"Mitchell High School Memphis ... Rape Dat Ho,"
Wonder where they learned how to speak and act like "dat?"
Posted on 05/10/2008 10:02:44 AM PDT by forkinsocket
A video posted on YouTube.com is causing a lot of concern among Memphis City School parents. Now were trying to find solutions.
The clip labeled, "Mitchell High School Memphis ... Rape Dat Ho," was posted last month. It was flagged as offensive then taken down, but not before News Channel 3 recorded the clip on tape.
The images are disturbing. They are graphic and hard to watch. It shows young men and women engaging in what one parent described as "sex with clothes on."
We knew the video would get a strong reaction. We aired the video Monday to expose the problem in order to stir constructive conversation, then offer solutions.
We sat down with four women from Girls Inc. in Uptown Memphis. The group's mission is to inspire young girls to be "strong, smart and bold."
"Where are the chaperones? Whose really watching? They feel so free to do this," Girls Inc. Outreach Coordinator Monique Clayton said after viewing the tape. She works with young women inside Memphis City Schools.
She says solving this problem starts with honesty. "Are you willing to accept and admit there may be a problem in your school? School systems may not be willing to accept that," she says.
"There needs to be a discussion had," said Netisha Burnett who also viewed the tape. "Maybe she doesn't know that it's not OK. Some of our youth don't know certain things are just not OK," she says referring to one of the girls in the tape who is seen participating in a dance simulating sex.
"It seems like girls would have more dignity than to do something like that," said 13-year-old Autum Taylor. She's been going to Girls Inc. for years. She says they've instilled a strong message. "The message to me is to respect your body."
Girls Inc. offers every school in the district a comprehensive course to empower young women at the beginning of the school year. Not all of the schools accept their invitation.
The women we talked with during the round-table discussion said they'd be willing to chaperone dances in the future to prevent what we saw on YouTube from happening again.
MCS Administration's Response:
We showed the YouTube video to a group of five administrators last week. They offered a response after viewing the tape.
"We've had an opportunity to look at the video and just want to make it very clear that behavior that we saw on the tape is very disturbing," said MCS spokesperson Staci Franklin. "However, in just what we've seen today we cannot clearly identify that those are our students and that it is one of our schools."
News Channel 3 received a written request for a copy of the tape, and we provided that copy to the administration Tuesday.
"With further investigation, if we are able to identify any student that participated in this, it totally violates our student code of conduct and they will be disciplined accordingly," said Franklin.
The Superintendent has now responded:
"To say that we are troubled by the video that aired on one of the local television stations last night would be an understatement. We are shocked and disappointed by the behavior of students shown in the video clip. These images demonstrate a serious issue that educators, parents and community stakeholders alike must focus on -- the need for a more productive partnership between schools and homes to ensure children understand how to act as responsible, mature young adults with a sense of self respect," wrote Superintendent Dan Ward in a statement sent to News Channel 3.
School Board Members Watch the Tape:
The point of showing the graphic video during our newscast was to stir conversation. We believe as many school board commissioners as possible should be involved in that discussion.
We brought the video to the school board meeting Monday. We wanted our elected officials to respond to the video after the meeting, but the administration's public relations department interfered.
A spokesperson told us it was an inappropriate time and place to show the video. What would be an appropriate place? A public relations representative contacted News Channel 3 Tuesday, telling us the board commissioners would be available at Memphis City Hall. Those commissioners were at city hall to listen to Mayor Willie Herenton's speech on the state of the schools.
We showed the tape to Commissioner Patrice Robinson in the city council chambers. "As a board, what we can do is say what goes on at these parties, there has to be some order. Maybe that's what we need to do is talk about that as a policy," she said.
That's the type of progress and discussion school parents tell us they're looking for. Board members and parents are asking the same questions we have; Where were the chaperones? Why was there a break-down in supervision?
We wanted to talk to parents to get their reaction to the tape after it aired Monday night. We ran into another hurdle when we approached them outside Mitchell High School Tuesday afternoon. An administrator with the school tried to silence the parents. "We're trying not to do any interviews with this right here," he told one mother who was about to talk with us about the video.
"I would like for you to please leave," he told our camera crew.
We didn't leave.
Parents wanted to give us their opinions on the dirty dancing, so we stuck around to listen.
"I hope they have supervision in there and that doesn't happen again," said one parent. "It was disgusting. It was disgraceful. Where are our young people headed? They're here to get an education not to be sexually explicit."
On Your Side Investigation Uncovers New Tape:
During our investigation into the first tape, we found another clip on YouTube called "Mitchell High Talent Show."
It starts off with a performance, but by the end several students are simulating sex on the same gym floor as the first tape.
There's a big difference on the second clip. You can see several administrators walking past the camera. Eventually students start pouring onto the gym floor in excitement over what they are seeing. At the end of the clip an adult ushers the crowd back to the bleachers.
MCS sent us the following statement after we sent a clip of the second video:
"Pop-culture, the Internet and mainstream media greatly influence the activity and behavior of today's youth. We trust that our partners in education -- parents, guardians and school families will continue to reinforce to children the appropriate way to conduct themselves before, during and after school hours." - Memphis City Schools
The statement did not answer any questions about how high school administrators responded to the behavior. We sent the following questions back to MCS:
Why did it take so long for an administrator to address what was happening on the gym floor? Were the students reprimanded for the behavior they displayed at the end of the talent show? Does this demonstrate a pattern of tolerance toward this type of behavior? An MCS spokesperson told us the people who could best answer those questions were already gone for the day by the time the administration received the clip. We're told those questions will now be forwarded to the appropriate people.
