School Video on Black Lives Matter Causes Controversy

School Video on Black Lives Matter Causes Controversy

Third-party educational website BrainPOP, which is used in Leon County Schools, has come under fire recently for their release of a video discussing the history and issues regarding the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

After receiving complaints from several parents in Leon County, TR is seeking more information about how the BLM video is used in the classroom.

During a school board meeting in Sarasota, Florida, parents and students expressed their reactions to the BrainPOP video, with one mother asking that educators not “indoctrinate” her child with their “beliefs and political agenda.” On the other hand, a group of students spoke in favor of the lesson, believing it to be “extremely empowering for all students, but especially students of color.”

The Sarasota district ultimately pulled the BLM video and will allow families to request access from the district.

The BLM video transcript can be viewed here.

The Video

The nine-minute video, titled “Black Lives Matter Protests,” touches upon the history of racism in the United States, dating back to slavery and the Civil Right Movement. It also brings up the concept of systemic racism, explaining how people of color are often at a disadvantage compared to their white counterparts.

“Structural Racism is a factor in some disturbing trends,” the video states. “Black men are nearly six times more likely than whites to be imprisoned. And Black men are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white men…Like on May 25, 2020.”

The lesson also discusses the death of George Floyd, which was a catalyst for many of the protests that sparked the conversation on race across the country. The video also mentions the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Breonna Taylor among others, all of which led to civil unrest and public demonstrations.

The video addresses the social unrest by stating, “if you’ve been watching the news, you might think it’s all been riots. News and social media tend to highlight what’s most sensational: unusual, exciting, or scary stuff that gets people to watch.”

The video also said the demonstrations in Minneapolis are “already starting to work. In Minneapolis, the city council voted to remake the police department from the ground up. Other cities are thinking about similar measures. It seems like overnight, the whole country has woken up and realized what a big problem racism is.”

The Black Lives Matter movement has been the subject of controversy since its inception in 2013, especially in response to its calls for police reform.

23 Responses to "School Video on Black Lives Matter Causes Controversy"

  1. The video, at least at crucial moments, is misleading and slanted. Consider the Trayvon Martin example:

    “NAT: 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot on his way home from a store. His killer wasn’t a police officer—just someone who claimed Martin looked suspicious. After the jury found him not guilty, three community organizers started the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.”

    Wait! “The jury found him [the killer] not guilty.” — Why is this video teaching students to ignore the process of trial and instead depend on the legal judgment of folks like Black Lives Matter?

    Then the example of Michael Brown:

    “NAT: A year later, a police officer killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was unarmed when he was shot multiple times. The officer wasn’t charged.”

    What’s missing is something along these lines: Three separate investigations — at the city, state, and federal level (the highest it gets) — found no reason to charge the officer. These investigations confirmed that evidence showed that Brown reached into the officer’s car, left DNA on the officer’s gun, and was killed as a result of a violent confrontation with the officer. The confrontation took place after Brown committed a strong-arm robbery at a nearby convenience store.

    It’s astonishing to me that these two figures — especially Brown — have been virtually sainted by people looking for a hero/victim to print on their banners.

    The video should not be shown to young children. It should be shown to older students only when accompanied by either a critical analysis or by perhaps one of the Youtube lectures by a black conservative opposing the concept of systemic racism, someone like John McWhorter.

  2. DO Black Lives Matter? Do they REALLY? If Black Lives REALLY do matter then, why aren’t you protesting in the Black areas of town where Blacks are shooting Blacks? UNTIL you do THAT, don’t talk to ME about Cops shooting Blacks. If you don’t want to be shot by a Cop, don’t give that Cop a reason to put their hand on their Gun.

  3. Parents; if you haven’t figured it out by now… you must get your children out of the dangerous Public Indoctrination System NOW, if you care at all about their emotional and intellectual development… and our future.

