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Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of millions of DC tax dollars supporting “Afrofuturism.”

Nice.

No, as noted above, that program is grant funded, not taxpayer funded. And also it's a lot less than "hundreds of millions" (it's 25 million spread over 6 schools including schools with programs that sound a lot less ridiculous than the Dunbar one).

Though insofar as programs like this paper over real issues at these schools that need actual solutions, it does undermine the benefit of actual DCPS spending. Because Dunbar embracing a program like this just further alienates IB families who want high academic standards and more academic opportunity, pushing them to look elsewhere than their by right school.

Np on this issue, but Dunbar is our inbounds high school. I looked at the website and as a non-African American, I legitimately can't tell if this school is open to my family: https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/

It very much looks like segregation is the aim.

I don't get that from the website (that segregation is the aim). They are (rightfully, IMO) celebrating a time of excellence for that school, when they sent graduates to the Ivy League during segregation. It really was a good school amidst an overtly racist school situation. Hard to talk about that past without including all the information.

I don't see it as them trying to recreate it... They just want current students to be reminded of that excellence.

np: I don't think you looked at the Mission and Vision page. Dunbar absolutely should be proud of its past, but its values explicitly emphasize Black pride, while there is no mention of their vision for a multicultural future.

It's not a reasonable application of taxpayer money for a neighborhood public school in a diverse boundary to identify itself as a jr. HBCU.

The website states: Our mission is to ensure that every student reaches their full potential through rigorous and joyful learning experiences provided in a nurturing environment.

You know that isn't all it says.

Maybe I missed it but where is the section that states its "values explicitly emphasize Black pride?"

https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/about_us/mission_and_vision

"Our Values

Sankofa
Community
Lifelong Learning
Activism
Pride [with black upraised fist icon]
"

All of the icons are black. If they were all white would that make you feel better?

Imagine some school in Nebraska putting “retvrn” (as close to Sankofa as it gets in spirit from the supremacist brigades) and “pride” at the bottom, and you’ll roughly get how everyone not black feels when they see the language. We get the message, whether they carefully counted out 14 words or not.

It is really disingenuous to equate Sankofa which is a Ghanaian word that basicaly means to reflect on the past with the goal of improving the future with white supremacist tropes like retvrn and the ok symbol.

And Robert e Lee just loved Virginia

Most reasonable people would not equate these concepts. If that is how you see it then you are a lost cause.

There are multiple people posting up and down here about how we equate white and black supremacism, and know it when we see it. Black power in dc is, generally speaking, pretty supremacist in language and action, and just generally antagonistic to anyone who doesn’t look the part. There are good historical reasons for that, but you can’t blame people for reading the signal to stay away loud and clear, and then staying away.

I think it is more nuanced. This is just my take but when pro black or African iconography is used it is typically to celebrate cultures that have been systematically oppressed and discriminated against - hence Dunbar's segregated past. The symbolism is to uplift and inspire a group needs encouragement and validation, not to imply that blacks are superior to whites.

Surely we can give encouragement and validation without fostering an us-versus-them mentality.

Where is the evidence of an "us vs them" mentality? You are projecting. No one is against you.

This goes back to my previous point that when the dominant culture is not centered, you get all in your feelings. Welcome to the life of a minority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would really hate to be that one white kid at one of those schools. I imagine they are probably relentlessly singled out and teased.

I don’t know but ngl I also thought about that lone white kid in some of these schools. How did they end up there? Are their parents extremely progressive or extremely clueless/absent? What’s the story there?

Your fragility is so apparent. In the U.S., many BIPOC people and women were/are the "onlies" everyday in their academic and professional lives.

I went to a suburban, upper middle class PA high school of 2000 kids that had only 50 kids from Global Majority backgrounds. I was called racial slurs on the regular by white students. Kids there drove BMWs and Range Rovers and were in the AP classes.

Note: the Global Majority for humanity is Black/Brown- white people are not the center of all human history/accomplishment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would really hate to be that one white kid at one of those schools. I imagine they are probably relentlessly singled out and teased.

I don’t know but ngl I also thought about that lone white kid in some of these schools. How did they end up there? Are their parents extremely progressive or extremely clueless/absent? What’s the story there?

Your fragility is so apparent. In the U.S., many BIPOC people and women were/are the "onlies" everyday in their academic and professional lives.

I went to a suburban, upper middle class PA high school of 2000 kids that had only 50 kids from Global Majority backgrounds. I was called racial slurs on the regular by white students. Kids there drove BMWs and Range Rovers and were in the AP classes.

