Reply to Wilson honors for all - how has it worked?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
You can find more information about Rachel Laser and HFA on her public professional website: https://www.rachellaser.com

On this website you can read her article "Why I Am Atoning For Racism" where she declares "Today, I, a white American, atone for my racism." Cliff notes: she is not atoning for any personal act of racism or even any racist thoughts but rather for "white privilege".

On her website, you can also see how Rachel uses her role in creating the diversity committee and implementing HFA at Wilson High School to market her professional consulting services on “racism and white privilege”.  Yes, that's right - she is using our Wilson High School to sell her professional services. It’s even on her resume. See her webpage titled “White Privilege & Rascism”: https://www.rachellaser.com/white-privilege-race where she states “Rachel Laser is founder and facilitator of the Wilson Diversity Task Force and works as a consultant on bridging racial and cultural divides.”

On Rachel’s website, Principal Martin actually provides a "testimonial" that identifies her as "Principal Kim Martin, Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, DC".  See https://www.rachellaser.com/testimonials. Here is Principal Martin’s full testimonial:

[i]Throughout this school year, I am most proud of [b]the formation of the Diversity Task Force (DTF), which Rachel facilitated and helped create.[/b] When we started the DTF, all we knew was that we wanted to figure out concrete and measurable goals to bridge the achievement and well-being gap at Wilson. Each month, Rachel and I met to figure out an agenda that would ensure a productive and forward-moving meeting and she brought fresh ideas and models from other schools for me to consider. [b]In our early meetings, we discussed bias, the definition of racism and white fragility in way that laid a fertile and receptive foundation for our work to come.[/b] At many meetings, I used current Wilson data to highlight some inequality, and students who were affected by these inequalities spoke about their pain. Within six months, this committee was so focused on a goal that we could not prevent them from trying to “do something.” I am hopeful that what we are doing will move Wilson towards our goal. I am certain that the process we are using has tremendous merit and [b]I have asked Rachel to stay with us for another year.[/b] With Rachel’s help, I have also been reflecting on how my own background, experiences and perspectives have impacted the school change process. If you too are committed to concrete and measurable change in your workplace, [b]I highly recommend Rachel to work with your school, company or organization.[/b]
Principal Kim Martin
Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, DC
[/i]
This testimonial is improper on multiple levels. First, a school principal should not publicly endorse anyone or any service, especially someone who is trying to profit from controversial changes to critical course offerings.  Second, let’s unpack what Principal Martin referred to as “the definition of racism” because it is not what you think it is.  Rachel has redefined the term “racism”. Here is how Rachel defines it on her website:

[i]“[b][u]Racism[/u][/b] is a deeply-rooted system in our country that [b]disadvantages and devalues people of color[/b] as a group and advantages and empowers white people as a group. Racism is also individual instances of hatred, prejudice or discrimination [b]by a person in a dominant racial group[/b] directed at a person of a marginalized racial group.” [/i](https://www.rachellaser.com/definitions)

Racism in her definition—and the definition embraced by Principal Martin—means that in the U.S. only white people can be racist. This is wrong and dangerous, and it shocks me that a principal of a diverse school would embrace such an inaccurate and intentionally biased definition.

Then there is the term “white fragility”.  I can thank Principal Martin for introducing me to this racist term.  Here is the definition on Rachel’s website:

[i][b][u]White fragility[/u][/b] is “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium.”[/i] (https://www.rachellaser.com/definitions)

Again, the idea that a principal of a diverse school would use such a term is just wrong.  This term is intended to suppress discussion and stigmatize those that disagree.

I think it is useful for parents and students to know more about the public views of the two people responsible for bringing HFA to Wilson High School. It helps explain the trust issues that some parents have with the information provided by Wilson.

[/quote]

Thanks for posting that information.  As a middle aged white person who attended segregated schools in the South as a child, I can say that I agree 100% with the comments from Rachel and disagree entirely with your objections.

