School's Anti Racism Program or Propaganda?

I received pics of these in an email from a buddy a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know what to do with them so I just sat on them for a bit. After checking to make sure they were real (They definitely are. They're on the school corporation's web page in pdf form), I decided to dump them here and see what all of you have to say about them.

I will provide some demographic information about my area and the school, in case it might make a difference in anyone's opinion. I have redacted the name of the corporation, address, phone, any names, anything that may be used to find where it's located and subsequently dox myself. I'm not providing any links for the same reason.

Please remember that this is not in the Mud - Pit so a little decorum is much appreciated. Let's get started!
"Anti-Racism Statement"



"Reading List" for Students & Parents


"Reading List" for Educators


Now that you've looked over those, here is some demographic info to make things more complicated.
I live in a midwestern state, in a small city (approx 60k population). We are known as a factory town, so the majority of people are in the lower to middle part of the middle class.
Racial breakdowns
Entire City
White - 83.9%
Black - 9.9%
Hispanic - 4.0%
Asian - 1.4%
American Indian - 0.7%

School District
White - 81%
Black - 11%
Hispanic - 4%
Asian - 1%
Native American - 1%

Yes, predominately white area and school district.
The school administration is comprised of a white male Superintendent, as well as a white male Assistant Superintendent and a white female Assistant Superintendent. The local school board is comprised of 5 white females, 1 white male and 1 black male.

The Principals of the schools in the district are as follows:
White female - 5
White male - 4
Black female - 1
Hispanic female - 1
It was difficult enough to find the principals so I didn't even attempt the vice principals. Lol

Ok. That should be plenty of data points to play around with or to use to confuse the situation. If there are any other pieces of data that you can think of that might help out, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

So, I guess the reason I am bringing this to the ATS members is because I'm not sure if I should be outraged that a mostly white, upper middle class school board has decided to teach the white kids how to not be racist to the Black kids by using Marxist approved literature or if I'm just looking too deep into all of this.

In my eyes, I see it like this: "Come one, come all! Grab your 'How to not be a racist bigot, while also feeling guilty for being born white packet' brought to you by a bunch of snooty white folks who know how to solve racism because we are white and smarter than you!"

Am I wrong for seeing it like this? I'm white. I graduated from the high school in the district and the demographics were similar as to when I graduated 20 years ago (we may have had 2 percent more black students than today but still very similar). There was little to no racial tension or animosity going on back then. Yes, there were the usual groups that hung out together and they were typically segregated by race but it was not done intentionally and if you were fun to hang with, we'd hang with you. The big weekend parties were almost always a good mix of every race and there was never any trouble that was due to race.

Any fights that happened were almost always over a girl and that was that. I am white and growing up, my best friend was black. I didn't even realize there was a difference until we were in 5th grade and we were making some kool-aid on a hot summer day and he told me that he was gonna teach me how to make it the right way, not like the white folks do. And that was the first time I realized we were different! Lol!

So, growing up in the same town, 20 years earlier than today, how did my school go from pretty much everyone getting along with very little racial tension to a school district that is pumping out anti racist propaganda and going to force socialist approved literature into the minds of the students? Where they degrade 1 race of students and prop up another race? Has society devolved that much in 20 years? Have we taken steps that far backwards that this is necessary? Is it my cognitive dissonance that has kept me from seeing all of this?

***One last disclaimer***
I don't have a dog in this fight any longer. My step daughter graduated from this school this year and my daughter attends school at one of the smaller county schools. So, I no longer have to deal with the shenanigans going on in the district. However, there were MANY issues that I had with the school, their rules, the biased way those rules were enforced, the lies and cover ups that went on, etc. Last year, my step daughter was in class, sitting next to a boy that went to the bathroom, took a pic of a handgun he had and posted it on snapchat. The school went on lock down within minutes. Cops were crawling in and all around the school. Every student was stopped and frisked even after they caught the kid. The school's statement was that the boy was not at school that day. That he took the pic at home and posted it the night prior. That they went to his house and arrested him that morning... Blah blah blah. Well, she was thinking ahead and screenshot his post. It was most definitely in the school bathroom and was posted a few minutes before the screenshot. Never mind the fact that he was literally sitting next to him prior to him going to the bathroom. Why did the school lie? Why did nobody want to answer my questions? Why didn't the media want to hear the real story? Why the cover up? All to protect the school's reputation and to save their own ass? That's my only guess. It was just a bunch of similar stuff that they'd lie about and when called out, they'd refuse to answer.

