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School board in Missouri, now controlled by conservatives, revokes anti-racism resolution
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Jul 23, 2023, 7:12:40 PM7/23/23
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O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — In the national reckoning that followed the police
killing of George Floyd three years ago, about 2,000 protesters took to
the streets in a St. Louis suburb and urged the mostly white Francis
Howell School District to address racial discrimination. The school board
responded with a resolution promising to do better.
Now the board, led by new conservative board members elected since last
year, has revoked that anti-racism resolution and copies of it will be
removed from school buildings.
The resolution passed in August 2020 “pledges to our learning community
that we will speak firmly against any racism, discrimination, and
senseless violence against people regardless of race, ethnicity,
nationality, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, gender
identity, or ability.
“We will promote racial healing, especially for our Black and brown
students and families,” the resolution states. “We will no longer be
silent.”
The board's decision follows a trend that began with backlash against
COVID-19 pandemic policies in places around the nation. School board
elections have become intense political battlegrounds, with political
action groups successfully electing candidates promising to take action
against teachings on race and sexuality, remove books deemed offensive and
stop transgender-inclusive sports teams.
The Francis Howell district is among Missouri's largest, with 17,000
students, about 87% of whom are white. The vote, which came during an
often contentious meeting Thursday, rescinded resolutions 75 days after "a
majority of current Board of Education members were not signatories to the
resolution or did not otherwise vote to adopt the resolution.”
While a few others also will be canceled, the anti-racism resolution was
clearly the focus. Dozens of people opposed to its revocation packed the
board meeting, many holding signs reading, “Forward, not backward.”
Kimberly Thompson, who is Black, attended Francis Howell schools in the
1970s and 1980s, and her two children graduated from the district. She
described several instances of racism and urged the board to stand by its
2020 commitment.
“This resolution means hope to me, hope of a better Francis Howell School
District,” Thompson said. “It means setting expectations for behavior for
students and staff regardless of their personal opinions.”
The board's vice president, Randy Cook, said phrases in the resolution
such as “systemic racism” aren't defined and mean different things to
different people. Another board member, Jane Puszkar, said the resolution
served no purpose.
“What has it really done," she asked. “How effective has it really been?”
Since the resolution was adopted, the makeup of the board has flipped.
Just two board members remain from 2020. Five new members elected in April
2022 and April 2023 had the backing of the conservative political action
committee Francis Howell Families.
In 2021, the PAC described the anti-racism resolution as “woke activism”
and drafted an alternative resolution to oppose "all acts of racial
discrimination, including the act of promoting tenets of the racially-
divisive Critical Race Theory, labels of white privilege, enforced equity
of outcomes, identity politics, intersectionalism, and Marxism.”
Cook, who was elected in 2022 and sponsored the revocation, said there is
no plan to adopt that alternative or any other.
“In my opinion, the school board doesn’t need to be in the business of
dividing the community,” Cook said. “We just need to stick to the business
of educating students here and stay out of the national politics.”
Many districts are dealing with debates over topics mislabeled as critical
race theory. School administrators say the scholarly theory centered on
the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions is not
taught in K-12 schools.
Others assert that school systems are misspending money, perpetuating
divisions and shaming white children by pursuing initiatives they view as
critical race theory in disguise.
In 2021, the Ohio State Board of Education rescinded an anti-racism and
equity resolution that also was adopted after Floyd was killed by a
Minneapolis police officer in May 2020. It was replaced with a statement
promoting academic excellence without respect to "race, ethnicity or
creed.”
Racial issues remain especially sensitive in the St. Louis region, nine
years after a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, fatally shot 18-year-
old Michael Brown during a street confrontation. Officer Darren Wilson was
not charged and the shooting led to months of often violent protests,
becoming a catalyst for the national Black Lives Matter movement.
Revoking the Francis Howell resolution “sets a precedent for what's to
come,” St. Charles County NAACP President Zebrina Looney warned.
