Question for the parents on the board who strongly believe in academics.

As a parent you must engage and interact with your children. Her parents need to read to her and with her. Turn on the closed caption on the TV. However, TV time would be limited to an hour a day and an hour for social media concurrently. They are not our friends. They are our progeny.


This here did wonders for my writing abilities, probably as much as formal education.
So much knowledge gained!


***Edit***

I still watch media with closed captions turned on.
 
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My best friend and his wife were called in for a meeting w/ the assistant principal yesterday, who is over academics and discipline. Their daughter's mid-year diagnostic came back and it was determined that she's still reading on a 3rd grade level. If that doesn't improve by March, she may not be promoted to 9th grade next year.

I told them to remove her TV (she watches it for hours after school) and to take her off the dance team. He's in agreement, but the mom was a dancer throughout her school years and said she can stay on the team, but she's going to force her to listen to audiobooks to and from school everyday.

How would you handle this situation if you were the dad?

I've got to wonder how she got so far in school with a 3rd grade reading level. That's Dick and Jane shit.

If I was the father I'd get her a tutor and an assessment; she may be dyslexic or something but for sure education comes first and you can't be educated without reading. You can't count on what people tell you, you have to be able to do your own research. No dance team or anything else until we figure this out and she's on her proper reading level.

Dancing is a perishable skill while reading is forever.
 
That's way too common today. Education, especially public education, is in the habit of pushing on and dismissing potential learning disabilities. It costs money to hire a specialist, and public schools aren't spending that kind of money anymore. They are putting more of the responsibility on the parents. We also know that parents may have learning or resource issues. It's challenging to address multiple problems at once.

How did your professor notice your dyslexia?
I wrote an essay in her class (white female professor), and she knew something was wrong. I considered myself very intelligent, but could comprehend grammar. I congrats the staff at NCCU for helping me overcome this.
 
my daughter was a preemie

i was reading to her in nicu and it stuck
she started reading simple words before she turned 2

they called her autistic because she could read really well by 3.

put her in kumon and almost every night we read at least 15-20 minutes of a book.

she is 6 years old now and has won multiple awards for being top

most of the kids her age are still doing sight words and basic maths
i dont know if kids are just stupid or america in general is behind the rest of the world
 
put her in kumon and almost every night we read at least 15-20 minutes of a book.

she is 6 years old now and has won multiple awards for being top



Shoutout to Kumon ... mom had us in it for a few years back in the 90s. We were struggling in math and it helped us out.


One of the hot brainiac chicks in my class happened to work there as a tutor or assistant. So that was a bit embarassing for a young helicopter at the time, as she was acing her classes by comparison, lol.
 
my daughter was a preemie

i was reading to her in nicu and it stuck
she started reading simple words before she turned 2

they called her autistic because she could read really well by 3.

put her in kumon and almost every night we read at least 15-20 minutes of a book.

she is 6 years old now and has won multiple awards for being top

most of the kids her age are still doing sight words and basic maths
i dont know if kids are just stupid or america in general is behind the rest of the world
Kids are natural sponges.. it's what you teach them and how you teach them is how great they excel.. America is behind on the way they teaching kids these days and just in general on how they introduce info to the masses.. so I blame modern day society
 
True, but reading levels can be diagnosed on the spot. Bring out different levels of books and see.

It’s true that some kids don’t test well, and if they are basing her levels on quantitative score, then it may not be a fair assessment for her.

^^^^

I'm a little confused on one thing in this story all the kids I know were tested for their reading level up until like 5th grade.

Both public and private school.

So many kids are now in high school and can't read now.

I'm the uncle who takes the kids to superhero movies and then after we go to the comic shop

I STILL read out loud and do voices for kids and do programs at the library for kids giving out free books and comics.

Comic books really helped me and my kids read and write understand story structure character development etc

My youngest cried when I tried to stop reading her bedtime stories.

We watched game shows together play board games.

Even a cartoon or movie or TV they like? I buy the companion books.

If this young lady likes dance? Get her books on famous dancers. Actually TALK to her about what she is interested in.

This is all really a reflection on the parents unless she has a disability but even with that who was checking her homework? Going to parent teacher meetings? Checking her standardized testing results?
 
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^^^^

I'm a little confused on one thing in this story all the kids I know were tested for their reading level up until like 5th grade.

