Parents Defending Education (PDE) filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Monday over Boston Public Schools’ (BPS) “racially-segregated” teacher training programs.
Presentation slides from the district detail their mission to train “white school leader(s)” in antiracism, according to the complaint. PDE’s letter called on the commission to investigate the district’s hiring and training processes and “act swiftly to remedy unlawful policies and practices, and order appropriate relief.”
The “white affinity group” asked participants to commit to antiracism and address the “system that needs to be destroyed in order for Black people to stay alive and well,” according to PDE. Further training materials obtained by PDE reveal the district teaches that racism towards white people does not exist and white people must “prioritize the voices of people of Color.”
“If a district’s racially-segregated teacher support programs would earn a stamp of approval from the KKK, something has gone terribly wrong — and the fact that no administrators in the district seem to have opposed this programming raises additional red flags,” Nicole Neily, president of PDE, said in a statement. “It’s not rocket science: including or excluding public school staff from opportunities on the basis of skin color is wrong.”
White School Leader Affinity Group Slideshow (Parents Defending Education)
“Anti-racist affinity groups for White people are an opportunity to develop their understanding of the historical and current realities of how internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and systemic racism manifest; to face their indoctrination and participation in White supremacy; and become increasingly effective at disrupting racism, applying racial equity strategies, and building authentic relationships with people of Color,” one document obtained by PDE reads. “These affinity groups are a place for White people to take responsibility for their own learning.”
Several school districts, including Kirkwood in Missouri and Summit in Colorado, have been under fire for similar racially-segregated affinity groups that are open exclusively to nonwhite students and staff.
BPS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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