The Mace Case

Birmingham Police Officers, employed as School Resource Officers in Birmingham City Schools, routinely use chemical weapons against schoolchildren to enforce basic school discipline. Mace was used against schoolchildren who were completely restrained and not a danger to themselves or anyone else. Adults taunted the children and celebrated their punishment.

The Birmingham City School System is 96% African American.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has filed a federal class action lawsuit targeting the use of mace as a means of basic school discipline. The SPLC had previously raised the issue with the Birmingham School Board which was unresponsive, prompting the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges violation of constitutional rights through the use of chemical weapons.

Conservatives have long campaigned to rid the country of public schools. The public school system is the principal method for members of the lower economic class, often African Americans, to escape to the middle class and beyond. The lack of an education maintains African Americans as lower class citizens. The use of chemical weapons and the accompanying hostility is having the effect of driving African American children out of the school system, preserving the current elite class.

If the public school system is eliminated, only the elite will be able to afford private education for their children, maintaining their current status. The public school system is the keystone in America’s ability to claim it is the land of opportunity.

H/T: Southern Poverty Law Center.

-David Drumm (Nal)