When China said, "...it wasn't a nice song to sing because it's talking about African-American people," her father should have explained to her that it was a song that helped slaves get through their work. It may have been slavery, but never-the-less, music lightened their burden. THEN, the child could have felt proud that her heritage included people that could overcome such oppression.

Its O.K. to 'talk about African-American people' or any 'other' people for that matter. Whats not O.K. is to ridicule others. This song does not ridicule anybody.

As usual, instead of being a responsible parent, the 'problem' was shifted to the school. Lets not deal with it home, lets blame somebody! Lets blame somebody for not taking into consideration our little darling's feelings. How do you discuss folk history if you are going to ignore slavery?

Once the principal was informed of the problem, she had no choice. Nobody wants to see a kid with her feeling's hurt. She is not, however, responsible for hurting the kid's feelings in the first place.

China's parents should be educating their child. If she's going to a school where she is a minority, they should be bending over backwards to educate her at home. Why didn't they take the time to explore the history of the song before making their daughter the center of attention.

I'm sure the daughter would be a lot happier if her parents would have dealt with the matter differently. She would be much stronger if her parents would have helped her to develop some coping strategies. The world is not going to adjust to her and her feelings. How will she cope in the real world where nobody really cares how she feels and her mommy and daddy aren't there to protect her?

I didn't catch her age, but if she's old enough to ask the questions, she's old enough to know the truth. Why are her parents coddling her to such a degree?

The kid is right and the principal is right. The parents are doing their child more harm than good. They are wrong.