Institutionalized Racism Exists

In the Seattle School District

The superintendent of Seattle Public Schools announced Friday that a recently suspended unit in a humanities class at The Center School that explored issues of race and privilege will be allowed to resume, with restrictions.

The class has been changed from :Whites are Bad” to “Most Whites are Bad”.

The Seattle high-school teacher at the center of a controversy over how he was teaching about race at The Center School defended his approach Friday, saying students could handle the frank and necessary discussions.

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent José Banda announced Friday that the district will resume the popular unit, part of a humanities course for seniors. The unit was suspended in January after a single student complained in December that the way it was taught was upsetting.

The teacher, Jon Greenberg, said he was using a modified version of the so-called “Courageous Conversations” format, which included inviting visitors into the classroom to talk candidly about what it’s like to be a minority in America.

On Mondays, he would invite students to talk about what they had experienced over the weekend that made them think about race. If they chose, the students could also offer their own personal stories about race.

But after one student complained that the way the class was taught created an intimidating environment, the district suspended the unit pending an investigation.

The focus of the class is the supposedly ubiquitous “White Privilege”, and the district has told those in favor of the class that they can continue to blame whitey.