Originally published August 29, 2023 4:46 pm PDT
Parents at a California elementary school are slamming officials for hosting a playdate specifically for “black and brown” children.
QUICK FACTS:
- Parents from Anthony Chabot Elementary School in Oakland, California are outraged after officials welcomed a playdate for children based on their race.
- “If your family identifies as Black, Brown, or API or are [sic] a parent/caregiver of a Black, Brown, or API student. Come hang out while we get a chance to know each other and build our community as we kick off this schoolyear [sic],” a flyer for the event read.
- One concerned parent took to social media saying, “I dunno about others, but I’m genuinely upset about what ultimately boils down to a ‘No whites allowed’ playdate.”
- “How is this productive? Why are we continuing to segregate people, let alone KIDS,” the parent continued.
UPSET PARENTS AT CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OVER “SEGREGATED” PLAYDATE FOR CHILDREN:
“We’ll look back and cringe so hard that we tried to beat racism by segregating kids of color from white kids,” one parent said.
BACKGROUND:
- In February 2023, a California school district used lesson plans designed by its Black Lives Matter Task Force (BLM) to help teach 7th graders about their implicit bias during Black History Month.
- In an effort to address “issues related to racial justice,” Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) required 7th- through 12th-grade teachers to use a curriculum created by the school’s Black Lives Matter Task Force, a coalition dedicated to creating equity for African American students and staff within the district.
- “In an effort to bring the concepts of racial justice to the forefront of your education during Black History Month, the BLM Task Force created a lesson for all 7th graders to help you explore and think critically regarding concepts of race, racism and racial equity,” the curriculum stated. “While this topic may feel sensitive for some, it is a crucial part of Civic Engagement that we value in the AUHSD.”
- In April 2023, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) filed a complaint against Seattle Public Schools Pathfinder K-8 School after offering affinity groups based on race.
- Students were guided into a particular group “based on the darkness of their skin,” according to an April 2022 letter.
- Students in the white group were to “examine how to center the voices and experiences of BIPOC without harming and/or re-traumatizing BIPOC,” whereas the BIPOC group were instructed to “take care of themselves and one another while unpacking racism, internalized oppression, and racialized trauma, discussing the impact of White Supremacy Culture and the pressure of assimilation in the absence of Whiteness,” noted FAIR.