OK ATS, let me know what you think about all of this. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Is it right or wrong? Let me hear your takes on this anti-racism stand the school has decided it needed to take.

Thanks for your time!

The key to raising children in a bull# education system is to have a conversation with them about what they are learning in school and give them extra points of view or things to think about.

Tell them that the school has a certain bias, and that there is more to history than what they teach in school. Encourage them to be critical thinkers and to think outside of the box. Introduce them to individuals of great character who have made positive impacts throughout history whose political ideas don't align with what the education system pushes.

It costs more to educate at-risk students.

I feel a tax hike coming on.
That is most likely the root of the situation
Sink more money into teacher's unions

It looks to me like it is propaganda dressed up as an anti-racism program. But I highly suspect that the program was developed outside of your community as a model for others, a one size fits all program.

Back in the early 1970s, when I was in elementary school in a suburb of Detroit, a mere two and half miles from the dreaded 8 Mile border of Detroit proper, my parents treated us differently when we went into Detroit toward downtown. They kept a close eye on us little kids and took us into the bathroom with them, their fear and distrust of Detroit was perceptible to us. However, it hadn't been that long since the riots of the late 60s, a turning point for Detroit that built an invisible wall at 8 Mile Road. At the time to me as a kid it was about Detroit and not the black people, for my parents, it was about the black people, but I didn't realize that as a little kid.

I also remember the black students getting bused into our schools, even though they came form a segregated community near our neighborhood. There were a lot of pissed off people who didn't want black kids in their schools. I liked playing with any kids, black, brown, whatever, and when I was little, I knew there was a difference, but I never called it anything, it never had a name for me.

Then at some point I picked up racist ideas in middle school that followed me until college when I went to WSU in downtown Detroit. I was all over the "bad" neighborhoods, went to seedy clubs and after hours speak easy places with drugs and gambling going on. I never got mugged, ripped off or harmed by the black people I partied with, I grew out of any racism I had developed since the 1970s, I think most of us who felt it in those years grew out of it by the late 80s.

Now in the 21st century, a couple generations away from the turmoil of the 1960s, I don't know what level racism is at now or what areas it has more influence in, but it was always the older people of my generation, on both the black and white sides, that carried the racist beliefs. There should be little to no racism left in the schools in this day and age, but are likely many areas where it is still a thing. So they still have these programs, likely geared toward the white communities that have at one time, or still do, harbor racist beliefs. I also highly suspect that the liberal element is making a bigger deal out of it than there is, so the programs persist regardless if they are needed or not.

a reply to: Tanga36

"White Fragility" is written by a white supremacist! Robin DiAngelo admits it in her own book. She is basically pushing her racism onto other white people assuming they see POC in the same light as she does.

But yea, our education system has been taken over by Marxists and the proof is easy to see in the cities with their businesses being burnt, looted and rioting in the streets.

It may due some good as long as they don't go overboard. Mass incarcerations, the outcome of housing segregation, and just being able to think about issues another race faces might be good for them.

Think of it this way. Most of these kids are only going to havve ever talked to white kids. So why not get some education about the biggest minority race in the country?

a reply to: seeker1963

Blaming it all on marxism is a scapegoat. If we addressed these controversial issues of race and police brutality (not just subject to race), we could have avoided these riots.

