Latest news with #BlackLivesMatter-inspired
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration investigating Illinois school district for discrimination over ‘privilege walks' and diversity training
The Department of Education is investigating an Illinois school district for allegedly violating federal civil rights law through its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration announced on Thursday, the latest sign of its opposition to such programs. 'After four long years of the Biden Administration's tolerance for this kind of conduct, the American people returned President Trump to office to end this madness and enforce Title VI,' Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor wrote in a statement, referring to the law barring discrimination at federally funded institutions. 'This Department of Education will not allow districts that receive federal funding to become safe spaces for racial segregation or any other unlawful discriminatory practices,' he added. The investigation stems from allegations from Dr. Stacy Deemar, a white drama teacher who filed a complaint with the department's Office of Civil Rights Deemar, with support from the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a conservative advocacy group, accuses the Evanston-Skokie School District 65 of a variety of instances of racism across teacher training and student activities. These include the directing staff and students to engage in 'privilege walk' exercises, in which participants step forward if they benefit from certain forms of identity-based privileges, as well as hosting specific discussion groups for staff and students with different racial and ethnic identities. In an April complaint to the department from the foundation, Deemar said faculty had to undergo trainings when they were told that 'white people tend to dominate conversation by setting the tone for how everyone must talk and which words should be used,' and 'white educators who actively disengage from conversations about improving the achievement of students of color and indigenous students are racist.' The teacher also took issue with the district's Black Lives Matter-inspired curriculum and events, in which teachers were allegedly guided to teach students to 'understand that our country has a racist history that is grounded in white privilege,' while others were told to read elementary school students Not My Idea: A Book about Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham, which features an illustration comparing whiteness to a deal with the devil giving participants 'stolen land, stolen riches, [and] special favors.' The district did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Deemar previously accused the district of misconduct in 2019, prompting the first Trump administration to recognize her claims as valid, findings that were 'hastily suspended' under the Biden administration, according to an April complaint from Southeastern Legal Foundation sent to the Department of Education. In August of 2024, a federal court dismissed a related lawsuit from the drama teacher, with a judge writing that Deemar 'was not personally subject to racial staff affinity groups, not treated differently from others in terms of her exposure to the school's race-conscious lesson plans for students and teachers, and otherwise not denied any tangible benefits or targeted for negative treatment on account of her race.' She filed an amended complaint later that year. The Trump administration has made eliminating diversity policies and shifting the priorities of civil rights enforcement on campus a major part of its early agenda. In April, the Department of Education threatened public schools with the loss of federal funding if they didn't certify they follow civil rights laws, a stance which the Trump administration argues includes abandoning diversity programs it sees as racist, though federal courts have so far paused this effort. The department has also used Title VI to investigate scores of major U.S. universities for alleged campus antisemitism, part of the White House's larger campaign against schools that saw prominent pro-Palestinian activist in recent years amid the Israel-Hamas war. At the same time as the education department has taken on a prominent role in campus civil rights work, the Department of Justice, typically the most prominent arm of the government working on such cases, has seen a mass exodus of civil rights lawyers in recent days, as the DOJ reportedly has encouraged staff to focus on new priorities combatting antisemitism, transgender participation in women's sports, and what the administration deems 'woke ideology' rather than areas like voting rights and police misconduct. In a potential sign of things to come, the department this week lifted a long-running school desegregation order in Louisiana, one of many such 'consent decrees' established in the wake of the Civil Rights Era.
