“A new report from Defending Education (DE) highlights the growing presence of ethnic studies programs in colleges and universities nationwide, funded through millions of dollars of nonprofit donations,” reports Campus Reform.
“Primarily born out of the late 1960s radical student protests, ethnic studies is being used to push far-left political ideology into higher education classrooms, into majors, and down into K-12 schools,” Defending Education said in its Sept. 30 report. Many universities, “such as San Francisco State University, have entire departments dedicated to the discipline.”
Some school districts have required ethnic studies classes. San Francisco’s ethnic studies class, which students must take to graduate, “favorably depicts Genghis Khan, the genocidal man who launched the Mongol invasions that killed 40 million people. For example, he exterminated over a million people in the great city of Merv after it surrendered, resulting in that that ancient city no longer existing. Genghis Khan exterminated the Tangut people, who numbered about 3 million. San Francisco’s ethnic-studies class is relentlessly negative about America, focusing on tearing down our country, not on highlighting the historical contributions of nonwhite innovators or patriots.”
Community college students in California have been required to take ethnic studies classes infused with critical race theory. K-12 students are also being required to take classes in critical ethnic studies or critical race theory. Hispanic students in a California school district were forced to learn critical race theory. They hated it, reported Reason Magazine.
“Less than half of high school students in St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) are proficient in math or reading but” soon all of them “will be required to take a Critical Ethnic Studies (CES) course before they can graduate,” reported the Center of the American Experiment:
The graduation requirement will first apply to the class of 2025, who will take the one semester class as 10th graders in the 2022-2023 school year, according to school communication.
Course concepts will include: identity, intersectionality, race, dominant/counter narratives, racism, white supremacy, racial equity, oppression, systemic oppression, resistance and resilience, social/youth-led movements, civic engagement, hope and healing, and transformation and change.
Funding from foundations “has accelerated this trend. Since 2020, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and others have awarded over $19 million to ethnic studies efforts. For example, Mellon gave $8 million to the City University of New York to ‘support the further development of ethnic studies across the CUNY system.'”
Defending Education’s “report notes that universities including the University of Wisconsin require ethnic studies courses” for graduation It also notes that initiatives like the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities’ “Ethnic Studies Initiative” encourage “student activism for far-left causes.”
Earlier this year, the Education Department terminated $600 million in funding for “divisive ideologies,” such as Critical Race Theory, DEI, “anti-racism,” and white privilege.
Ethnic studies classes promote hostility to capitalism and colorblindness. Often featured in ethnic studies classes is the book “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram Kendi. The “key concept” in that book was that discrimination against whites is the only way to achieve equality: “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination,” wrote Kendi in that book. Kendi has been praised by progressive publications as a leading “critical race theorist.”
“To love capitalism is to end up loving racism. To love racism is to end up loving capitalism…Capitalism is essentially racist; racism is essentially capitalist,” says Kendi’s book How to Be An Antiracist. That book is a “comprehensive introduction to critical race theory,” gushes the leading progressive media organ Slate.
“Unequivocally, critical race theory is taught in K-12 public schools,” said the Goldwater Institute’s Jonathan Butcher, who wrote a research paper detailing numerous instances of school districts openly using the phrase “critical race theory” in curriculum plans. Detroit’s school superintendent, Nikolai Vitti, said critical race theory was deeply embedded in his school system: “Our curriculum is deeply using critical race theory, especially in social studies, but you’ll find it in English language arts and the other disciplines. We were very intentional about…embedding critical race theory within our curriculum.”
School officials use vague terms like “equity”, “intersectionality,” and “antiracism” without defining them. As Defending Education explains:
Oftentimes the vocabulary used by school activists —and some educators themselves — is intentionally misleading and confusing. It can feel as if we are learning a new language! Words that mean one thing to the average person often mean something else to an activist. For example the word “equity” has historically been defined as “the quality of being fair and impartial.” For activists “equity” usually means “equality of outcomes.”
Defending Education understands that navigating the public school system, and knowing your child may be learning about ideologies that are not always aligned with your family’s values, can feel overwhelming. This is why we have compiled resources to help you understand the true meaning behind woke jargon in the public school system.
Take a look at Defending Education’s jargon resources!
Understanding Ethnic Studies Jargon
Understanding School Budget Jargon
Understanding Equitable Grading Jargon