IMO, a large cause was America supressing these issues and letting them come to a boil.

a reply to: AutomateThis1
I have always taught my daughter to think for herself, to do her own research into things, to question things that her gut tells her doesn't seem right or that she just questions the validity of. I've instilled in her the notion to question authority but to do so in a respectful manner and to back down if the fight just isn't worth it.

Luckily, the school she attends is a much smaller corporation and they have a lower teacher to student ratio so she can get a little more help if needed. Also, all of the teachers of hers that I've spoken with over the years (she'll be a freshman in high school this year), most of them have absolutely incredible. They are willing to discuss things with the parents, offer advice, take advice and just seem to care more all around. Yes, the school she's at does pay more than the larger public school so they usually have more applicants to choose from for teaching positions but it really isn't that big of a difference. The entire atmosphere at her school is more positive than the one in this post, the one my step daughter attended. It's odd that schools only 4 miles apart are so different in their approach to teaching the students.

a reply to: Gothmog
You are probably right. It's always about more money. Hell, they just built the football team a stadium...like a legit stadium. They aren't even that good! Lol

They have been doing construction and continually adding on to the high school since I was there 20 years ago. That doesn't make much sense to me because looking at the number of students today, compared to when I went there, there are several hundred less students today than in 2000. But the size of the building has grown by at least 60%.

I'm sure there will be another tax hike coming for some kind of project that needs done, or like you said, the teacher's union. If only the teacher's union cared about the students half as much as they cared about themselves, maybe the kids would be able to pass the state mandated tests at a rate better than 35% (60% once they play around with the numbers for awhile).

I honestly feel sorry for the kids in the school corp nowadays. The school is more concerned with their motto "Legacy Matters" than they are with helping the students to thrive or even just become better than when they walked in the doors.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck
You are probably around my parent's age. I recall hearing about the "race riots" from when they were in school. My mom told me of how she was great friends with a black girl all through school but when the riots kicked off, that girl attacked her, yanked her hair out and beat her bloody. I was so grateful that things were different for me. I loved all my friends, no matter the color of their skin. We had some pretty crazy and fun times together and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. I also wouldn't try doing most of that stuff if presented the opportunity! Haha!

I remember about 15 years ago, hearing white kids using the "N" word on a regular basis, even in front of their black friends. My jaw dropped, I was in absolute shock. I kept waiting to see fists fly but it never happened. We knew and understood that we were not to ever use that word, no matter how good of friends we were with someone. It was an automatic beat down if you did. Why these kids thought it was OK to do, I can only speculate but maybe the normalization of white kids using it, has taken the whole race thing backwards several steps? Or maybe it's just the white guilt felt by some that they feel the need to project onto society today? Who knows?

originally posted by: seeker1963
a reply to: Tanga36

"White Fragility" is written by a white supremacist! Robin DiAngelo admits it in her own book. She is basically pushing her racism onto other white people assuming they see POC in the same light as she does.

But yea, our education system has been taken over by Marxists and the proof is easy to see in the cities with their businesses being burnt, looted and rioting in the streets.

Thank you for bringing up White Fragility and Robin D'Angelo. I meant to point that out in my post but ended up rambling onto a tangent. I agree, she is an absolute racist, pushing for segregation and thinking that POC are "lesser" people than whites. That they need whites to help them out by degrading ourselves until we are down to their level. It's some of the most insane racist rhetoric that I've heard of and the last is propped up by the crazy, far Leftists as a beacon of how things should be. After seeing this list, her book was back at the top on Amazon, probably because it's being suggested by numerous school districts as reading material on "how to become not a racist anymore."

Did you know that she makes seven figures being a "diversity consultant" and lecturer? Gotta give it to her, she turned her racism into a gold mine. I'm not sure why she hasn't given her PhD or the 2 honorary doctorates she has received to a POC. Obviously she used her white privilege to obtain those and she must not deserve those accolades simply because she is white. What hypocrisy! Lol

As to the OP that reads like propaganda to me, and while I am glad you are free of it for now If my kid was there I would be looking at other options.