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump administration investigating Illinois school district for discrimination over ‘privilege walks' and diversity training
The Department of Education is investigating an Illinois school district for allegedly violating federal civil rights law through its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration announced on Thursday, the latest sign of its opposition to such programs. 'After four long years of the Biden Administration's tolerance for this kind of conduct, the American people returned President Trump to office to end this madness and enforce Title VI,' Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor wrote in a statement, referring to the law barring discrimination at federally funded institutions. 'This Department of Education will not allow districts that receive federal funding to become safe spaces for racial segregation or any other unlawful discriminatory practices,' he added. The investigation stems from allegations from Dr. Stacy Deemar, a white drama teacher who filed a complaint with the department's Office of Civil Rights Deemar, with support from the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a conservative advocacy group, accuses the Evanston-Skokie School District 65 of a variety of instances of racism across teacher training and student activities. These include the directing staff and students to engage in 'privilege walk' exercises, in which participants step forward if they benefit from certain forms of identity-based privileges, as well as hosting specific discussion groups for staff and students with different racial and ethnic identities. In an April complaint to the department from the foundation, Deemar said faculty had to undergo trainings when they were told that 'white people tend to dominate conversation by setting the tone for how everyone must talk and which words should be used,' and 'white educators who actively disengage from conversations about improving the achievement of students of color and indigenous students are racist.' The teacher also took issue with the district's Black Lives Matter-inspired curriculum and events, in which teachers were allegedly guided to teach students to 'understand that our country has a racist history that is grounded in white privilege,' while others were told to read elementary school students Not My Idea: A Book about Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham, which features an illustration comparing whiteness to a deal with the devil giving participants 'stolen land, stolen riches, [and] special favors.' The district did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Deemar previously accused the district of misconduct in 2019, prompting the first Trump administration to recognize her claims as valid, findings that were 'hastily suspended' under the Biden administration, according to an April complaint from Southeastern Legal Foundation sent to the Department of Education. In August of 2024, a federal court dismissed a related lawsuit from the drama teacher, with a judge writing that Deemar 'was not personally subject to racial staff affinity groups, not treated differently from others in terms of her exposure to the school's race-conscious lesson plans for students and teachers, and otherwise not denied any tangible benefits or targeted for negative treatment on account of her race.' She filed an amended complaint later that year. The Trump administration has made eliminating diversity policies and shifting the priorities of civil rights enforcement on campus a major part of its early agenda. In April, the Department of Education threatened public schools with the loss of federal funding if they didn't certify they follow civil rights laws, a stance which the Trump administration argues includes abandoning diversity programs it sees as racist, though federal courts have so far paused this effort. The department has also used Title VI to investigate scores of major U.S. universities for alleged campus antisemitism, part of the White House's larger campaign against schools that saw prominent pro-Palestinian activist in recent years amid the Israel-Hamas war. At the same time as the education department has taken on a prominent role in campus civil rights work, the Department of Justice, typically the most prominent arm of the government working on such cases, has seen a mass exodus of civil rights lawyers in recent days, as the DOJ reportedly has encouraged staff to focus on new priorities combatting antisemitism, transgender participation in women's sports, and what the administration deems 'woke ideology' rather than areas like voting rights and police misconduct. In a potential sign of things to come, the department this week lifted a long-running school desegregation order in Louisiana, one of many such 'consent decrees' established in the wake of the Civil Rights Era.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lord Nelson paintings scrapped in Parliament diversity drive
Paintings of Lord Nelson have been taken down as part of plans to make artworks in Parliament more diverse, The Telegraph can reveal. Pictures of the British naval hero have been taken down following an MP-led review of parliamentary art linked to slavery and racism. Two images of Nelson have been taken down since the Black Lives Matter-inspired project began in 2020, including one depicting the commander dying for his country at the Battle of Trafalgar. A portrait of Sir Francis Drake, another naval commander has also been removed. Nelson was criticised by Black Lives Matter activists for alleged personal support of slavery, and Drake was targeted for his youthful involvement in the slave trade. While images of national heroes have been removed, portraits of Labour grandees including Ms Cooper, the Home Secretary, have been installed as part of ongoing efforts to boost gender and ethnic diversity. The portraits form part of the Parliamentary Art Collection overseen by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art, a cross-party group of MPs. This manages the slavery review, which aims to increase the representation of minorities in Parliamentary artworks, as well as separate efforts to include more portraits of women. Ms Cooper has personally made the case for increasing the representation in the Parliamentary Art Collection as part of a Labour mission to 'modernise' Westminster. Speaking in 2024, she said: 'Westminster is a changing place, with more women MPs, people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. 