Note: the Global Majority for humanity is Black/Brown- white people are not the center of all human history/accomplishment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would really hate to be that one white kid at one of those schools. I imagine they are probably relentlessly singled out and teased.

I don’t know but ngl I also thought about that lone white kid in some of these schools. How did they end up there? Are their parents extremely progressive or extremely clueless/absent? What’s the story there?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a black person who grew up in a “black power” household and community, I think there is a point being missed. How exactly is the Afrofuturist focus improving the school and student outcomes? I am surrounded by black people who aren’t sending their students to Dunbar because the theme alone isn’t sufficient when they also want better academic programs. What does Afrofuturism mean in a school context? Will there be a strong public speaking program inspired by MLK? A pre-med program that reflects the legacy of Dr. Charles Drew? Advanced math tracks in honor of the two black teenagers who recently found trigonomic proof of the Pythagorean theorem?

Whatever the theme, the academics have to be clear and robust. IMO, that’s what is driving all kinds of families to other school options.

+1000

The only people I know in DC who are care about schools with a ‘focus’ are white parents. All of the black parents I know in DC care about strong academics and academic programming. And in our household my DH would see any focus or theme such as Dunbar has as trying to hide the poor academics or a distraction. Unless it were a science and math focus.

Anonymous wrote:As a black person who grew up in a “black power” household and community, I think there is a point being missed. How exactly is the Afrofuturist focus improving the school and student outcomes? I am surrounded by black people who aren’t sending their students to Dunbar because the theme alone isn’t sufficient when they also want better academic programs. What does Afrofuturism mean in a school context? Will there be a strong public speaking program inspired by MLK? A pre-med program that reflects the legacy of Dr. Charles Drew? Advanced math tracks in honor of the two black teenagers who recently found trigonomic proof of the Pythagorean theorem?

Whatever the theme, the academics have to be clear and robust. IMO, that’s what is driving all kinds of families to other school options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of millions of DC tax dollars supporting “Afrofuturism.”

Nice.

No, as noted above, that program is grant funded, not taxpayer funded. And also it's a lot less than "hundreds of millions" (it's 25 million spread over 6 schools including schools with programs that sound a lot less ridiculous than the Dunbar one).

Though insofar as programs like this paper over real issues at these schools that need actual solutions, it does undermine the benefit of actual DCPS spending. Because Dunbar embracing a program like this just further alienates IB families who want high academic standards and more academic opportunity, pushing them to look elsewhere than their by right school.

Np on this issue, but Dunbar is our inbounds high school. I looked at the website and as a non-African American, I legitimately can't tell if this school is open to my family: https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/

It very much looks like segregation is the aim.

I don't get that from the website (that segregation is the aim). They are (rightfully, IMO) celebrating a time of excellence for that school, when they sent graduates to the Ivy League during segregation. It really was a good school amidst an overtly racist school situation. Hard to talk about that past without including all the information.

I don't see it as them trying to recreate it... They just want current students to be reminded of that excellence.

np: I don't think you looked at the Mission and Vision page. Dunbar absolutely should be proud of its past, but its values explicitly emphasize Black pride, while there is no mention of their vision for a multicultural future.

It's not a reasonable application of taxpayer money for a neighborhood public school in a diverse boundary to identify itself as a jr. HBCU.

The website states: Our mission is to ensure that every student reaches their full potential through rigorous and joyful learning experiences provided in a nurturing environment.

You know that isn't all it says.

Maybe I missed it but where is the section that states its "values explicitly emphasize Black pride?"

https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/about_us/mission_and_vision

"Our Values

Sankofa
Community
Lifelong Learning
Activism
Pride [with black upraised fist icon]
"

All of the icons are black. If they were all white would that make you feel better?

Imagine some school in Nebraska putting “retvrn” (as close to Sankofa as it gets in spirit from the supremacist brigades) and “pride” at the bottom, and you’ll roughly get how everyone not black feels when they see the language. We get the message, whether they carefully counted out 14 words or not.

It is really disingenuous to equate Sankofa which is a Ghanaian word that basicaly means to reflect on the past with the goal of improving the future with white supremacist tropes like retvrn and the ok symbol.

And Robert e Lee just loved Virginia

Most reasonable people would not equate these concepts. If that is how you see it then you are a lost cause.

There are multiple people posting up and down here about how we equate white and black supremacism, and know it when we see it. Black power in dc is, generally speaking, pretty supremacist in language and action, and just generally antagonistic to anyone who doesn’t look the part. There are good historical reasons for that, but you can’t blame people for reading the signal to stay away loud and clear, and then staying away.