Now I am old so maybe I missed the boat but I thought (or seem to remember reading) that children were not racist that racisim was a learned behavior?

So what legitamite reason could there be for this propaganda in such young ages, my son is 2 and while he pauses and tries to figure out differences he inevitably just wades in and plays with whoever no matter there color or gender.

a reply to: Tanga36
There are some good schools and teachers left.
But one has to look around to find them.

a reply to: blueman12
My step daughter had zero white friends all throughout school. She hung out with blacks, Hispanics or mixed kids. I honestly thought the school corp had a higher density of black students due to that. I was and still am shocked to see the demographics of the school. Any time I would pick her up, I rarely saw any white kids. Granted, I wasn't necessarily looking for specific races, I was mainly looking for the boys that I'd heard her talk about or was crushing on (ya know, doing dad type recon when I had the opportunity). So, maybe I was just overlooking the white kids since she has always dated mixed boys? But it truly shocked me to see that the school is so white, according to the numbers.

I am all about learning about other cultures, other races, other beliefs, etc. The part that I have a problem with is where they say self introspection is needed and acknowledging white privilege. That could end up becoming a VERY slippery slope if not handled delicately and with some extreme attention to detail. I have heard about the school covering up crimes committed by black students, or punishing white kids involved in something but letting the black students off with a warning or no punishment at all. Holding teenagers to different standards based solely on race is only going to cause more tension between them. Why can't there be 1 set of rules for everyone? Why can't they hold every student accountable for their actions no matter their skin color?

Another example: my step daughter is beautiful (and she knows it). She loves the attention from the boys, most of the time. The girls, on the other hand, hated her because she got so much attention from the boys. They would gang up on her in the hallway or bathroom. They'd physically assault her, verbally assault her, steal her things from her, etc. Typical bullying/jealous girl BS. She never went to the principal or teachers about this but another student did. The girls all got called to the principal's office to settle things. The pack of girls (none were white) were told to go back to class, even after admitting to harassing her. My step daughter was told that she was at fault because of how she dressed. There is a fairly strict dress code at the school and she often would be told she was in violation of it bc of 1 thing or another. Even though she had not broken any of the rules in the dress code, she was told she caused it because of how her jeans fit or how her shirts fit. She is a tall, fit, curvy girl. Unless she is wearing baggy sweats, pretty much everything shows off her curves. So, even though she did not break any rules, she was made to call home to have me bring her something else to wear. She was in tears because she had been assaulted and she was told it was her fault. The black and mixed girls suffered zero consequences even though they admitted to be the aggressors. She wasn't wearing anything provocative. She was wearing jeans, a sweater and boots. How do you cover that up? I got escorted out of the school that day. Was not the first time and wouldn't be the last time. The principal hated when I was the one that showed up on those types of calls.

a reply to: Tanga36

Yeah, when they popped MLKJR, it screwed Motown bad and that is an understatement. I was too young to remember any coverage of the riots and Vietnam, also JFK was before my time, but the destruction of black and white relations around Detroit was brutal. The tension lasted decades and even though I had no clue about racism when I was little, I knew about the suburban fear of Detroit.

When I went through my downtown phase in my twenties (late 80s - 90s), I traveled back routes that looked like a war zone and saw the old Detroit in ruins. I used to park in the WSU parking lot that used to be the Vernors plant, I'd park on top of the Vernor's gnome tile mosaic that used to be the front lobby. I used to rent store fronts in an old art Deco building, one of a few that weren't in ruins. At that time, they never repaired the destruction caused by the 60s riots. Now they have whole neighborhoods as empty lots.