Both public and private school.

So many kids are now in high school and can't read now.

I'm the uncle who takes the kids to superhero movies and then after we go r
to the comic shop

I STILL read outloud and do voices for kids and do programs at the library for kids giving out free books and comics.

Comic books really helped me and my kids read and write understand story structure character development etc

My youngest cried when I tried to stop reading her bedtime stories.

We watched game shows together play board games.

Even a cartoon or movie or TV they like? I buy the companion books.

If this young lady likes dance? Get her books on famous dancers. Actually TALK to her about what she is interested in.

This is all really a reflection on the parents unless she has a disability but even with that who was checking her homework? Going to parent teacher meetings? Checking her standardized testing results?

Exactly. Just spending a little time would have revealed so much. Learning to read isn’t a school issue. That’s something that can be done in the home (and should be).

I struggled with reading comprehension in school. I could read very well, but struggle to remember what I read or the context of what I read. I got better when I started to write better.

And reading is the baseline for all subjects. I’m curious of the whole story from OP, but if she is reading on a 3rd grade level, then she is likely struggling in all her subjects.
 
Exactly. Just spending a little time would have revealed so much. Learning to read isn’t a school issue. That’s something that can be done in the home (and should be).

I struggled with reading comprehension in school. I could read very well, but struggle to remember what I read or the context of what I read. I got better when I started to write better.

And reading is the baseline for all subjects. I’m curious of the whole story from OP, but if she is reading on a 3rd grade level, then she is likely struggling in all her subjects.

^^^^^
Thats it thats all.

There is much more going on here.

And now at this age is a strong psychological component they need to seriously consider. This could be embarrassing and demoralizing for that young lady.

The parents claiming ignorance?

But they know ALL ABOUT THAT DANCING?

Something is off.
 
^^^^^
Thats it thats all.

There is much more going on here.

And now at this age is a strong psychological component they need to seriously consider. This could be embarrassing and demoralizing for that young lady.

The parents claiming ignorance?

But they know ALL ABOUT THAT DANCING?

Something is off.
To busy at work, let the tv be the babysitter, don't have complex convos that would show possible flaws in her development, maybe stays out the way and doesn't cause a lot of trouble in the house so her not causing conflicts seems like she a well behave child which makes parents happy and not watch over her as much, haven't had to type lots of more advanced words around them to see she's not as advanced... Think in modern culture many basic everyday things doesn't call for you to type , read, many things at an advanced rate.. I mean lots of everyday words are 3rd grade or below level if you think about it
 
To busy at work, let the tv be the babysitter, don't have complex convos that would show possible flaws in her development, maybe stays out the way and doesn't cause a lot of trouble in the house so her not causing conflicts seems like she a well behave child which makes parents happy and not watch over her as much, haven't had to type lots of more advanced words around them to see she's not as advanced... Think in modern culture many basic everyday things doesn't call for you to type , read, many things at an advanced rate.. I mean lots of everyday words are 3rd grade or below level if you think about it

I hear you all your scenarios are valid. But bro that aint how it works.

Public or private they are getting tested.

All kids have homework regardless good kid or bad kid

the parents have to be completely detached. I mean completely. Not to have a CLUE? READING?

I aint taught in years but my family still have teachers professors and principals in it.

This is the parents slipping seriously.

I'm NOT giving the school a pass but my kids went into kindergarten reading and writing

Nope. No excuses.

A TWO PARENT household at that?

Something more is going on. None of us can really know. So we all crazy speculating

Wish them the best.

Sidebar... you dropped some amazing suggestions overall. And good advice for all parents.
 
^^^^^
Thats it thats all.

There is much more going on here.

And now at this age is a strong psychological component they need to seriously consider. This could be embarrassing and demoralizing for that young lady.

The parents claiming ignorance?

But they know ALL ABOUT THAT DANCING?

Something is off.

Yeah, the psychological part is worth addressing, too. She may be insecure about this.

Many athletes struggle as well. We know how common that story is, so it wouldn’t surprise me that dance or some other extracurricular activity took more precedence than baseline learning.

Parents have to take some accountability, so does the daughter. Hopefully, they’ll address her problems. I have no issue keeping her in dance though. Gives her something to look forward too.
 
Yeah, the psychological part is worth addressing, too. She may be insecure about this.

