And of course one of the supreme ways of transcending racial categories in education is through the arts; is it any accident that all this heavily ideological teaching has come along in the aftermath of heavy cuts to arts programs? One rigorous and hilarious choir rehearsal would blow the ideology out of the water. I spent most of my childhood and youth in Detroit and attended high school during the late 1960s, and I owe a lifelong debt (and my sanity in high school) to Kathryn Ellis, the dance teacher, and DeWard Johnson, the choir director, two black teachers who held their students to the highest standard. The best interracial experiences are not about working on race relations; they're about mutual interest in a subject and the learning of complex and demanding skills (and mutual crazy laughter in the process). The aim of education, so far as it concerns race (or 'race') at all, should be to promote and prolong those times of mutual interest and effort, not to reinforce a relationship of mutual dread and mistrust.
Aug 31, 2022·edited Aug 31, 2022Liked by Free Black Thought
To my Black brothers and sisters,
The Critical Theorists of Academia do not care about you or your people as flesh-and-blood humans but only as VICTIMS, or more specifically, as Victims that they can wield and weaponize in their now century-long fight to dismantle and destroy Western liberal democracy and replace it with some form of "Socialism". ("Socialism" meaning to them a society controlled and overseen by a vanguard class of leftist philosopher-kings who will dictate every aspect of our lives and call it "liberation".)
If you want to talk about "appropriation" the greatest act of "appropriation" of our time is the way white liberals have appropriated Black pain and suffering as if it is a priest's collar or a crucifix they can display to proclaim their righteousness. Their entire political movement is really a power grab to defeat their blood enemies, the Bad Whites aka Deplorables, and one of the ways they do this is by flaunting their superior morality because they're "not racist" like those other whites over there. Their entire spurious sales pitch comes down to: "We're better because we love Black people more than you!" which is a brazen display of stolen valor.
I know this can sound overheated (it sounds overheated to me) so I'll just end with one question: would you trust someone who said they loved you and wanted to marry you after you just found out they were recently twice jilted at the altar?
Well, the Leftists were rejected first by the Proletariat, who preferred higher wages and better living conditions to their "Revolution", and then they turned to the Wretched of the Earth aka the Third World, which succumbed to Communist rule of bloodthirsty tyrants like Mao and Pol Pot until their societies collapsed.
It was only after these 2 prior failures that the rebranded Marxists aka Crit Theorists suddenly discovered how much they loved American blacks (and gays etc), not because any of them actually knew any Black people and wanted to improve their lives, but wholly and entirely because their history and situation gave them a great weapon to use in their eternal battle.
American liberal democracy has certainly been deeply cruel to Black people in the past, but it still our best hope of living together in peace and prosperity instead of in a state of permanent ideological warfare and ever-increasing hatred and resentment, which has always been the end result of every Leftist takeover.
Aug 30, 2022·edited Aug 30, 2022Liked by Free Black Thought
Thank you so much for this. I hope, hope, hope that this kind of pushback becomes more widespread and "mainstream." I spent so many years being a (white) proponent of "antiracism," and I deeply regret whatever part I played in perpetuating so much of what I can see now has (inevitably?) devolved into a really demeaning kind of essentialism. I understand why white folks embrace this (and why I did for so long), but I'm not sure I understand how so many non-white folks - especially when presumably positive human traits like punctuality, logic, decisiveness, or mathematics ability are eschewed as just more manifestations of "white dominant culture" - aren't pushing back more against this dominant (haha) narrative on race.
Thank you so much for putting this together...I will be using a lot of these points and arguments in my school district, which is demonically overtaken by a political agenda of dividing and undermining children and teachers. For example: https://karlyn.substack.com/p/a-teacher-trainer-in-cambridge-ma?sd=pf
I have been seeing references to Culturally Responsible Teaching, does suffer from the same issues? Unclear what the distinction is, if any, between "Critical Race Theory" and Culturally Responsible Teaching?
Sorry for the redundancy but, yeah, this was *outstanding!* Can't thank You enough.
But You *Slavedrivers!* (haha ;-) Now I hafta check all the links in Your "Coda." Can't thank You anywhere *near* enough for those. Would also reiterate Your recommendation the fascinating views of Dr. Mason.
Finally, wanna TY *again,* just for providing some sanity and especially some *hope.* :-) TYTY.
I posted this on Facebook on a post by one of my relatives about De Santis and his crusade against "wokeness" and he questioned whether the programs mentioned in this article are widespread or representative of what is going on in American public education in general, or just a few scattered instances. That made me curious. Just how widespread are these types of programs in our schools?
Regarding # 2 above, the framing of White Supremacy Culture, associated traits such as objectivity, delayed gratification, worship of written word, etc and the potential for it to negatively effect motivation and empowerment in black children; are the authors or other FBT members aware of any academic studies to support the claim. I'm meeting with members of a school board to discuss the "Unlearning WSC" framing that is a part of the disticts equity plan. Thank you!
