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A drama teacher in Illinois is fighting back against what her attorneys say is highly racial content that stereotypes White people and violates the U.S. Constitution.
Filed in federal court Tuesday, the lawsuit represents one of the primary lines of attack from activists seeking to combat the influence of critical race theory (CRT) in schools. The Southeastern Legal Foundation, which is representing teacher Stacy Deemar, is working as part of Chris Rufo's legal coalition that ultimately seeks to strike down CRT-related curricula at the Supreme Court.
For months, Rufo and others have brought numerous school materials to public attention, often inspiring shock on social media. Tuesday's case seemed to spotlight one of the bolder instances of so-called "anti-racist" education, which critics have described as "Neo-racism."
The lawsuit indicates, among other things, that the district stereotyped and divided teachers according to their race. For example, the district purportedly directed teachers to participate in racially segregated "affinity groups," which were the subject of a federal civil rights complaint. Although former President Trump's administration ruled that the district's use of those groups was discriminatory, the Biden administration suspended that decision shortly after the president's inauguration.
The Evanston-Skokie district (District 65) previously caught attention for a school reopening policy that seemed to favor racial minorities over White students. Superintendent Devon Horton, who is listed along with his deputy as a defendant in Tuesday's suit, received a wave of backlash for that proposal – prompting the school board to suggest White supremacy was at work.
"When you challenge policies and protocols established to ensure an equitable experience for Black and brown students," the board reportedly said in an open letter, "you are part of a continuum of resistance to equity and desire to maintain white supremacy."
According to the lawsuit, teachers were also instructed to read students the book "Not my Idea," in which a devil approaches the main character with a "Contract Binding you to Whiteness." Fox News previously reported on this book when it appeared as a referenced material at a Manhattan private school for young children.
The imaginary terms offer "stolen land," "stolen riches," and "special favors." It adds that "WHITENESS gets" "your soul" and "to mess endlessly with the lives of your friends, neighbors, loved ones, and all fellow humans of COLOR." The end contains a section for signature and notes "[l]and, riches, and favors may be revoked at any time, for any reason."
Tuesday's filing alleges District 65 instructed Pre-K through second grade teachers to ask students: "What is your understanding of whiteness?" Meanwhile, fourth grade teachers were instructed to ask how Whiteness showed up in a political cartoon. Fifth grade teachers, however, were instructed to preface the book with a statement about White people "play[ing] a big role in the problems of racism today and throughout world history."
LEGAL COALITION FORMING TO STOP CRITICAL RACE THEORY TRAINING AROUND THE COUNTRY
Both this exercise and teacher trainings, the suit alleges, similarly associated Whiteness with negative attributes and disparaged colorblindness – a common feature of critical race theory. "Pretending not to see color is called color blindness," teachers were allegedly told to say. "Color blindness helps racism. . . . Many White people use color blindness to ignore the problem of racism."
Defenders of so-called "anti-racism" or "culturally responsive training" generally argue that the practices help foster understanding and break down systemic biases.
On its website, District 65 touts its racial and educational equity policy as a way to do just that.
"There are persistent and unacceptable opportunity and achievement gaps for students of color in District 65," it reads.
VIRGINIA PARENTS SUE SCHOOL DISTRICT OVER ALLEGED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, FREE SPEECH VIOLATIONS
"The racial predictability of achievement and disciplinary outcomes is attributable to institutional racism, cultural biases and other societal factors. The district recognizes that in order to provide educational opportunities that result in equitable outcomes particularly for Black/Brown students, that it must proactively acknowledge and intentionally address racial and cultural biases, in an effort to eliminate institutional structures and practices that affect student learning and achievement."
"The purpose of this policy is to establish a framework for the elimination of bias, particularly racism and cultural bias, as factors affecting student achievement and learning experiences, and to promote learning and working environments that welcome, respect and value diversity. Further, the purpose is to establish particular actions that District 65 shall take to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, to address disparities in educational opportunity and achievement while understanding the urgency with which we must move to support Black, Latinx and multi-racial students. District 65 is committed to focusing on race as one of the first visible indicators of identity while recognizing that the district’s students hold multiple, intersecting identities such as mental or physical ability, sexual orientation including gender identity and/or expression, religion, economic status, national origin and any other personal characteristics."
But critics say these types of materials are a form of indoctrination that violate federal law and the Constitution. Deemar is specifically accusing the district of violating the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title VI, which prohibits discrimination at federally-funded educational institutions. Her attorney, Southeastern Legal Foundation General Counsel Kimberly Hermann, told Fox News that Deemar was only seeking $1.00 in damages with a focus on obtaining both a declaratory judgement and injunction.
"By vowing to define its teachers and students solely by their race, District 65 promotes and reinforces a view of race essentialism that divides Americans into groups based solely on their skin color," said Hermann. "District 65 teaches its teachers and students that their whole identity comes from the color of their skin. It teaches them to hate each other. It teaches them not only how to be racist, but that they should be racist. This is illegal, wrong, and must be stopped."
Besides Deemar's lawsuit, others have emerged as apparent legal threats to the these types of trainings. For example, a mixed-race student in Nevada sued his charter school after he was allegedly instructed to delineate which parts of his identity were oppressive. More recently, parents in Loudoun County, Virginia brought a federal lawsuit claiming that the district's equity ambassadorship program discriminated against White students.
Districts across the country have seen similar allegations, with complaints that programs which are focused on "equity" scapegoat White people. Critics like Rufo argue that instead of "equity," public institutions should focus on "equality" or ensuring the same opportunities among different racial and ethnic groups. This flies in the face, however, of critical race theory, which was formed partly in response to the perceived inadequacies of the civil rights movement.
As Tuesday's lawsuit notes, District 65 explicitly endorses "equity," which it says "goes beyond the definition of equality – where students are treated the same – to fostering a barrier free environment where all students' unique needs are addressed and supported by resources which are allocated in a fiscally responsible manner."
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The focus on equal outcomes rather than opportunities was purportedly illustrated during "privilege walks," which asked participants to evaluate their social advantages according to skin color.
After scoring certain statements – e.g. "because of my race or color, I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial" – district staff were told to separate themselves with higher scores on the left and lower on the right. They further separate themselves based on additional prompts. "Near the end of the exercise, the facilitator asks all white people standing in line to step forward," the lawsuit reads.
