The African-American members of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors voiced frustration this week after Henrico school leaders apologized for showing a 4-minute video to students Feb. 4 at Glen Allen High School that portrayed the oppression and systematic racism in the United States that African-Americans have endured for centuries.

“The video was a discussion starter,” the Rev. Tyrone Nelson, the newly elected chairman of the five-member Board of Supervisors, told the Free Press on Tuesday. “Though some of the content was overgeneralized, it was done to evoke conversation.”

He said he was disappointed that Henrico County School Superintendent Patrick Kinlaw and School Board Chairwoman Michelle F. “Micky” Ogburn issued the apology a week after some parents at the predominately white school of about 1,600 students complained that the video made their children feel uncomfortable. Ms. Ogburn promised it would not be shown again at any Henrico public schools.

“It was an opportunity for our kids to have conversations about systematic injustices and hopefully the conversations could help heal our community,” said Rev. Nelson, who represents the Varina District.

“I just feel like we cheated our kids from an opportunity to have a dialogue.

Frank J. Thornton, who represents the Fairfield District on the Board of Supervisors, agreed.

“I think that these types of videos do have a purpose,” he said. “Maybe the people who were offended by this should take more of an introspective look at themselves and wonder why it makes them uncomfortable to face these issues.”

Rev. Nelson and Mr. Thornton represent Henrico districts that are predominately African- American.

The community will get the opportunity to further discuss the video, “Structural Discrimination: The Unequal Opportunity Race,” during a webinar, or online web discussion, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, under the hashtag

"#Fight ForOurHistory" : Standing Against Censorship in Henrico County. The African-American Policy Forum, the nonprofit that produced the video in 2010, is organizing the online discussion. People can register to participate at www.aapf.org/ events/multicultural-education- webinar, organizers said.

The video was shown at Glen Allen during two 30-minute student assemblies led by Dr. Kazi Perry, associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University and president of the National Association for Ethnic Studies. The presentation focused on issues of racism, inequality and honoring diversity, with the ani- mated video addressing white privilege and affirmative action. The assemblies also included student volunteers discussing their multi-ethnic backgrounds and thoughts on racism.

Rev. Nelson said he has received more than a dozen complaints from Henrico residents via email since he first publicly complained about the county’s apology. Most of the complaints, he said, “say we should be moving forward and not raising issues from the past. People said they were disappointed, that I should just kind of let this go, ... that race is not really a prevalent issue.”

In light of the school system’s ban on future showings of the video, he said people in the community, “including groups, churches, fraternities and sororities” should “take the opportunity to continue this important community dialogue.”

Dr. Perry said the decision to air the video was initiated after a Glen Allen High School parent, contacted Dr. Kimberly Brown, interim chair of the VCU Department of African- American Studies, about her concerns over racial problems at the school.

The parent, he said, told Dr. Brown that students at Glen Allen were “casually using the n-word” in the aftermath of an incident last fall when a student played a profanity-laced, racist song that repeatedly used the n-word over the loudspeaker prior to the school’s homecoming football game against John Marshall High School, a predominately African-American school in Richmond.

The Free Press was the first to report that the student who played the song was African- American. Shortly after the incident, the student publicly apologized to the School Board and others.

Dr. Perry said after the parent contacted VCU, he contacted Glen Allen High School Principal Gwen E. Miller, and they agreed to formulate a plan to “build a constructive program to address the issue and comprehensively show the consequences of using the n-word.” He said he showed the video several times to Ms. Miller, other Glen Allen High officials and school parents before they agreed to show it at the assemblies In a statement they jointly released Monday, the African- American Policy Forum and National Association for Ethnic Studies blasted Henrico school officials for banning the video.

“This censorship of material that highlights historical and present-day policies constitutes an alarming capitulation to those who would prefer our youth remain blissfully ignorant about the foundations of contemporary racial inequality,” stated Kimberlé Crenshaw, executive director of the African-American Policy Forum.

“With the exception of the extraordinary actions of the Henrico County School District, the video has never been banned before,” the statement reads.

In the apology issued Feb. 11 in a Henrico County Public Schools release, Dr. Kinlaw stated, “While we as educators do not object to difficult and constructive conversations about American history and racial discourse past and present, we understand why many people feel this video in particular was not the best way to deliver such an important lesson.”

Ms. Ogburn added, “In our community, while we do encourage open and frank discussions, perpetuating a racial divide, stereotypes or exclusion of any kind is not acceptable.

“The Henrico School Board and administration,” she continued, “consider this to be a matter of grave concern. We are making every effort to respond to our community. It is our goal to prevent the recurrence of this type of event. School leaders have been instructed not to use the video in our schools. In addition, steps are being taken to prevent the use of racially divisive materials in the future. We do apologize to those who were offended and for the unintended impact on our community.”

Dr. Perry, a 33-year-old Toledo, Ohio, native, said he has spoken across the country about racism and inequities to a diverse array of groups. He has shown the video numerous times with no threats to censure or ban it over concerns of offending anyone. He said the response among students at Glen Allen High was overwhelmingly positive.

“The students who were coming up to me after the presentation were excited and thanking me,” he said, “and the vast majority said it was a constructive learning endeavor, and entertaining. It shows how shortsighted the School Board and administration are,” he said.

“They are elected to oversee the comprehensive education of the future leaders of the county, state and this nation and, instead of providing an opportunity for learning and having a meaningful dialogue, they have chosen to censor and ban the video.”

Dr. Perry also criticized the Rev. Roscoe Cooper III, the lone African-American on the five-member Henrico School Board, for not publicly speaking out on the issue.

Dr. Cooper has not responded to Free Press queries over the Glen Allen issue.

“I think it’s very unfortunate,” Dr. Perry said, “that a leader of the community who shares the racial experiences that are not being taught in public education in Virginia and sits on the very board that was the first to ever censor a constructive video that was age appropriate to talk about racial inequality has said nothing publicly,” he said.