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For City Journal, John D. Sailer described how student-led online social media campaigns have fueled the rapid adoption of so-called “anti-racist” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across Washington D.C.’s top private schools. Departments of history, English, and even the hard sciences have completely revamped their curricula around anti-racism messaging, which can include the extreme claim that “perfectionism” and “objectivity” are aspects of white supremacy.

“In the article, Okun explains that ‘white supremacy culture’ equates to perfectionism, defensiveness, individualism, objectivity, and a right to comfort… Among the supposed problems that white supremacy causes, Okun says, are a belief in ‘quantity over quality,’ the ‘worship of the written word,’ and the belief that there is only ‘only one right way.’”

Read the full article here.

For Los Angeles Magazine, Jason McGahan wrote an in-depth article tracing the rise of Cecily Myart-Cruz, the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union head. Myart-Cruz has been criticized for using COVID school closures as leverage for pursuing political goals related to social and racial justice, even though mounting evidence indicates that school closures disproportionately affect students of color whose families are on average less likely to be able to afford alternative forms of education.

“Wealthier, whiter school districts do indeed have lower COVID rates than less affluent Black and brown ones. But viewing school reopenings strictly through the lens of race creates as many problems as it addresses, since the school closings have arguably done the most damage to those in poorer communities.”

Read the full article here.

For Areo, Craig Carroll outlined how critical race theory migrated out of academia and into the K-12 classroom over the last year-and-a-half, as well as the public reaction to it as parents suddenly became aware of the ideology from watching lessons their children were receiving at home via Zoom. Carroll then surveys the “anti-CRT” bills that many states have written, highlighting both their strengths and weaknesses.

“When American parents want to resist something that their children are being taught in government-run public schools, they contact their local and state elected officials. As a result, legislators in many states have introduced bills to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory dogma as fact.”

Read the full article here.

In The Washington Free Beacon, Aaron Sibarium described new model legislation proposed by the Manhattan Institute’s James Copland to restrict aspects of critical race theory being taught in public schools. A central criticism of many “anti-CRT” bills is that they may inadvertently stifle appropriate and reasonable discussion of racial issues if teachers become intimidated or confused by dense legal jargon. 

Copland makes the liberal case for school CRT restrictions, stating that schools should be permitted to discuss but not promote CRT, that compelled speech must be prohibited, and that school curricula should be be transparent so that parents can make informed decisions about their childrens’ education. 

“Copland’s template would bar public K-12 schools from endorsing, but not discussing, a narrow range of concepts associated with CRT and its popular derivatives… And it would require schools to display all diversity-related materials online, a nod to both liberals and conservatives who have called for curricular transparency in lieu of CRT bans.”

Read the full article here.

On August 28th, 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, outlining his vision for a future where people “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” 

Commemorating this important speech, the Journal of Free Black Thought hosted a dialogue with FAIR Advisors Kenny Xu, Angel Eduardo, and Erec Smith, along with John Wood Jr, Andrew Gutmann, and Harry Boyte, to discuss the legacy of MLK’s speech and the future of liberalism.

Watch that discussion here.

For City Journal, FAIR Advisor Christopher F. Rufo unearthed documents from Verizon’s “Race & Social Justice” initiative, which teaches that America is fundamentally racist and asks employees to sort themselves into categories of “oppressor” and “oppressed” based on their racial and sexual identities. 

“Employees are asked to list their ‘race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, education, profession, and sexual orientation’ on an official company worksheet, then consider their status according to the theory of ‘intersectionality,’ a core component of critical race theory that reduces individuals to a network of identity categories, which determine whether they are an ‘oppressor’ or ‘oppressed.’”

Read the full article here.

This week, Persuasion republished FAIR Advisor John McWorter’s excellent essay on neo-racism. McWhorter argues that what he calls “third wave anti-racism” has become synonymous with intolerant religious orthodoxy.

“I am especially dismayed at the idea of this indoctrination infecting my daughters’ sense of self. I can’t always be with them, and this anti-humanist ideology may seep into their school curriculum. I shudder at the thought: teachers with eyes shining at the prospect of showing their antiracism by teaching my daughters that they are poster children rather than individuals.” 

Read the full article here.

For Bari Weiss’ Substack Common Sense, FAIR Advisor Melissa Chen wrote about her involvement with a 21st century “Underground Railroad,” the name given to a ragtag group with wide-ranging backgrounds involved in extracting people desperate to leave Afghanistan during the United States’ recent military withdrawal and the Taliban’s subsequent takeover. Chen also tells the harrowing story of a 15-year old Afghan girl named Rahima who was recently extracted from Kabul amid the chaos. 

“Many of these Afghans, due to the nature of their work, their religious beliefs, their minority ethnic status or even just their appearance (say, sporting tattoos anywhere on their bodies), see escape as a matter of life and death. As Kabul descended into chaos, their pleas for help leaving were largely met with bureaucratic silence.”

Read the full article here.

For Newsweek, FAIR Advisor Angel Eduardo addresses his critics and the psychological phenomena he dubs the “One Thought Rule,” where the act of voicing a single thought outside of culturally-enforced racial orthodoxy is sufficient to have one's so-called “race card” revoked. But Eduardo insists that he never wanted such a card in the first place, explaining that giving up petty tribalism allows one to build a new pro-human coalition that inculcates true diversity. 

“I, for one, opt out. I'm not ‘white,’ but I'm not ‘black’ or ‘brown,’ either. I am human, and I will proudly say so when prompted. I will not toe that ideological line. I refuse it, and I refuse its imposition upon me. As for my ‘of color’ card, you can have it. It's meaningless to me anyway.”

Read the full article here.

NEW: FAIR Spotlight

Each week we hope to spotlight a member of the FAIR community to hear about what FAIR means to you and why you support our mission. If you would like to share your personal stories and reasons with us to be featured in this section of our weekly newsletter, please send a photo of yourself and a paragraph to [email protected]

Upcoming Events

On September 11th from 1:00 - 4:00 pm EDT, join FAIR Advisor Erec Smith and other notable speakers as they discuss Growing Diversity of Thought in K-12 Education: Current Challenges and the Path Forward.

Learn more and register here.

On September 22nd from 8:00pm-9:30pm EST, FAIR will be hosting a Mental Health Webinar titled “A Path Forward: Protecting Students’ Mental Health in a Divisive World.” 

The panel will include FAIR members and former educators Paul Rossi and Dana Stangel-Plowe, psychoanalyst, parent coach, and author Erica Komisar, LCSW, and healthcare expert Dr. Carrie Mendoza, MD. Panelists will discuss how ideologies that fixate on immutable traits contribute to childhood anxiety and depression, the ways human psychology is being manipulated to push illiberal ideas, the psychological impact of shaming and silencing speech, and much more.

Register for the event here.