This is all a completely imagined scenario designed to make UMC a little more comfortable by having another external target for their internal anxiety about their children. I promise you that any white child enrolled at Dunbar would he welcomed and if you set foot in their as a white parent everyone would be exceedingly kind and helpful. I know this because my child goes to a 90% black school and I have not one single time felt anything other than totally welcomed.

I felt unwelcome visiting the tables at EdFest. I was new to DC and trying to learn about my family's in bound schools. The message I got from the tables was basically like "why would you even want to go here?"

I later learned a little more context and that the schools had been burned before wasting time and energy on non title one families who tour and don't attend or just do PK and leave. But at some point it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

My guess is they knew you wouldn’t send your kid there. I don’t even think Dunbar teachers would send their kids there. Anyone with choice doesn’t send their kid to Dunbar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of millions of DC tax dollars supporting “Afrofuturism.”

Nice.

No, as noted above, that program is grant funded, not taxpayer funded. And also it's a lot less than "hundreds of millions" (it's 25 million spread over 6 schools including schools with programs that sound a lot less ridiculous than the Dunbar one).

Though insofar as programs like this paper over real issues at these schools that need actual solutions, it does undermine the benefit of actual DCPS spending. Because Dunbar embracing a program like this just further alienates IB families who want high academic standards and more academic opportunity, pushing them to look elsewhere than their by right school.

Np on this issue, but Dunbar is our inbounds high school. I looked at the website and as a non-African American, I legitimately can't tell if this school is open to my family: https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/

It very much looks like segregation is the aim.

I don't get that from the website (that segregation is the aim). They are (rightfully, IMO) celebrating a time of excellence for that school, when they sent graduates to the Ivy League during segregation. It really was a good school amidst an overtly racist school situation. Hard to talk about that past without including all the information.

I don't see it as them trying to recreate it... They just want current students to be reminded of that excellence.

np: I don't think you looked at the Mission and Vision page. Dunbar absolutely should be proud of its past, but its values explicitly emphasize Black pride, while there is no mention of their vision for a multicultural future.

It's not a reasonable application of taxpayer money for a neighborhood public school in a diverse boundary to identify itself as a jr. HBCU.

The website states: Our mission is to ensure that every student reaches their full potential through rigorous and joyful learning experiences provided in a nurturing environment.

You know that isn't all it says.

Maybe I missed it but where is the section that states its "values explicitly emphasize Black pride?"

https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/about_us/mission_and_vision

"Our Values

Sankofa
Community
Lifelong Learning
Activism
Pride [with black upraised fist icon]
"

All of the icons are black. If they were all white would that make you feel better?

Imagine some school in Nebraska putting “retvrn” (as close to Sankofa as it gets in spirit from the supremacist brigades) and “pride” at the bottom, and you’ll roughly get how everyone not black feels when they see the language. We get the message, whether they carefully counted out 14 words or not.

It is really disingenuous to equate Sankofa which is a Ghanaian word that basicaly means to reflect on the past with the goal of improving the future with white supremacist tropes like retvrn and the ok symbol.

And Robert e Lee just loved Virginia

Most reasonable people would not equate these concepts. If that is how you see it then you are a lost cause.

There are multiple people posting up and down here about how we equate white and black supremacism, and know it when we see it. Black power in dc is, generally speaking, pretty supremacist in language and action, and just generally antagonistic to anyone who doesn’t look the part. There are good historical reasons for that, but you can’t blame people for reading the signal to stay away loud and clear, and then staying away.

This is all a completely imagined scenario designed to make UMC a little more comfortable by having another external target for their internal anxiety about their children. I promise you that any white child enrolled at Dunbar would he welcomed and if you set foot in their as a white parent everyone would be exceedingly kind and helpful. I know this because my child goes to a 90% black school and I have not one single time felt anything other than totally welcomed.

I felt unwelcome visiting the tables at EdFest. I was new to DC and trying to learn about my family's in bound schools. The message I got from the tables was basically like "why would you even want to go here?"

I later learned a little more context and that the schools had been burned before wasting time and energy on non title one families who tour and don't attend or just do PK and leave. But at some point it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of millions of DC tax dollars supporting “Afrofuturism.”

Nice.

No, as noted above, that program is grant funded, not taxpayer funded. And also it's a lot less than "hundreds of millions" (it's 25 million spread over 6 schools including schools with programs that sound a lot less ridiculous than the Dunbar one).

