At an elementary school in Cupertino, California, a teacher of third graders instructed them to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities, then create rankings based on their “power and privilege.” The project was met with backlash from parents.
The majority of families at the school are Asian-American, and the parent who led the protest against the intersectionality curriculum was Asian-American. The group of families confronted the principal, which ultimately caused the school to suspend the program, as Christopher Rufo reported.
One parent told Rufo, “We were shocked. They were basically teaching racism to my eight-year-old.” Another stated, “We think some of our school board members are [critical race theory] activists and they must go.”
While teaching a math lesson to students, the third grade teacher told them to create an “identity map.” The map was intended to delineate their race, class, gender, religion, family structure, among other features.
Rufo wrote, “The teacher explained that the students live in a ‘dominant culture’ of ‘white, middle class, cisgender, educated, able-bodied, Christian, English speaker[s],’ who, according to the lesson, ‘created and maintained’ this culture in order ‘to hold power and stay in power.’”
The teacher used a book titled “This Book Is Antiracist” to impart these lessons to the students: “Those with privilege have power over others,” it states. “Folx [folks] who do not benefit from their social identities, who are in the subordinate culture, have little to no privilege and power.” One passage stated “a white, cisgender man, who is able-bodied, heterosexual, considered handsome and speaks English has more privilege than a Black transgender woman.”
The students were asked to select their various identities so they could see where they ranked on a “power and privilege” hierarchy. They were additionally asked to write brief essays about what aspects of their identity groups gave them “power and privilege.” The teacher provided the third graders with an example paragraph that referenced nonbinary sexuality and transgenderism, Rufo notes.
Rufo spoke to a parent who grew up in China; the parent stated that critical race theory made them recall the Chinese Cultural Revolution, saying, “[It divides society between] the oppressor and the oppressed, and since these identities are inborn characteristics people cannot change, the only way to change it is via violent revolution. Growing up in China, I had learned it many times. The outcome is the family will be ripped apart; husband hates wife, children hate parents. I think it is already happening here.”
Rufo noted, “In 2019, Asian-Americans ran a successful initiative campaign against affirmative action in Washington State; in 2020, Asian-Americans ran a similar campaign in California, winning by an astonishing 57 percent to 43 percent margin. In both cases, they defended the principles of meritocracy, individual rights, and equality under the law—and roundly defeated a super-coalition of the states’ progressive politicians, activists, universities, media, and corporations.”
SCOOP: A Cupertino elementary school forces third-graders to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities, then rank themselves according to their “power and privilege.”
I've obtained exclusive whistleblower documents from inside the classroom. They will shock you. 🧵
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 13, 2021
First, the teacher told the eight- and nine-year-old students that they live in a “dominant culture” of “white, middle class, cisgender, educated, able-bodied, Christian[s]” who “created and maintained” this culture in order “to hold power and stay in power.” pic.twitter.com/vxFaDSVl4z
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 13, 2021
Reading from This Book Is Antiracist, the teacher taught the children the theory of "intersectionality" and claimed that “those with privilege have power over others" and that “folx who do not benefit from their social identities … have little to no privilege and power.” pic.twitter.com/GX77Og36Ai
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 13, 2021
The teacher asked students to create an “identity map,” listing their race, class, gender, religion, family structure, and other characteristics. They were told to “circle the identities that hold power and privilege." pic.twitter.com/pENBJeZ3cF
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 13, 2021
In a related assignment assignment, the children were asked to write short essays describing which aspects of their identities "hold power and privilege" and which are "oppressed"—in effect, ranking themselves according to the intersectional hierarchy. pic.twitter.com/kAJurjRlAp
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 13, 2021
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