    ALL LIVES MATTER

  4. https://www.theroot.com/a-judge-asked-harvard-to-find-out-why-so-many-black-peo-1845017462?fbclid=IwAR0Ao9h2l6O3EEV_f6VD2Si9Qi39kSevTm5v24_ptdrqLRXfdzABFU_1C9Y

    “It wasn’t Black-on-Black crime. Violent video games and rap songs had nothing to do with it; nor did poverty, education, two-parent homes or the international “bootstraps” shortage. When a judge tasked researchers with explaining why Massachusetts’ Black and Latinx incarceration was so high, a four-year study came up with one conclusion.
    Racism.
    It was always racism.”

  5. I appreciate Tallahassee Reports creating awareness of issues the Tallahassee Democrat ignores. Having more information to process is always a good thing.

  6. Rocky and his hand picked curriculum person Gillian Gregory, she makes $116,000 and is as clueless as Rocky. Put in place by Rocky without ever having to apply. Joke is on us.

  7. Hartsfield Elementary school is in our neighborhood, I have noticed over the years that very few of children in our neighborhood attend Hartsfield, most of them go to private school or are homeschooled. Now I know why.
    I went to Hartsfield, I walked to and from school for five years, the streets were full of kids walking home everyday and having a good time. Not anymore… I wouldn’t send my dog to a Leon County public school.

  8. Can we get some educational videos about the tragic self-destruction that comes from fatherless homes, youth gangs, drug dealing, gun violence, witnesses who say nothing, and community values that enable it?

  9. The BLM video doesn’t give the whole story. Does it say why blacks are 6 times more likely to be imprisoned? Does it mention the BLM is a Marxist, antigovernmant organization? The movement is already starting to work in Minneapolis yes, but what about the spike in crime? Half truths are still lies.

    1. Seriously? Are you suggesting a Marxist organization would distort the term “social justice” by not telling the truth and our elected school board would promote its use? Tell me it’s not so.

  10. Does the video mention that BLM, Inc. is nothing but a Marxist revolutionary movement that has nothing to do with racial equality but instead uses race to divide and conquer by destroying our constitutional republic? Does it mention that the only systemic racism is that of the Demonrat Party which for nearly two centuries started Civil War 1.0 and continues to seek the destruction of this republic and re-enslavement of minorities, most especially black Americans? Does it mention that the primary reason for the destruction of the black family was the overt racist President Johnson’s Great Society enshrining single motherhood and demeaning and destroying black fatherhood? Does it mention that Planned Parenthood founded by overt racist Margaret Sanger, continues the mass genocide of black unborn babies in African American communities? You can go on and on and on about the evil lies from this organization and the sycophants including our Capital District faux leaders who feign support of it.

    The BlazeTV did a wonderful documentary available on YouTube recently on how this cancerous movement is spreading like a west coast fire throughout our schools nationwide. It’s entitled “BRAINWASHED: How Black Lives Matter Hijacked Our Schools.” LCS is nothing special, that klown show of socialist cowards will cave into this nonsense quite readily, just like all too many school boards across the country. LCS is just a reflection of our Capital District, overwhelming Demonrat and socialist. Seventy to eighty percent of this county has drank the Kool-Aid. #BLEXIT

  11. Why does The Tallahassee Report continues to run “ONLY” negative articles regarding social justice in the United States? Says a lot about the owner of paper..

    1. There is no systemic racism… only the systemic exploitation of the lie. And the term “social justice” is just another made-up phrase to trigger the ignorant.

      ALL LIVES MATTER!

      1. EL,
        You can explain a position so well and assimilate all other areas so concisely your name should be on the nomination list for SCOTUS!

    2. What in here was negative? This article really stuck to the basis of the situation. It mentioned parts of the video that some people found objectionable and the article merely stated what steps the county of Sarasota took in response. Is saying that they are seeking more information about how the video is used considered “negative” in your opinion?

    3. Stanley, not sure where you are getting the “The Tallahassee Report continues to run “ONLY” negative articles regarding social justice in the United States” statement from because, 99% of the articles here are about LOCAL issues.

Leave a Reply to Mike L Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.