The parents of an elite private school in New York City are reportedly furious at school administrators after dozens of faculty members published an “extreme” and “insane” anti-racism manifesto.
The Dalton School, which boasts celebrities like Anderson Cooper, Christian Slater and Claire Danes among its prestigious alumni and charges $54,180 per year for tuition, published a “Commitment to Anti-Racism” that outlines its “anti-racism vision.”
The objectives include: “All Dalton students will have a deep historical understanding of racial and structural inequities in the U.S., and particularly the history of anti-black racism.”
Despite this, teachers at the school are demanding that the school do even more to combat racism, so they published an eight-page “anti-racist manifesto” that included a sweeping list of demands, according to the New York Post.
Some of the demands, most of which were based on critical race theory, include:
- hiring 12 full-time diversity officers and multiple psychologists to support students “coping with race-based traumatic stress”
- assigning a staffer dedicated to black students who have “complaints or face disciplinary action” and a full-time advocate to help black students “navigate a predominantly white institution”
- paying the student debt of black staffers upon hiring them
- overhauling the entire curriculum, reading lists and student plays to reflect diversity and social justice themes
Several parents complained about the “ridiculous” demands, but many are still fearful to speak up, according to the New York Post.
“Parents are terrified to speak up for fear of retribution. Parents are acting like spineless wimps,” one parent said.
Another father called the manifesto “completely absurd and a total step backwards.”
“This supposed anti-racist agenda is asking everyone to look at black kids and treat them differently because of the color of their skin,” he said. “The school is more focused on virtue-signaling this nonsense than it is in actually helping students of color. More parents are going to be pulling their kids out.”
