UPDATE: School to perform play NAACP had opposed
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In Liberty Township, Ohio, the decision was made to cancel a school play, under pressure from the local NAACP.
LIBERTY TWP. -- A widely performed school play has been canceled by Lakota officials after a recent meeting with a local NAACP official.
The internationally acclaimed play - Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" - was to be performed by students at Lakota East High School this weekend.
But Gary Hines, president of the local NAACP branch, recently complained to Lakota officials that the play, based on Christie's 1939 mystery novel, was inappropriate for a school production.
Hines said the book's original title and cover illustration used for its initial publishing that year in England was a racial slur toward blacks and included a cover illustration of a black person and a hangman's noose.
"The original title was 'Ten Little (N - - - - - -),' and it is important to say that because that was the actual title," Hines said Monday.
The title of the international bestseller was widely changed after 1939, and school theater productions in America have performed the murder mystery play as either "Ten Little Indians" or "And Then There Were None" for decades since.
Hines claims that a lack of racial diversity among Lakota's students and teachers allowed the play to be chosen despite the history surrounding its original title.
"It's a lack of diversity knowledge on their part. Diversity is not a way of life in Lakota," Hines said.
But Hines, who operates GPH Consultants - a diversity training company - in West Chester Township, said that despite his strong protest, it was Lakota officials' idea to cancel the play in response to his complaints.
"After learning of the play's origins and the hurt that it caused, we had hoped to use the performances as a way to create a discussion about diversity of all kinds in our community. However, students and staff continued to raise issues, and it was quickly obvious that bad feelings about the play were much more widespread and strong than originally thought. The best action seemed to be to switch to a different play," Weidlich said.
Keith Kline, Lakota East principal, said: "Certainly, it was a tough decision but one that needed to be made.
We must be sensitive, unless we're talking about Democrats.
Take Steve Kagen.
As a candidate for Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District, he said:
"I want to thank you for driving me around the district this morning. I really appreciate you getting me here almost on time," he says to laughter. "Our excuse, uh, in Oneida was, well we are on injun time. They don't tell time by the clock. Our excuse here is I'm a doctor and we're never on time."
He, of course, was elected.
Take Robert Byrd.
As a U.S. senator, in March 2001, appearing on FOX News Sunday, he said:
"There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word. We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."
Ex-Klansman Byrd, of course, is the longest-serving senator in the history of the United States.
But the NAACP must not let a high school production of an Agatha Christie play go forward.
Yes, the group must speak out against her racism.
Forget about bigoted comments made by Dems currently serving in the U.S. House and Senate.
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