From what I gather, this was a lesson about ancient Mesopotamia, and it was not asking students what you would do to apply the law as a Southern plantation owner in the South with your black slaves as a Southerner. That would border far more on insensitivity, I would think, than trying to role play yourself as someone living in ancient Mesopotamia.
And? From what I read, it has nothing to do with slavery in the Americas, which would be part of Black history. This was about the ancient Near East, where slavery was commonplace with members of all races and ethnicities. The Bible contains references to slavery as well as part of its culture and way of social structures.
From what I gather, the lesson was about understanding another culture from ancient times. It would be like asking how would you as a member of the early Christian church feel about your fellow believers who were slaves. While such concepts jar us today, one cannot wipe out ancient history because its beliefs and values weren't up to today's standards.
Acknowledging it and attempting to understand it, does not, nor should not threaten one's beliefs and values today. "Don't talk about it", is not really learning any lessons from it.
I'm not sure where learning about ancient Mesopotamian culture fits in with the alt-right. Fact is, back in that day, if they had access to the whites in the northern climates, chances are they would have been the ones who were the slaves themselves.
Of course, racial sensitivity is important. I completely acknowledge that. But is this assignment really racially insensitive? If they were role playing what it was like to be an ancient Mesopotamian, should they ignore slavery as part of teaching what it was like? How can you imagine what it was like to be someone living in that day, when you take away its reality?