“I think this is only the beginning for what this new board is set out to
do,” Looney said.
https://news.yahoo.com/school-board-missouri-now-controlled-044458011.html
killing of George Floyd three years ago, about 2,000 protesters took to
the streets in a St. Louis suburb and urged the mostly white Francis
Howell School District to address racial discrimination. The school board
responded with a resolution promising to do better.
Now the board, led by new conservative board members elected since last
year, has revoked that anti-racism resolution and copies of it will be
removed from school buildings.
The resolution passed in August 2020 “pledges to our learning community
that we will speak firmly against any racism, discrimination, and
senseless violence against people regardless of race, ethnicity,
nationality, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, gender
identity, or ability.
“We will promote racial healing, especially for our Black and brown
students and families,” the resolution states. “We will no longer be
silent.”
The board's decision follows a trend that began with backlash against
COVID-19 pandemic policies in places around the nation. School board
elections have become intense political battlegrounds, with political
action groups successfully electing candidates promising to take action
against teachings on race and sexuality, remove books deemed offensive and
stop transgender-inclusive sports teams.
The Francis Howell district is among Missouri's largest, with 17,000
students, about 87% of whom are white. The vote, which came during an
often contentious meeting Thursday, rescinded resolutions 75 days after "a
majority of current Board of Education members were not signatories to the
resolution or did not otherwise vote to adopt the resolution.”
While a few others also will be canceled, the anti-racism resolution was
clearly the focus. Dozens of people opposed to its revocation packed the
board meeting, many holding signs reading, “Forward, not backward.”
Kimberly Thompson, who is Black, attended Francis Howell schools in the
1970s and 1980s, and her two children graduated from the district. She
described several instances of racism and urged the board to stand by its
2020 commitment.
“This resolution means hope to me, hope of a better Francis Howell School
District,” Thompson said. “It means setting expectations for behavior for
students and staff regardless of their personal opinions.”
The board's vice president, Randy Cook, said phrases in the resolution
such as “systemic racism” aren't defined and mean different things to
different people. Another board member, Jane Puszkar, said the resolution
served no purpose.
“What has it really done," she asked. “How effective has it really been?”
Since the resolution was adopted, the makeup of the board has flipped.
Just two board members remain from 2020. Five new members elected in April
2022 and April 2023 had the backing of the conservative political action
committee Francis Howell Families.
In 2021, the PAC described the anti-racism resolution as “woke activism”
and drafted an alternative resolution to oppose "all acts of racial
discrimination, including the act of promoting tenets of the racially-
divisive Critical Race Theory, labels of white privilege, enforced equity
of outcomes, identity politics, intersectionalism, and Marxism.”
Cook, who was elected in 2022 and sponsored the revocation, said there is
no plan to adopt that alternative or any other.
“In my opinion, the school board doesn’t need to be in the business of
dividing the community,” Cook said. “We just need to stick to the business
of educating students here and stay out of the national politics.”
Many districts are dealing with debates over topics mislabeled as critical
race theory. School administrators say the scholarly theory centered on
the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions is not
taught in K-12 schools.
Others assert that school systems are misspending money, perpetuating
divisions and shaming white children by pursuing initiatives they view as
critical race theory in disguise.
In 2021, the Ohio State Board of Education rescinded an anti-racism and
equity resolution that also was adopted after Floyd was killed by a
Minneapolis police officer in May 2020. It was replaced with a statement
promoting academic excellence without respect to "race, ethnicity or
creed.”
Racial issues remain especially sensitive in the St. Louis region, nine
years after a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, fatally shot 18-year-
old Michael Brown during a street confrontation. Officer Darren Wilson was
not charged and the shooting led to months of often violent protests,
becoming a catalyst for the national Black Lives Matter movement.
Revoking the Francis Howell resolution “sets a precedent for what's to
come,” St. Charles County NAACP President Zebrina Looney warned.
“I think this is only the beginning for what this new board is set out to
do,” Looney said.
https://news.yahoo.com/school-board-missouri-now-controlled-044458011.html
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