Many athletes struggle as well. We know how common that story is, so it wouldn’t surprise me that dance or some other extracurricular activity took more precedence than baseline learning.

Parents have to take some accountability, so does the daughter. Hopefully, they’ll address her problems. I have no issue keeping her in dance though. Gives her something to look forward too.

Thats was my first concern especially in 2025.

Sadly the athletes are the ones that are the most common victims of something like this

But a girl from a 2 parent household with strong extracurricular having this much of a challenge to go unaddressed for so long to me just seems ... off

Its DANCE. Its not gymnastics or ice skating or track or lacrosse.

Unless she damn near a professional it shouldn't be THAT disruptive

And if it is? then yeah you might want reduce that a little cause obviously they doing it wrong.

I don't want to cut off dancing completely because she shouldn't be punished for this.

But I'm holding the patents VERY responsible and want an explanation from her school. Where are her progress reports? Standardized test results? Let's see her written work. Her homework?
 
I hear you all your scenarios are valid. But bro that aint how it works.

Public or private they are getting tested.

All kids have homework regardless good kid or bad kid

the parents have to be completely detached. I mean completely. Not to have a CLUE? READING?

I aint taught in years but my family still have teachers professors and principals in it.

This is the parents slipping seriously.

I'm NOT giving the school a pass but my kids went into kindergarten reading and writing

Nope. No excuses.

A TWO PARENT household at that?

Something more is going on. None of us can really know. So we all crazy speculating

Wish them the best.

Sidebar... you dropped some amazing suggestions overall. And good advice for all parents.
2 parent household that both have jobs, which means their busy, might be more focus on their careers than other duties.. If she not causing a problem or bothersome than in some people minds their kid is good.. She advanced to the 8th grade so obviously in their minds she's not failing and not doing bad.. She got after school curriculum in dancing so she's active and I guess sociable.. If the car ain't making strange sounds and no hazardous lights are going off to some people that means their car in good condition.. Kid keep moving up in grade, she not causing no trouble, she has after school activities that means everything ok in some people eyes.. Not saying their bad parents but every parent isNt great nurtures or super active in their kids life.. They great at their jobs but being a great parent is a whole diff realm.. This could be 1 of those cases.. Some people get by in life undetected of a lot of flaws, I seen it b4 in various situations.. That 2 parent thing is kinda overrated cause being that I grew up in an environment literally surrounded by successful people with careers I can tell you all kinda chicks that became whores( the block sluts), dudes that become drugdealers, dudes that became gangmembers, stick up kids, etc and they all grew up in 2 parent homes in which some of them households was generating $200,000+ a yr.. Sometime it be the kid , sometime it be bad influences, sometimes it be naive parents that overlooked problems
 
What a scary fucking thread. This is why I'm very much for birth control/planned parenthood. These folks werent ready to be parents they are just cruising through the child rearing process. My 9 year old is reading Homer's Odyssey.
 
Thats was my first concern especially in 2025.

Sadly the athletes are the ones that are the most common victims of something like this

But a girl from a 2 parent household with strong extracurricular having this much of a challenge to go unaddressed for so long to me just seems ... off

Its DANCE. Its not gymnastics or ice skating or track or lacrosse.

Unless she damn near a professional it shouldn't be THAT disruptive

And if it is? then yeah you might want reduce that a little cause obviously they doing it wrong.

I don't want to cut off dancing completely because she shouldn't be punished for this.

But I'm holding the patents VERY responsible and want an explanation from her school. Where are her progress reports? Standardized test results? Let's see her written work. Her homework?
Kid is a damn social totem. Those dance groups are largely disgusting by the fucking way. One of them was doing halftime shows during my son's soccer league dancing to Nikki fuckin Menage of all people. When I say dancing I mean gyrating. 5-15 year olds. It was putrid.
 
Parents need to slap themselves. One thing growing up was to read out loud every night for at least 10 minutes.
How is this child this far gone. Need to turn off that tv and get their priorities straight.
 
Kid is a damn social totem. Those dance groups are largely disgusting by the fucking way. One of them was doing halftime shows during my son's soccer league dancing to Nikki fuckin Menage of all people. When I say dancing I mean gyrating. 5-15 year olds. It was putrid.

WAIT WTF!!?!?!?!?!?
 