Local Pastor Calls for Action:
We aired the YouTube video in order to stir conversation that would hopefully result in concrete solutions. We've received plenty of responses. One of them came from Rev. Eric Pearman. He's the pastor at Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church on Millbranch. He also has a Ph.D. in African American Studies.
Pearman wants to put together a series of community meetings to address the issue. "To have these kids talk out to us, let us listen to them. Why are you doing this? What are you seeking?", he says.
Pearman reacted to the report we aired Tuesday night that showed an administrator at Mitchell High School trying to silence parents as we went to talk to them about the tape.
"Not only was I deeply disturbed by the content of the video, but the disposition, action, and reaction of certain personnel within the Memphis Public School system," he says.
"It goes on all over the country, don't get me wrong, but it seems as if there's this tolerance or acceptance of this kind of negative behavior. We bury our heads in the sand. We don't want to address this issue head on. We have to address those issues head on."
Updated 5/08/2007 Mitchell High Principal Responds:
May 8, 2008
"I would first like to apologize to the Memphis community and to the Memphis City Schools family for the embarrassment these videos have caused. I take full responsibility for the inappropriate content in one of the acts in a talent show, and understand we should have taken immediate action and ended that performance.
While the matter of another video shown on a local station remains an open investigation, I want to make it clear that we take this incident very seriously. We are working with Memphis City Schools Security to determine if that footage was also taped at Mitchell High and whether students from our school were involved.
Today, I conveyed to our entire student body the message that every student and staff member should conduct themselves in an appropriate and responsible manner. We hold high expectations of our students at Mitchell
High and expect each member of our school family to be respectful of others and, most importantly, of themselves. I would like to assure the community that this sort of behavior is not a reflection of the majority of our students who follow the Student Code of Conduct and who come to school to learn. Our goal is to continue to provide the best possible learning environment and to develop all aspects of our students' lives."
John Ware
Principal
Mitchell High School
STUDENTS SUSPENDED, NO WORD ON DISCIPLINE AGAINST ADMINISTRATORS:
Updated 5/09/2008 -- Memphis City Schools officials confirm several students have been arrested as a result of an internal investigation conducted after News Channel 3 uncovered two disturbing tapes on YouTube.com.
MCS now acknowledges what we've been telling you for days, that both tapes were taken inside Mitchell High School's gym.
An MCS spokesperson says students have been disciplined according to the code of conduct, but the public relations department didn't know how many students.
They also couldn't tell us whether administrators have been held accountable. In the first tape there is not an administrator in sight while at least seven students simulate sex acts on the gym floor. During the second tape, taken during a talent show, adults walk by while one of the acts turns inappropriate.
We're told Principal John Ware apologized to Mitchell's parents through the school system's parent-link phone system.
We're told by MCS that the investigation is over, and the case is closed. School Board Commissioner Kenneth Whalum, Jr. says the administration should provide more information to the public before they close the books on this case.
Stay with News Channel 3 as we continue to seek answers to the questions parents and community members are asking.
Is this one of those right-brain vs. left-brain things Rev. Wright was talking about?
Why would the ad mins even care. I really think they just get off on this behavior, otherwise why would they always be pushing for so called sex ed in such graphic and detailed explanations.
Lemme guess. The chaperones are terrified of a "beat down" if they interfere with the students?
Anybody else find this comment extremely weird, coming from a parent?
Actually, it is one of those NO brain MEMPHIS things.
First reaction of the school admins was that “boys will be boys”.
Were the students black or white or a mix of both.
This is tame. I guess the parents ain't listening to what lots of kids are listening to.
I would love to have a parent day at school where the parents are forced to recite these lyrics to a large auditorium of other parents.....if it's cool enough for their kids, why not?
The 65yo Mayor is having babies out of wedlock. Local politicians are going to Federal prison by the droves, what do ya expect out of a city out of control.
Just curious. You know what they say; curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.
If this involves Black students it is a Black thing and the White community is not allowed to comment.
Thanks for the link.
"Mitchell High School Memphis ... Rape Dat Ho,"
Wonder where they learned how to speak and act like "dat?"
Somebody took God out of the schools.
I went with a friend to see Menopause the Musical. There were young teen girls in the audiance. I almost walked out during the scene on masterbating with a dildo. My friend, who is very conservative too, was embarrassed and we didn’t applaud or stay afterwards but just left and haven’t talked about it since.
When you are’nt raised to know any better you don’t do any better. All I see is more kids headed for the welfare rolls.
I was surprised the principal just walked past that group that was humping the floor like it was no big deal. They should fire him but they won’t.
Diversity is our strength...multiculturalism will make us stronger...
Make love, not war...
Video here - right hand side
http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=8281465
It matters because race is shoved down our throats everyday.
It is typically not whites doing the shoving or the crimes.
That is why it matters.
Wait for the second story on the video. It’s about some city councilwoman who may have been drunk when she hit a car and injured a little girl. The councilwoman’s name is Fulloflove
Good evening. This is Action 4 News.
Tonight we have shocking video you might not want to see, of teens in sexually explict action.
We will rebroadcast it every chance we get for the next week. It’s just that bad.
Now to Sports, with Drew ...
I saw that! Weird, LOL.
When you teach them that they are no better than animals , why would you expect them to behave any differently.
you know, for all the high achieving, family oriented, educated and articulate blacks in America, this stuff has got to be humiliating....
I am sorry for them....but this stuff is allowed for, excused, explained away, forgotten and forgiven and maybe even blessed by far too many blacks and white leftists....( its da man...its da mans' fault).
I'd like to see Jackson or Sharpton go after these kids.....their parents and the school that allows such behavior....
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