by Eric Lendrum
At a public elementary school in Washington D.C., teachers and other staff members forced “anti-racism” curriculum on students as young as four years old, and even went so far as to ask the children to out allegedly racist family members.
As reported by Fox News, a letter signed by Danielle Singh, principal of Janney Elementary School, and dated from November 30th confirms that students were forced to participate in an “Anti-Racism Fight Club.” The event was hosted by a speaker named Doyin Richards.
“As part of this work, each student has a fist book to help continue the dialogue at school and home,” Singh confirmed in the letter, with a link to Richards’ presentation. “We recognize that any time we engage topics such as race and equity, we may experience a variety of emotions. This is a normal part of the learning and growing process. As a school community we want to continue the dialogue with our students and understand this is just the beginning.”
Richards’ book, the “Anti-Racism Fight Club Fistbook for Kids,” declares that “White people are a part of a society that benefits them in almost every instance,” and that “it’s as if White people walk around with an invisible force field because they hold all of the power in America.”
“If you are a White person, White privilege is something you were born with and it simply means that your life is not more difficult due to the color of your skin,” Richards says in the book. “Put differently, it’s not your fault for having White privilege, but it is your fault if you choose to ignore it.” The book also says that “anti-racism” involves being “loud, uncomfortable, confrontational and visible to ensure change is made.”
The book then demands that the students ask them to find racism in themselves, then asks about family members.
“Just because someone is older than you doesn’t mean that they’re right all of the time,” the book continues. “Parents need to stop making excuses for that behavior if they truly believe in anti-racism. Who in your family has racist beliefs? Do you think you can change their ways? What is your strategy for dealing with them?”
Parents have already taken to the district’s online forums to complain about the material, with one anonymous commenter claiming that their child was traumatized by the unknown contents of the lesson.
“Anyone else’s Kindergarten kid freaked out by an anti-racism assembly today? My kid needed to sleep with a light on and the door open tonight,” said the comment. “Anyone know what specifically was talked about? My kid couldn’t relay much except that she was scared.”
In a statement responding to the leaked reports, DC Public Schools claimed that the “fistbook” was never shared with students.
“DC Public Schools provides joyful and rigorous academic experiences for our students and is committed to advancing educational equity,” the district’s statement said. “In December, a resource link with this content was shared in a parent newsletter at one of our schools. It is not part of our DCPS curriculum and was not shared with students.”
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Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was the Secretary of the College Republicans and the founding chairman of the school’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter. He has interned for Young America’s Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the White House, and has worked for numerous campaigns including the 2018 re-election of Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-22). He is currently a co-host of The Right Take podcast.
Photo “Four-Year-Old Reading a Book” by John Morgan. CC BY 2.0.
