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Last week at New Trier, some students were compelled to fill out the survey above to identify who wanted to participate in "anti-racist affinity group" activities and who did not.
Specifically white students were asked "yes or no" on whether they would like to participate in a 'White Anti-Racist Affinity Group" that provides "white students with the opportunity to deepen their personal understanding of what it means to be a white ally when it comes to anti-racist work," OR to reject this "opportunity" by choosing "no.”
Affinity groups were introduced last year at New Trier through a webinar for parents titled "DigNiTy." In the presentation, New Trier defined its affinity groups using material from Learning for Justice – a project of the highly politicized and discredited Southern Poverty Law Center. Speakers outlined how students of color and the white anti-racist group (the only apparent group for white kids to join) would meet separately and then have lunch once a month together to talk. In the Q&A it was also noted there would be no Christian affinity group because Christianity is a “dominant” religion.
Pat Savage Williams, DEI coordinator at New Trier, also said on the webinar that she has “trouble getting students to join and start at the freshman campus…they are not really accustomed to identifying themselves racially.”
Is it because they understand that dividing kids by race is an odd way to address racism?
Heterodox Academy’s Musa Al Gharbi’s review of research suggests most diversity programs do not succeed in their goals.
Last year Wellesley Public Schools settled a lawsuit regarding affinity groups (also covered in the Wall Street Journal).
Per Title VI it is illegal to separate people by race in government institutions so it begs the question if New Trier’s lawyers reviewed this survey.
See this letter from FAIR to Harvard University regarding legal issues with respect to affinity groups and this lawsuit filed against Evanston D65 regarding separating teachers by race.
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