Students and parents complained after a Dallas high school’s class assignment placed the accused Kenosha shooter on a list of ‘modern heroes’

This news was culled from Yahoo News publication of September 13th, 2020

Students and parents complained after a Dallas high school’s class assignment placed the suspected Kenosha shooter on a list of “modern heroes” that they could choose to defend, CNN reported.

Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide and a string of other felonies tied to the killing of two people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

He was suggested as a “hero for the modern age” along with others like Malcolm X, George Floyd, Mahatma Ghandi, and even Joseph Rosenbaum, a man who was shot and killed in Kenosha, NBC reported.

KTVT which reviewed a photo of the assignment, reported that the names of Gandhi and Malcolm X were misspelled.

The school district has apologized for the assignment, which was given to seniors at W.T. White High School in the Dallas Independent School District (ISD).

“Racial equity is a top priority in Dallas ISD, and we remain committed to providing a robust teaching environment where all students can learn. It is important that we continue to be culturally sensitive to our diverse populations and provide a space of respect and value,” Robyn Harris, director of news and information for Dallas ISD told Business Insider in a statement.

Harris said the assignment was removed from Google Classroom and students are not required to complete it. The teacher who assigned it has not been identified by the district.

According to district data, 81% of the students at the school are Hispanic and 10% are African American.

“The juxtaposition of George Floyd’s name with Kyle’s name was just astounding,” Kristian Hernandez, whose younger brother attends W.T. White High School told KXAS about the assignment. “The value of Black lives are not up for debate, and that’s what it felt like this was sort of getting at — by way of the names that were included.”

Hernandez said her brother was in “disbelief” that this was assigned