ST. LOUIS — A group of Black former Rockwood students is speaking out about the district's handling of issues of race in its classrooms.
They said if Black perspectives are cut from students' education, they want their names and achievements removed from school history.
Last week, Rockwood parents packed a meeting to mostly air concerns about how the district includes issues around race in its curriculum.
"The most startling thing about it is these are people we went to high school with," said Muhammad Abdulqaadir. "I don't know what happened in between then and now that has made people have a different mindset, but something has obviously happened."
Abdulqaadir is a 1999 Eureka High School graduate. Tuesday night, he joined a group of Black alumni from the Rockwood District to offer a counter perspective to last week's uproar over race.
The group wants the district to push ahead with its effort to weave diversity and inclusion into its curriculum, and if it's cut out like some are demanding, these former students said they don't want Rockwood using their names on banners, trophies or any other accomplishments that might be tied to the school's history.
"Everyone affected by the issue was not included in the solutions to the issue," said Abdulqaadir.
He and the group said the district needs to listen to more Black voices when making curriculum decisions and they hope parents will want to hear from them, too. Some former classmates were brought together by an attempt at diversity decades ago.
"The fact that we were bussed all the way out there, it gives us dual perspective," said Abdulqaadir. "Because we came from the city to the suburbs, so we know their experience, but they don't have any idea what ours is and they don't seem to want to listen either."
The group wants to have more meetings, with people who don't agree with them to talk through these issues.
The district says it is committed to teaching kids how to think "more globally" and adding classes like Black literature. And a district spokesperson confirms the district has had to provide security for at least two educators who are getting threats over issue of race in the classroom.