Though insofar as programs like this paper over real issues at these schools that need actual solutions, it does undermine the benefit of actual DCPS spending. Because Dunbar embracing a program like this just further alienates IB families who want high academic standards and more academic opportunity, pushing them to look elsewhere than their by right school.

Np on this issue, but Dunbar is our inbounds high school. I looked at the website and as a non-African American, I legitimately can't tell if this school is open to my family: https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/

It very much looks like segregation is the aim.

I don't get that from the website (that segregation is the aim). They are (rightfully, IMO) celebrating a time of excellence for that school, when they sent graduates to the Ivy League during segregation. It really was a good school amidst an overtly racist school situation. Hard to talk about that past without including all the information.

I don't see it as them trying to recreate it... They just want current students to be reminded of that excellence.

np: I don't think you looked at the Mission and Vision page. Dunbar absolutely should be proud of its past, but its values explicitly emphasize Black pride, while there is no mention of their vision for a multicultural future.

It's not a reasonable application of taxpayer money for a neighborhood public school in a diverse boundary to identify itself as a jr. HBCU.

The website states: Our mission is to ensure that every student reaches their full potential through rigorous and joyful learning experiences provided in a nurturing environment.

You know that isn't all it says.

Maybe I missed it but where is the section that states its "values explicitly emphasize Black pride?"

https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/about_us/mission_and_vision

"Our Values

Sankofa
Community
Lifelong Learning
Activism
Pride [with black upraised fist icon]
"

All of the icons are black. If they were all white would that make you feel better?

Imagine some school in Nebraska putting “retvrn” (as close to Sankofa as it gets in spirit from the supremacist brigades) and “pride” at the bottom, and you’ll roughly get how everyone not black feels when they see the language. We get the message, whether they carefully counted out 14 words or not.

It is really disingenuous to equate Sankofa which is a Ghanaian word that basicaly means to reflect on the past with the goal of improving the future with white supremacist tropes like retvrn and the ok symbol.

And Robert e Lee just loved Virginia

Most reasonable people would not equate these concepts. If that is how you see it then you are a lost cause.

There are multiple people posting up and down here about how we equate white and black supremacism, and know it when we see it. Black power in dc is, generally speaking, pretty supremacist in language and action, and just generally antagonistic to anyone who doesn’t look the part. There are good historical reasons for that, but you can’t blame people for reading the signal to stay away loud and clear, and then staying away.

This is all a completely imagined scenario designed to make UMC a little more comfortable by having another external target for their internal anxiety about their children. I promise you that any white child enrolled at Dunbar would he welcomed and if you set foot in their as a white parent everyone would be exceedingly kind and helpful. I know this because my child goes to a 90% black school and I have not one single time felt anything other than totally welcomed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a black person who grew up in a “black power” household and community, I think there is a point being missed. How exactly is the Afrofuturist focus improving the school and student outcomes? I am surrounded by black people who aren’t sending their students to Dunbar because the theme alone isn’t sufficient when they also want better academic programs. What does Afrofuturism mean in a school context? Will there be a strong public speaking program inspired by MLK? A pre-med program that reflects the legacy of Dr. Charles Drew? Advanced math tracks in honor of the two black teenagers who recently found trigonomic proof of the Pythagorean theorem?

Whatever the theme, the academics have to be clear and robust. IMO, that’s what is driving all kinds of families to other school options.

Oh yeah I agree - the whole XQ thing is a scam but at the same time, it is ludicrous to claim that the Sankofa is the same as White Power and it means white children are not welcome at Dunbar. And the white parents here whining that Dunbar doesn’t welcome them would say that about any outward sign of black culture (or even just the majority black students).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a black person who grew up in a “black power” household and community, I think there is a point being missed. How exactly is the Afrofuturist focus improving the school and student outcomes? I am surrounded by black people who aren’t sending their students to Dunbar because the theme alone isn’t sufficient when they also want better academic programs. What does Afrofuturism mean in a school context? Will there be a strong public speaking program inspired by MLK? A pre-med program that reflects the legacy of Dr. Charles Drew? Advanced math tracks in honor of the two black teenagers who recently found trigonomic proof of the Pythagorean theorem?

Whatever the theme, the academics have to be clear and robust. IMO, that’s what is driving all kinds of families to other school options.

Oh yeah I agree - the whole XQ thing is a scam but at the same time, it is ludicrous to claim that the Sankofa is the same as White Power and it means white children are not welcome at Dunbar. And the white parents here whining that Dunbar doesn’t welcome them would say that about any outward sign of black culture (or even just the majority black students).

