SC elementary school trip sparks outrage after 5th graders are filmed picking cotton

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A South Carolina elementary school field trip has caused outrage among parents, after their children were filmed picking cotton during Black History Month.

Cellphone footage acquired by Fox 46 shows fifth-graders from Ebenezer Avenue Elementary picking cotton on a field trip, singing 'I like it when you fill the sack, I like it when you don't talk back. Make money for me.'

Parents said they had to sign a permission slip prior to the historical excursion to Carroll School, but the form made no mention of slavery 'cotton picking'. They say the form told them the trip was about the Great Depression.

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The district bills the trip as a 'unique learning opportunity', promoting an 'understanding about our past'.

Jessica Blanchard, a mother of an Ebeneezer student said she was left feeling 'livid' when she saw the video of her son in the field.

'I'm African-American and my ancestors picked cotton,' she told Fox 46. 'Why would I want my son to pick cotton and think that it's fun?'

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She added that she fully supports the school, but said the lesson had clearly gone too far and was ignorant.

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'The song that is sung by the students as they participate in picking cotton, as it was done in the Great Depression time period, was originally written by an African-American instructor who currently works with students at the Carroll School,' they added.

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