The scars from those riots are still there, and likely the racism is too.

a reply to: Tanga36

I may be wrong, but from what i can tell, conditions for black people in America are better now than at literally any other point in American history. Yet for some reason, some group or another seems to want to put race relations in america back to what it was in the 50's and 60's. Segregation doesn't just need to be physical. These people are pushing for an almost worse kind of segregation than what used to exist, a mental, cultural segregation engrained on people. That white people and black people can never coexist as equals. This is the same bull# that used to be spun before, they've just taken a new angle.

a reply to: Tanga36
Aspergers, autism. We hear the n word being used so freely that we logically don't understand why we can't use it. Has nothing to do with racism, but dishonest intellectual property that has no legal claims.

Listen to the rap music in their car, a word is a word to people with mental illness. For someone to say it's okay for them to say but not others sounds bigoted to us with mental illness.

I realize people attribute too much emotion to human language but there is a group of society taking the stick at the back of the bus for your PC culture, and it's not who you think it is.

Edit: This isn't an attack, just trying to give insight from mental illness that's affecting a large number of people. You may not understand it, it's like depression but we don't feel like we're broken, just trying to make sense in your social media led world where everyone isn't in the same circle so all information isn't shared.

a reply to: blueman12

Spoken like a true Marxist. In a sense however, you are quite correct. And the reason the issues were not addressed is that most normal middle to upper middle class Americans just dont care what happens in the Urban areas.....they dont live there anymore. You really are looking at a situation of at minimum, 2 seperate and distinct countries in the US. One is normal white rural to suburban America whose main interests are economic, not social justice. Social justice, to them anyway, just means higher taxes. The Dems control the Urban areas and social justice to them means more power and higher taxes to keep themselves in power.

I watch the news coming out of Chicago and its like watching the news from a foriegn country....a foriegn country I have no interest in really. It would be like me watching news from Cape Town South Africa. What do I care?

Rakcism is......it simply is, its part of the human condition, its tribalism. Nothing can be done about it. The real problem is wealth, the US is just too wealthy its like a plum prize for the taking. The single fastest and best solution to the problem is to beggar the US by letting the States go their own way.

originally posted by: Nivhk
We hear the n word being used so freely that we logically don't understand why we can't use it.

No one is stopping you, go ahead and use it.

a reply to: Tanga36

So, I guess the reason I am bringing this to the ATS members is because I'm not sure if I should be outraged that a mostly white, upper middle class school board has decided to teach the white kids how to not be racist to the Black kids by using Marxist approved literature or if I'm just looking too deep into all of this.

In my eyes, I see it like this: "Come one, come all! Grab your 'How to not be a racist bigot, while also feeling guilty for being born white packet' brought to you by a bunch of snooty white folks who know how to solve racism because we are white and smarter than you!"

Am I wrong for seeing it like this?

To be honest, I think that's exactly the way you are meant to see it... thus putting you -- as a White person -- on the eternal defensive. Because the premise is that you must have "White privilege" even if you may not be racist (and of course your "racism" is still debatable). And as you noted, there seems to be a deliberate effort to "deny privilege" by lowering everyone to the perceived level of Blacks, rather than raising everyone to the perceived level of Whites.

In the real world, and especially in our Constitutional Republic, we should be focused only on equal opportunities and equal application of the law. Where the law, our government institutions, and/or due process is inherently or effectively "racist," then we need to make the necessary and proper corrections. But no one has to like anyone else, no one has to be good to anyone else, no one has to do a damn thing for anyone else.

We would be doing all of us a favor if we stopped playing into the butthurt and gave people the steel backbone to think and do for themselves, understanding that no matter what we do (or don't) do, someone ain't gonna be happy. All we can do is our best.

Bottom line (to me) is that focusing on correcting people's "wrongthink" is only meant to pit people against each other and further the divide-and-conquer campaign.

If anyone were serious about helping raise the standard of living for Black people, they would start with those factors keeping them from helping themselves -- poor diet and nutrition, widespread lead poisoning, gangs running hoods/schools, expanded school choice (charter, online, open enrollment, etc), mentor programs, vocational training, and so much more.

And they'd be screaming from the rooftops for an end to private prisons... which should be part and parcel of all police reform efforts.