Anonymous wrote:As a black person who grew up in a “black power” household and community, I think there is a point being missed. How exactly is the Afrofuturist focus improving the school and student outcomes? I am surrounded by black people who aren’t sending their students to Dunbar because the theme alone isn’t sufficient when they also want better academic programs. What does Afrofuturism mean in a school context? Will there be a strong public speaking program inspired by MLK? A pre-med program that reflects the legacy of Dr. Charles Drew? Advanced math tracks in honor of the two black teenagers who recently found trigonomic proof of the Pythagorean theorem?

Whatever the theme, the academics have to be clear and robust. IMO, that’s what is driving all kinds of families to other school options.

Anonymous wrote:As a black person who grew up in a “black power” household and community, I think there is a point being missed. How exactly is the Afrofuturist focus improving the school and student outcomes? I am surrounded by black people who aren’t sending their students to Dunbar because the theme alone isn’t sufficient when they also want better academic programs. What does Afrofuturism mean in a school context? Will there be a strong public speaking program inspired by MLK? A pre-med program that reflects the legacy of Dr. Charles Drew? Advanced math tracks in honor of the two black teenagers who recently found trigonomic proof of the Pythagorean theorem?

Whatever the theme, the academics have to be clear and robust. IMO, that’s what is driving all kinds of families to other school options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of millions of DC tax dollars supporting “Afrofuturism.”

Nice.

No, as noted above, that program is grant funded, not taxpayer funded. And also it's a lot less than "hundreds of millions" (it's 25 million spread over 6 schools including schools with programs that sound a lot less ridiculous than the Dunbar one).

Though insofar as programs like this paper over real issues at these schools that need actual solutions, it does undermine the benefit of actual DCPS spending. Because Dunbar embracing a program like this just further alienates IB families who want high academic standards and more academic opportunity, pushing them to look elsewhere than their by right school.

Np on this issue, but Dunbar is our inbounds high school. I looked at the website and as a non-African American, I legitimately can't tell if this school is open to my family: https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/

It very much looks like segregation is the aim.

I don't get that from the website (that segregation is the aim). They are (rightfully, IMO) celebrating a time of excellence for that school, when they sent graduates to the Ivy League during segregation. It really was a good school amidst an overtly racist school situation. Hard to talk about that past without including all the information.

I don't see it as them trying to recreate it... They just want current students to be reminded of that excellence.

np: I don't think you looked at the Mission and Vision page. Dunbar absolutely should be proud of its past, but its values explicitly emphasize Black pride, while there is no mention of their vision for a multicultural future.

It's not a reasonable application of taxpayer money for a neighborhood public school in a diverse boundary to identify itself as a jr. HBCU.

The website states: Our mission is to ensure that every student reaches their full potential through rigorous and joyful learning experiences provided in a nurturing environment.

You know that isn't all it says.

Maybe I missed it but where is the section that states its "values explicitly emphasize Black pride?"

https://www.dunbarhsdc.org/about_us/mission_and_vision

"Our Values

Sankofa
Community
Lifelong Learning
Activism
Pride [with black upraised fist icon]
"

All of the icons are black. If they were all white would that make you feel better?

Imagine some school in Nebraska putting “retvrn” (as close to Sankofa as it gets in spirit from the supremacist brigades) and “pride” at the bottom, and you’ll roughly get how everyone not black feels when they see the language. We get the message, whether they carefully counted out 14 words or not.

It is really disingenuous to equate Sankofa which is a Ghanaian word that basicaly means to reflect on the past with the goal of improving the future with white supremacist tropes like retvrn and the ok symbol.

And Robert e Lee just loved Virginia

Most reasonable people would not equate these concepts. If that is how you see it then you are a lost cause.

There are multiple people posting up and down here about how we equate white and black supremacism, and know it when we see it. Black power in dc is, generally speaking, pretty supremacist in language and action, and just generally antagonistic to anyone who doesn’t look the part. There are good historical reasons for that, but you can’t blame people for reading the signal to stay away loud and clear, and then staying away.

I think it is more nuanced. This is just my take but when pro black or African iconography is used it is typically to celebrate cultures that have been systematically oppressed and discriminated against - hence Dunbar's segregated past. The symbolism is to uplift and inspire a group needs encouragement and validation, not to imply that blacks are superior to whites.

Surely we can give encouragement and validation without fostering an us-versus-them mentality.