While I understand the focus on the parents, we really don't have any high level details about what the issue is. Is it reading in general or comprehension? Some of you are talking about the things you've done for your kids and other seem to be educators yourself. Im not going to go as far as saying you are exceptions to the rule. However, like someone has already alluded to their could be many reasons the parents didn't notice the gap. Even if they did notice, we don't know their background to say they could address the issue without assistance. Why are we assuming the parents haven't been doing all of the things listed?

I have a kid who is autistic. He reads above his current grade level. However, he doesn't comprehend well. He also has an issue remembering what he has read, told or sometimes even watched. I mention this to say I could see someone who reads on a third grade level getting this off for years. You don't just learn from reading and most people aren't paying attention to your ability to comprehend outside of a school environment.


I also remember in the 9th grade a classmate was asked to read. Long story short, he started crying and said he couldn't. This was not our first day of class and we were classified to some extent, so there were remedial classes he could have been in. I think he may have been able to get by in part to memorizing certain things and he could read on some level. If he was more of a visual or auditory learner, he could have made up for the reading gap. Similar could be true for this girl, so she may not be performing badly in other classes/subjects. Even then, i could still seeing it go unnoticed. They've changed how math is taught now, but id imagine students are more so still memorizing things and not really learning if this makes sense.

Are the parents responsible? Yes. They likely were only paying attention at a surface level. You can have two parents in the home and they work long hours. Is English their first language? They could have all the time in the world and don't have the resources to help the child or know they exist. Its still on the parents but they could have questioned the student and the report cards made them write off their concerns. He/she is getting good grades, being promoted and teachers aren't saying anything so maybe im tripping. And clearly they could just be bad parents in general or from an education standpoint.
 
It'd be all hands on deck and a complete overhaul of what's been done up until this assessment. Explain to the youngin that this is the most important thing we will do together and get everyone on board or out the way. Once that's established, read everything in sight but start with the basics. Tons of guides from state curriculums to help guide and structure. This is parental fail but it can be turned into a positive and bring the family closer.
 
^^^^

I'm a little confused on one thing in this story all the kids I know were tested for their reading level up until like 5th grade.

Both public and private school.

So many kids are now in high school and can't read now.

I'm the uncle who takes the kids to superhero movies and then after we go to the comic shop

I STILL read out loud and do voices for kids and do programs at the library for kids giving out free books and comics.

Comic books really helped me and my kids read and write understand story structure character development etc

My youngest cried when I tried to stop reading her bedtime stories.

We watched game shows together play board games.

Even a cartoon or movie or TV they like? I buy the companion books.

If this young lady likes dance? Get her books on famous dancers. Actually TALK to her about what she is interested in.

This is all really a reflection on the parents unless she has a disability but even with that who was checking her homework? Going to parent teacher meetings? Checking her standardized testing results?
This is amazing stuff. I grew up doing all this with my mother. And the Pizza Hut reading program! Man I was (and still am) a massive bookworm and we didn’t get a ton of junk so I used to look forward to that monthly. I do flash cards with my kids for things like times tables and have them read daily. The problem i see is consistency. You can have the best training program in the world but if kids are doing it DAILY it’s all for naught. Tutoring and kumon are expensive as hell nowdays. Count yourself lucky if u can afford it
 
This is amazing stuff. I grew up doing all this with my mother. And the Pizza Hut reading program! Man I was (and still am) a massive bookworm and we didn’t get a ton of junk so I used to look forward to that monthly. I do flash cards with my kids for things like times tables and have them read daily. The problem i see is consistency. You can have the best training program in the world but if kids are doing it DAILY it’s all for naught. Tutoring and kumon are expensive as hell nowdays. Count yourself lucky if u can afford it

^^^^^

Well done and all true
 
The problem stated in the original post is not unusual.

During more than 16 years as an elementary school teacher, my experience has been that perhaps roughly 5 percent of my students read on grade level.

Expensive programs such as Kumon are supplements for what USED to be done is school by teachers, and is now in some cases prohibited, teaching phonics for example.

When assessing a child's reading ability, make sure it is done by someone with adequate language arts skills. A baboon will probably think the least literate among us is the next Shakespeare, so his/her assessment should be considered accordingly.