'It would be great to see this change increasingly represented in the artwork around the estate, providing encouragement and inspiration for future generations of politicians.' As part of the ongoing work of diversification, a portrait of Baroness Hodge, the Labour peer and former culture secretary, has been installed since 2020. Four portraits of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell have been taken down in the same period. The staunch Parliamentarian was named as a supporter of the slave trade in the MP-led review of artworks purportedly linked to slavery. A portrait of Baroness Hoey, the former Labour minister, has also been put on display following the commitment to diversify Parliamentary art. Meanwhile, images of William Pitt the Elder and George Canning, both former prime ministers, were taken down, along with a print depicting the abolitionist William Wilberforce. Depictions of Millicent Fawcett and Barbara Duvall, the Suffragist campaigners, have been installed as part of the drive to increase the representation of women, along with a painting of Baroness May, the former prime minister. Despite the aim of increasing the representation of women in Parliament, four images of Elizabeth I have been removed. These depict the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the monarch commissioning Sir Walter Raleigh to begin colonial expansion in the Americas. Four images of Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP and Speaker, have been installed on the parliamentary estate, which includes the Palace of Westminster and outlying office buildings. While ongoing work has led to the gradual removal and installation of work under the supervision of the Speaker's advisory committee on works of art since 2020, following Labour's 2024 election win, swift changes were made. The Telegraph revealed that in the immediate wake of the landslide, portraits of Sir Winston Churchill and the Duke of Wellington were removed from Parliament. This followed revelations that Sir Keir Starmer rid No 10 of portraits depicting Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, Margaret Thatcher and William Shakespeare following his arrival in Downing Street. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has also made changes to No 11, where portraits of David Lloyd George and Benjamin Disraeli, the former prime ministers, have been replaced with artworks about mental health. A spokesman for UK Parliament said: 'There are more than 26,000 items within Parliament's collections, and there are regular movements, for example, due to maintenance works in an area, changes to the occupancy of offices or spaces and conservation needs.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Lord Nelson paintings scrapped in Parliament diversity drive
Paintings of Lord Nelson have been taken down as part of plans to make artworks in Parliament more diverse, The Telegraph can reveal. Pictures of the British naval hero have been taken down following an MP-led review of parliamentary art linked to slavery and racism. Two images of Nelson have been taken down since the Black Lives Matter-inspired project began in 2020, including one depicting the commander dying for his country at the Battle of Trafalgar. A portrait of Sir Francis Drake, another naval commander has also been removed. Nelson was criticised by Black Lives Matter activists for alleged personal support of slavery, and Drake was targeted for his youthful involvement in the slave trade. While images of national heroes have been removed, portraits of Labour grandees including Ms Cooper, the Home Secretary, have been installed as part of ongoing efforts to boost gender and ethnic diversity. The portraits form part of the Parliamentary Art Collection overseen by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art, a cross-party group of MPs. This manages the slavery review, which aims to increase the representation of minorities in Parliamentary artworks, as well as separate efforts to include more portraits of women. Ms Cooper has personally made the case for increasing the representation in the Parliamentary Art Collection as part of a Labour mission to 'modernise' Westminster. Speaking in 2024, she said: 'Westminster is a changing place, with more women MPs, people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. 'It would be great to see this change increasingly represented in the artwork around the estate, providing encouragement and inspiration for future generations of politicians.' As part of the ongoing work of diversification, a portrait of Baroness Hodge, the Labour peer and former culture secretary, has been installed since 2020. Four portraits of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell have been taken down in the same period. The staunch Parliamentarian was named as a supporter of the slave trade in the MP-led review of artworks purportedly linked to slavery. A portrait of Baroness Hoey, the former Labour minister, has also been put on display following the commitment to diversify Parliamentary art. Meanwhile, images of William Pitt the Elder and George Canning, both former prime ministers, were taken down, along with a print depicting the abolitionist William Wilberforce. Depictions of Millicent Fawcett and Barbara Duvall, the Suffragist campaigners, have been installed as part of the drive to increase the representation of women, along with a painting of Baroness May, the former prime minister. Despite the aim of increasing the representation of women in Parliament, four images of Elizabeth I have been removed. These depict the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the monarch commissioning Sir Walter Raleigh to begin colonial expansion in the Americas. Four images of Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP and Speaker, have been installed on the parliamentary estate, which includes the Palace of Westminster and outlying office buildings. While ongoing work has led to the gradual removal and installation of work under the supervision of the Speaker's advisory committee on works of art since 2020, following Labour's 2024 election win, swift changes were made. The Telegraph revealed that in the immediate wake of the landslide, portraits of Sir Winston Churchill and the Duke of Wellington were removed from Parliament. This followed revelations that Sir Keir Starmer rid No 10 of portraits depicting Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, Margaret Thatcher and William Shakespeare following his arrival in Downing Street. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has also made changes to No 11, where portraits of David Lloyd George and Benjamin Disraeli, the former prime ministers, have been replaced with artworks about mental health. A spokesman for UK Parliament said: 'There are more than 26,000 items within Parliament's collections, and there are regular movements, for example, due to maintenance works in an area, changes to the occupancy of offices or spaces and conservation needs.'
