School district officials defend ‘slave letter writing’ assignment at Mississippi school

Officials at a Mississippi school district have addressed the public about a controversial assignment called the “slavery letter writing activity.” Lamar County School District Superintendent Steven Hampton confirmed this week that the activity was doled out during an eighth-grade history class at Purvis Middle School, according to local news station WLOX-TV. The assignment was intended to show students the “atrocities and negatives of slavery,” according to Hampton’s interview with the news station. An image of the writing assignment was shared and discussed heavily online, with several comme...