The only group for staff ‘who identify as white’ is a ‘Confronting White Privilege’ group.
An Indiana public school system is accused of segregating teachers and staff by pushing them to join affinity groups based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, and abilities.
But the only group for staff “who identify as white” is a “Confronting White Privilege” group, according to documents obtained by Parents Defending Education, a nonprofit that fights classroom indoctrination and activist-driven agendas in U.S. schools.
According to the documents, Indianapolis Public Schools’ Office of Racial Equity recently sent registration information for twelve affinity groups to district employees, writing, “We are so excited to be able to offer this opportunity this school year and hope that you’ll consider joining an affinity group.”
The twelve affinity groups include groups based on race and ethnicity (Black/African American, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American/Indigenous, multi-racial) and religious ethnic groups (Jewish, Muslim), as well as groups for staff who are “ability diverse,” women, multi-lingual, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
There were no affinity groups on the list specifically for men, veterans or Christians. The “Confronting White Privilege” affinity group “launched during the 19-20 school year and the name was decided by the group itself,” according to the district.
The school district did not respond to emailed questions from National Review on Tuesday.
“It is hard to imagine how deliberately separating colleagues based on their immutable traits can possibly lead anywhere good,” Erika Sanzi, Parents Defending Education’s director of outreach, said in a prepared statement. “The fixation of IPS on group identities is not only misguided but dangerous because of how quickly it can lead to the dehumanization of others.”
According to the district’s email to staff, the affinity groups are “strategic, self-organized, Office of Racial Equity sponsored groups focused on advancing a collective of IPS staff members who have assembled to build safe communities of solidarity and support, educate allies on needs and challenges and attract and retain talent.”
Like many school districts across the country, Indianapolis Public Schools is all-in on its racial equity initiative, with a vision of creating “an IPS community where student outcomes cannot be predicted by race or ethnicity,” according to its website. In 2015, the district launched a partnership with the North Carolina-based Racial Equity Institute, an anti-racist organization that provides training “to increase staff knowledge, shift thinking and elevate understanding.” The work includes establishing school equity teams to partner with a district equity team.
In June 2020, in the wake of national racial justice protests that erupted after George Floyd’s killing, Indianapolis Public Schools adopted a Racial Equity Mindset Commitment & Action Policy, which identifies the concept of color-blindness as a form or racism that justifies and discounts racial oppression. The district also passed a Black Lives Matter resolution in 2020.
The “Say Their Names” tool-kit on the district’s website includes a quote from Marxist political activist Angela Davis: “In a racist society, it is not enough to not be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” Davis is an unrepentant champion of domestic terrorists, murderers, and communist political regimes.