I quit teaching American kids more than a year ago. There was a classroom in our school used by a program called Beyond Basics, if memory serves. The people that worked there, including the person running the show, so to speak, had adequate verbal communications skills, but no specialized training or credentials in education. What they were doing is basically teaching phonics, using materials provided by the program.

What's wrong with this?

Before white women married to powerful, well to do men started getting Ph.D. degrees and writing books about education, TEACHERS used to teach phonics as a matter of course. Policy makers were convinced by these people that teaching phonics- essentially learning what sounds letters make in conjunction with other letters, and various other basic rules of decoding written language, was the reason for our dismal literacy level as a nation. They promoted the "whole language" approach, which is light ( I am being kind ) on learning the rules, and heavy on bombardment with literacy of all kinds and at all levels, an immersion model, if you will.

I returned to the classroom during the pandemic. I taught social studies, among other things, to students in grade 4. The reading level was so abysmal that I would regularly engage in choral reading with students (I read a sentence or two, the class repeated what I read). Doing this long term helps develop not only sight recognition of words, but also reinforces pronunciation conventions relative to the written word. I did this because assigning 2-5 pages for reading was an exercise in futility.

In order to test them, I would write 5 questions from the reading and lectures on the smart board.
I learned very quickly that they not only had trouble reading the questions, but the vast majority were UNABLE to formulate a cohesive sentence in response to any question. I had to allow them to provide pictures for answers (e.g. in order to show the concept of a surplus, when discussing economics), because most simply lacked the skills to respond in writing.

They couldn't do it. Period.

It did not help that many of my colleagues were masters of ebonics, and typically conjugated the verb "to be" as "he be, she be, we be."

I actualyl sat through TWO staff meetings with an ebonics slinging, highly paid staff specialist who decided on her own that pronouncing words correctly was tantamount to discrediting her culture.

I quit out of disgust because we are stupid and lazy as a nation.

As we all know, when America gets a cold, black folks get the flu.

Do the math. If you can.
 
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Wait so phonics was stopped because they thought it made reading HARDER?? This is literally the exact opposite of today’s reading crisis. Sight words is a dumb concept. You can break a word down phonetically and pronounce it even if you don’t know it provides you have a grasp of phonics. Damn…BGOL once again puttin me up on game.
 
The problem stated in the original post is not unusual.

During more than 16 years as an elementary school teacher, my experience has been that perhaps roughly 5 percent of my students read on grade level.

Expensive programs such as Kumon are supplements for what USED to be done is school by teachers, and is now in some cases prohibited, teaching phonics for example.

When assessing a child's reading ability, make sure it is done by someone with adequate language arts skills. A baboon will probably think the least literate among us is the next Shakespeare, so his/her assessment should be considered accordingly.

I quit teaching American kids more than a year ago. There was a classroom in our school used by a program called Beyond Basics, if memory serves. The people that worked there, including the person running the show, so to speak, had adequate verbal communications skills, but no specialized training or credentials in education. What they were doing is basically teaching phonics, using materials provided by the program.

What's wrong with this?

Before white women married to powerful, well to do men started getting Ph.D. degrees and writing books about education, TEACHERS used to teach phonics as a matter of course. Policy makers were convinced by these people that teaching phonics- essentially learning what sounds letters make in conjunction with other letters, and various other basic rules of decoding written language, was the reason for our dismal literacy level as a nation. They promoted the "whole language" approach, which is light ( I am being kind ) on learning the rules, and heavy on bombardment with literacy of all kinds and at all levels, an immersion model, if you will.

I returned to the classroom during the pandemic. I taught social studies, among other things, to students in grade 4. The reading level was so abysmal that I would regularly engage in choral reading with students (I read a sentence or two, the class repeated what I read). Doing this long term helps develop not only sight recognition of words, but also reinforces pronunciation conventions relative to the written word. I did this because assigning 2-5 pages for reading was an exercise in futility.

In order to test them, I would write 5 questions from the reading and lectures on the smart board.
I learned very quickly that they not only had trouble reading the questions, but the vast majority were UNABLE to formulate a cohesive sentence in response to any question. I had to allow them to provide pictures for answers (e.g. in order to show the concept of a surplus, when discussing economics), because most simply lacked the skills to respond in writing.

They couldn't do it. Period.

It did not help that many of my colleagues were masters of ebonics, and typically conjugated the verb "to be" as "he be, she be, we be."

