Greetings,
As a resident of Coos County, and as an activist having attended many events on racial justice, helped with the movement on bringing the history of Alonzo Tucker to light, and continually vocally opposing the bigoted, reactionary forces in this county for the last 3 years, I have an issue with the recent discussion of the “Critical Race Theory” issue-a non-issue as it is not being taught nor would it ever be taught to grade school children-and with the Resolution 2021-11, promoted by the very bigoted forces I oppose.
This is a controversial topic no matter how we frame it, but we need to face this discussion whether it makes some of us “uncomfortable” or not. We’re talking about racism in the United States and its history, how it still exists today and how we can better fight against racism in our day and age in this majority white area. Yet, at the same time, the conversation is being geared towards hysteria over the possibility of the curriculum of a college level course being taught to school children and there being white guilt enforced upon the students and staff of North Bend.
However, this is not even about “Critical Race Theory”. There is no CRT being taught here. Only gossip about a superintendent by people whose intentions are very questionable to begin with. Those in support of Resolution 2021-11 have openly conflated anything about equity, systemic racism, anti-racism or any honest US history with “Critical Race Theory” and have also loosely connected Critical Race Theory with Marxism, something they almost certainly do not understand themselves.
The Resolution 2021-11’s actual purpose can be found in the last sentence of the document. “This Resolution replaces Resolution 2020-09.”
Interesting, what is Resolution 2020-09?
Resolution 2020-09, named the “Board Equity Resolution”, was a landmark Resolution passed last year by the North Bend School Board that beautifully condemned racism in its many forms, acknowledged the very real history of systemic racism in the US, and committed the school district to the values of equity and anti-racism.
It stated: “racism and hate have no place in our schools or our society, and we must protect the Constitutional rights of every person who lives, works and learns in our community…..systemic racism and racial oppression have long led to physical, political, legal, economic, and environmental harm on people of color in the United States and Oregon, specifically….Each of us, individually and collectively, is responsible for creating and nurturing an anti-racist learning environment where every child is respected and valued for who they are, regardless of their skin color. We must actively acknowledge, address and prevent racial bias.”
It concluded that: “the district condemns racism, racial violence, white supremacy, hate speech, and bigotry in all forms inside and outside of our schools and community, and stand steadfast in our commitment to foster an inclusive educational environment where every student, staff member, parent, and community member is treated with dignity and respect, as well as our commitment to continue fighting for racial justice and human and civil rights for all, and the district will work to be actively anti-racist and dismantle systemic racism in our schools and empower people of color; and
- The district reaffirms commitments in the reviewing and or adopting Equity policies and will continue to strive to implement the policy; and
- The district affirms the importance of culturally responsive practices, literature, curriculum and assignments that represent the diversity of our world, and that accurately honor the contributions of historically marginalized communities, and we acknowledge our current curriculum does not achieve this yet; we commit to using an equity lens for all future curriculum adoptions and course development; and
- The district commits to continuing to require schools to track and report racist incidents in our schools in a way that both complies with privacy laws and increases transparency and commits to evaluate the current process for reporting these incidents; and
- The district commits to dedicating time in schools for professional development, culturally responsive training, book studies, for celebrations of diversity on behalf of people of color, for critical conversations among staff and with students, and establishing community partnerships to support this work.”
That’s what Resolution 2021-11 seeks to replace. Their proponents might say “but ours condemns racism too!” However, everything that they say in their resolution is something that was already covered in the Resolution 2020-09. Resolution 2021-11 is not even an update to Resolution 2020-09 if Critical Race Theory was taken out as board members ruminated of in the last work session. It is a dilution of Resolution 2020-09 and weakens the school districts very valuable stance on equity and anti-racism.
Terms like “equity”, “anti-racism”, “systemic racism” and more are missing from this document, and it does more to annul the history of racism than address it. For example, it states: “racism has no place in American society..” How is that true?
Slavery existed for a little less than a century in this country. The KKK are a purely American form of militant racism.
We had Jim Crow and still have the war on drugs, which hit BIPOC (blacki, Indigenous and people of color) communities much harder than white communities.
Openly white supremacist, neo-nazi groups marched in Charlottesville in 2017 and a woman was killed.
In our own community, a radio host, Rob Taylor, a nationalist who has promoted Resolution 2021-11, defended blackface on air, used racial slurs on air about indigenous Americans and has openly opposed the concept of equity.
Racism clearly has had and still has a place in American society. You can’t just declare racism over. It doesn’t work like that, and Resolution 2020-09 brilliantly took on the task of actively dismantling racism in our society.
That task is one that will undoubtedly be uncomfortable for some students and staff alike, as the majority there is white and it is an uncomfortable history. That doesn’t negate their voice or experiences, it means that they need to actively raise BIPOC voices when we can, stop racism when we see it, and trudge through the uncomfortability in the search of reconciliation and understanding to make things better for those who have been historically disadvantaged in the US, even if you didn’t personally see it. Nobody is forcing guilt upon you. Nobody is disregarding you as a racist, but naturally as a white American you’ll probably have some racist thoughts and tendencies to unlearn.
Resolution 2021-11 should ultimately be rejected entirely by the North Bend School Board and they should uphold and maintain Resolution 2020-09. The school board should also be wary of any attempts to take away from the values set forth in 2020-09 and any attempts to directly discriminate against students within the district.
A survey promoted by Citizens Restoring Liberty, a local right-wing reactionary group, at the Coos County Fair this last summer, asked Coos County parents, on a list of subjects taught in local schools, which ones would you want taught or not taught. The first one on the list was “Critical Race Theory” and the description was that “Teaches that American society is “systemically racist,” that all people with light skin are responsible for the repression of somebody with darker skin, and that redistribution of wealth and rights are key to correcting these perceived writings.” Obviously, inaccuracies aside, that is not being taught in schools here.
The next one on the list is why I warn against attempts at discrimination. “Transgender Theory”, which says “Teaches that a person’s gender is determined by what that person says their gender is, irrespective of the person’s anatomy or genetics, and that, biological males should be allowed to complete with biological females in sports such as track, wrestling, weight lifting, and to use women’s restrooms and lockerooms.” As a trans woman, I will tell you that for one, transgender is not a theory, and we do not have to explain anything about our gender to you. For two, this is completely transphobic, disgusting, scientifically inaccurate and indicative of a possible attempt to propose policies discriminating against transgender students, and that will absolutely not be accepted.
So, in addition to my call for rejection Resolution 2021-11 and the keeping of Resolution 2020-09, I would ask that the North Bend School Board craft a resolution that:
- Acknowledges the history of discrimination and violence against transgender Americans to this day
- Condemns transphobia specifically, and the forms of it (misgendering, using deadnames, mockery of ones gender), and works to prevent/address it in their schools.
- Validates and accepts all their trans students as they say they are
- Sets a definitive stance against transgender discrimination, and
- Works to oppose the concept of cis-heteronormativity: the idea that being cisgender and heterosexual is more normal than being LGBTQ, or that cisgender and heterosexual are the default gender and sexuality of students.
Submit Comments to –
cschreiber@nbend.k12.or.us
