Mac Engel: ‘Slave trade’ social media post reveals ugliest side of mostly white Aledo

The group of students who made Aledo famous for all of the wrong reasons were three ninth-graders, one of whose family is currently try to move out of town. Kids, don’t joke about a “slave trade” about two of your Black classmates, as the three Aledo students did on Snapchat. It’s racist, unfunny, and it will change your life forever. While you’re at it, stop putting your entire life on the Internet. According to sources familiar with a situation that has become a point of discussion, and embarrassment, in the mostly white suburb west of Fort Worth, the three boys who built the racist conceit have been punished by the Aledo ISD.

The punishment is for the kids, but this sort of behavior starts at home. In the neighborhood. Down the street. To lay this on a parent is incorrect. What a young kid sees on TV, their phone, laptop, IPad, or hanging out with their friends, is often more a source of influence than mom or dad. But, Aledo, look in the mirror. You specifically may not be a part of the problem, but are you being part of the solution? Just because you cheer on the few Black kids who play running back, wide receiver and run track for the Aledo Bearcats means you may only be perpetuating a stereotype that says we white folks support the Blacks when they score our touchdowns, but stop at that. According to The Texas Tribune, as of the 2019-’20 school year, Aledo ISD had 6,399 students, 94 of whom are Black. That’s 1.5 percent. That 1.5 percent sees all of this, and God only knows how it affects them.