I see white fragility constantly in my fairly racist family members who find any suggestion that racism actually exists or negatively impacts anyone to be intolerable.  The fact that, for example, the DOJ found that the system of court fines and policing in Ferguson was structured explicitly to extract money from the black community and lower taxes on whites (structural racism that's alive and well in 2019) is absolutely inconceivable to them, and trying to have any rational discussion of a topic like that is impossible -- the become instantly furious.  That's white fragility.  It's not something someone dreamed up to shut down discussion, it's an observed reality that a lot of people (white and black) have commented on.  The fact that you deny it exists suggests to me that you haven't engaged in many honest conversations about race with racists.

[/quote]

Wow. I am sure I never denied that some white idiots think that there is no racism because I don't deny it. So [u]please[/u] be more careful with your accusations. What I said was that the term "white fragility" is racist and its intent is to suppress discussion and stigmatize those that disagree. Every group has its share of thin-skinned people, and white people are not the only ones for whom "even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves". See, for example, the shreiking Yale student over Halloween costumes and the meltdown at Evergreen University. And any definition in which arguing your point is evidence of your guilt is Orwellian and intended to end discussion. The definition literally says that when a white person is faced with "minimal" racial stress, they exhibit "white fragility" and thereby are guilty of "reinstat[ing] white racial equilibrium" if they react by arguing or being silent or by leaving. In other words, the [u]only[/u] way for white person to avoid being a racist is to completely agree with the other person. The fact that our principal embraces this term is crazy town.[/quote]

[quote]The term racism is very commonly used in an academic sense to refer not to simple bigotry but also an imbalance of power.   It's in that sense that many people argue that only white people in the US are racists, whereas everybody can be a bigot.  To me, that's semantics and not something that I get that upset about.[/quote]

Yes, some fringe academic departments have changed the definition to racism = racism + power. This is unfortunate because some young people of color interpret this to mean that they cannot be racist even if they hold racist views and act in racist ways. This is dangerous, particularly so for young impressionable high school students. And this is why high school principals and those working in the school system should not be redefining the term.

[quote]Certainly I am aware of my white privilege in day to day life, from the way that I am treated by the police (especially now that I'm no longer poor) to how I'm treated in stores to the fact that no one has ever called the police on me when I was sleeping in a common room at college, or using a coat hanger to unlock my car door after locking my keys in my car, or climbing over my back fence when I was locked out of my house -- all things that result in the police being called on law abiding black college students, car owners and homeowners.  Or to take a personal example -- I've called and paid for ubers for some of my kid's friends at various points when they were stuck and I didn't have time to drive them.  Twice I've done this for black kids, and both times the first driver has seen the kid and left, something that's never happened when the kid was white.  This is particularly striking to me because I happen to spend time in some places where I am the only white person around, and it's a complete total and utter non issue, whereas in the converse situation I've seen black people made uncomfortable in a variety of ways when they are in an all white group.  That's white privilege.[/quote]

Sorry that happened to your kid's friend - that is shitty. As a thought experiment, what if your kid's friend had been Asian or Hispanic. Would the driver had left? I think not. So is it accurate to label it "white privilege"? The problem is not that the driver would pick up your kid or his/her Asian friend but that the driver would not pickup a black child. That is the shitty thing we need to fix. Calling it "white privilege" is generally unhelpful, inaccurate, and alienates people of goodwill.

[quote]There's a lot to discuss with HFA, and a lot of reasons that I think it's a bad idea, but denying structural racism or white privilege (or that those things have historically played a role in access to quality schooling) is not a particularly helpful place to start.       [/quote]

Just to recap, I don't deny racism or its history. But the Wilson school district is not filled with southerners like your racist family members. This is a highly educated, worldly, progressive community. Principal Martin's use of the word "white fragility" in this context is all the more inappropriate and leads me to believe she used the term as a tool to suppress discussion.[/quote]

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