the next image was her hands being placed on a table as if she was being booked, and the look on her face alone, it was horrific.” They said that they have been seeing a change in their daughter following the incident, adding that “there's so many ways to teach the Rosa Parks story.”
“As we were approaching the school where the incident happened, she got very quiet and very, very reserved,” the family said of the child. “But then we passed it, we had our daughter back. She was bubbly.”
NAACP said that whether or not physical restraints were used, the incident was “egregious.” “Under no circumstance is it acceptable for a two-year old child to have emotional trauma inflicted upon them at the hands of their educational institution,” it said. “Regardless of whether or not physical handcuffs were used, the Rosa Parks role-play incident that took place at Building Brains Academy is egregious.”
“We will continue to call on this institution to release a formal apology to the family, and for the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate this incident to ensure it never occurs again. Our children deserve better,” it added.
The daycare’s full statement
Meanwhile, in a full statement, the daycare said, “In early December, one of our classes in our multicultural school was learning about the legacy of Rosa Parks and the importance of treating each other with respect and equality. In the spirit of the moment, the class spontaneously decided to act out the elements of Ms. Parks' story, including her arrest for refusing to give up her seat at the front of the bus.”
It added, “Unfortunately, photographs shared of the activity do not offer a complete or accurate representation of the full lesson about the importance of equal rights, nor do they make it clear that at no time were restraints of any kind used on any student. Because this activity was spontaneous and unplanned, it is not part of our authorized regular curriculum, and administration had no prior knowledge of the incident.”
The daycare concluded by saying, “In light of the situation, we have advised all of our faculty that any deviations from the approved curriculum, no matter how slight or unplanned, must first be approved by school administration. We will continue ensuring our students are exposed to a curriculum that celebrates equality and diversity.”