And of course one of the supreme ways of transcending racial categories in education is through the arts; is it any accident that all this heavily ideological teaching has come along in the aftermath of heavy cuts to arts programs? One rigorous and hilarious choir rehearsal would blow the ideology out of the water. I spent most of my childhood and youth in Detroit and attended high school during the late 1960s, and I owe a lifelong debt (and my sanity in high school) to Kathryn Ellis, the dance teacher, and DeWard Johnson, the choir director, two black teachers who held their students to the highest standard. The best interracial experiences are not about working on race relations; they're about mutual interest in a subject and the learning of complex and demanding skills (and mutual crazy laughter in the process). The aim of education, so far as it concerns race (or 'race') at all, should be to promote and prolong those times of mutual interest and effort, not to reinforce a relationship of mutual dread and mistrust.
To my Black brothers and sisters,
The Critical Theorists of Academia do not care about you or your people as flesh-and-blood humans but only as VICTIMS, or more specifically, as Victims that they can wield and weaponize in their now century-long fight to dismantle and destroy Western liberal democracy and replace it with some form of "Socialism". ("Socialism" meaning to them a society controlled and overseen by a vanguard class of leftist philosopher-kings who will dictate every aspect of our lives and call it "liberation".)
If you want to talk about "appropriation" the greatest act of "appropriation" of our time is the way white liberals have appropriated Black pain and suffering as if it is a priest's collar or a crucifix they can display to proclaim their righteousness. Their entire political movement is really a power grab to defeat their blood enemies, the Bad Whites aka Deplorables, and one of the ways they do this is by flaunting their superior morality because they're "not racist" like those other whites over there. Their entire spurious sales pitch comes down to: "We're better because we love Black people more than you!" which is a brazen display of stolen valor.
I know this can sound overheated (it sounds overheated to me) so I'll just end with one question: would you trust someone who said they loved you and wanted to marry you after you just found out they were recently twice jilted at the altar?
Well, the Leftists were rejected first by the Proletariat, who preferred higher wages and better living conditions to their "Revolution", and then they turned to the Wretched of the Earth aka the Third World, which succumbed to Communist rule of bloodthirsty tyrants like Mao and Pol Pot until their societies collapsed.
It was only after these 2 prior failures that the rebranded Marxists aka Crit Theorists suddenly discovered how much they loved American blacks (and gays etc), not because any of them actually knew any Black people and wanted to improve their lives, but wholly and entirely because their history and situation gave them a great weapon to use in their eternal battle.
American liberal democracy has certainly been deeply cruel to Black people in the past, but it still our best hope of living together in peace and prosperity instead of in a state of permanent ideological warfare and ever-increasing hatred and resentment, which has always been the end result of every Leftist takeover.
Perhaps the best overview of the problem available! Thank you.
Thank you so much for this. I hope, hope, hope that this kind of pushback becomes more widespread and "mainstream." I spent so many years being a (white) proponent of "antiracism," and I deeply regret whatever part I played in perpetuating so much of what I can see now has (inevitably?) devolved into a really demeaning kind of essentialism. I understand why white folks embrace this (and why I did for so long), but I'm not sure I understand how so many non-white folks - especially when presumably positive human traits like punctuality, logic, decisiveness, or mathematics ability are eschewed as just more manifestations of "white dominant culture" - aren't pushing back more against this dominant (haha) narrative on race.
Thank you very much for putting together and sharing this resource.
Thanks for pulling all of this together. Our tax money is paying for the indoctrination of our children into Red Guards. The American cultural revolution is in full flight, it’s up to parents and school boards to stop it https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/how-to-groom-commissars?r=12n5dp&utm_medium=ios
Thank you so much for putting this together...I will be using a lot of these points and arguments in my school district, which is demonically overtaken by a political agenda of dividing and undermining children and teachers. For example: https://karlyn.substack.com/p/a-teacher-trainer-in-cambridge-ma?sd=pf
I have been seeing references to Culturally Responsible Teaching, does suffer from the same issues? Unclear what the distinction is, if any, between "Critical Race Theory" and Culturally Responsible Teaching?
Excellent summary - Thanks for putting together.
I don’t have words to express my admiration for this piece. Thank you!
This is simply wonderful.
Thank you!!
<bowing to FBT editors>
Sorry for the redundancy but, yeah, this was *outstanding!* Can't thank You enough.
But You *Slavedrivers!* (haha ;-) Now I hafta check all the links in Your "Coda." Can't thank You anywhere *near* enough for those. Would also reiterate Your recommendation the fascinating views of Dr. Mason.
Finally, wanna TY *again,* just for providing some sanity and especially some *hope.* :-) TYTY.
“Unsettling” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
I posted this on Facebook on a post by one of my relatives about De Santis and his crusade against "wokeness" and he questioned whether the programs mentioned in this article are widespread or representative of what is going on in American public education in general, or just a few scattered instances. That made me curious. Just how widespread are these types of programs in our schools?
This is one of the most digestible and thoroughly resourced compilations of what comprises DEI ideology that I’ve see in a while. Bravo!
Regarding # 2 above, the framing of White Supremacy Culture, associated traits such as objectivity, delayed gratification, worship of written word, etc and the potential for it to negatively effect motivation and empowerment in black children; are the authors or other FBT members aware of any academic studies to support the claim. I'm meeting with members of a school board to discuss the "Unlearning WSC" framing that is a part of the disticts equity plan. Thank you!