I actualyl sat through TWO staff meetings with an ebonics slinging, highly paid staff specialist who decided on her own that pronouncing words correctly was tantamount to discrediting her culture.

I quit out of disgust because we are stupid and lazy as a nation.

As we all know, when America gets a cold, black folks get the flu.

Do the math. If you can.
This is just sad man. There really is a crisis and I can understand why more people are turning to homeschool to educate their kids but then they teach you what they want you to know. I really was shocked when I saw a report that kids going to COLLEGE these days can go all the way through college without having read one NOVEL....:eek::hithead: I would like to say that this started with No Child Left Behind, but I think it may have started before then


 
Wait so phonics was stopped because they thought it made reading HARDER?? This is literally the exact opposite of today’s reading crisis. Sight words is a dumb concept. You can break a word down phonetically and pronounce it even if you don’t know it provides you have a grasp of phonics. Damn…BGOL once again puttin me up on game.
You sir, are essentially repeating what any elementary school teacher worth his or her salt has asserted for more than a generation. To no avail.
 
Wait so phonics was stopped because they thought it made reading HARDER?? This is literally the exact opposite of today’s reading crisis. Sight words is a dumb concept. You can break a word down phonetically and pronounce it even if you don’t know it provides you have a grasp of phonics. Damn…BGOL once again puttin me up on game.

I actually had an interview with a different, fairly large school district in Michigan many years ago. The ONLY black person on a panel of 7 (SEVEN) women decided to start an argument with me about phonics vs. whole language. When asked to explain which I preferred and why, I indicated that phonics is a necessity; you can't decode any message (which is essentially what a written word is) if you don't know the key to the code. I went on to say both approaches are important. Of course, what she heard was "I hate the whole language approach", and kept badgering me about it to the point that one of the other panelists stepped in to clarify my position. The woman who went after me had just completed her Ph.D.

Make of that what you will.
 
I actually had an interview with a different, fairly large school district in Michigan many years ago. The ONLY black person on a panel of 7 (SEVEN) women decided to start an argument with me about phonics vs. whole language. When asked to explain which I preferred and why, I indicated that phonics is a necessity; you can't decode any message (which is essentially what a written word is) if you don't know the key to the code. I went on to say both approaches are important. Of course, what she heard was "I hate the whole language approach", and kept badgering me about it to the point that one of the other panelists stepped in to clarify my position. The woman who went after me had just completed her Ph.D.

Make of that what you will.
Sigh….i am a huge proponent of education but I’m not ashamed to admit that sometimes too many academic pursuits get in the way of common sense. How u didn’t cuss her out is beyond me.
 
she's still reading on a 3rd grade level. If that doesn't improve by March, she may not be promoted to 9th grade next year
She needs to be tested for a learning disability and if it checks out they need to just come down harder on her to read more and get a tutor of some sort.

these kids read texts,messages on post,emails and nothing else....got to introduce them to reading,just got to find the right books
 
Basically, they waited for the check engine light to come on before realizing it was time for an oil change.
 
My aunt was the 8th grade teacher for recent congresswoman Cori Bush's dad. At that time his family business was a confectionary in north St. Louis and he was needed to work on school days. He was out of days and would fall short of the minimum days attendance to graduate. Yet he graduated. The community he served remembered when the "I graduated sixth grade" was a reality, and not a joke.
Accept the task of being our children's first teacher and trust the dedication of teachers willing to teach the way children learn. Rappin to lessons; drawing a picture; listing 25 resolutions, but choosing just 5 to accomplish; having assignments corrected and signed by the teacher worked for me because I was embarrassed to be the only one who needed that boost. Hang in there, and don't quit!
The next year I wrote a paper that got read to every class on that subject.
 
Sigh….i am a huge proponent of education but I’m not ashamed to admit that sometimes too many academic pursuits get in the way of common sense. How u didn’t cuss her out is beyond me.
You probably won't believe this, but...

The person who recommended me was actually the only black member of the school board for that district, which is relatively wealthy. I knew him as a fellow customer of a barber in Ypsilanti.

When I told him what happened, he told me that when talking with his white colleagues, he would often throw in a "yassa" or two, and goes out of his way to make it known he was married to a white women, in order to diffuse any fear generated by his color.

I swear I am not making this shit up. I wish it were not true.
 
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