Black Lives Matter Curriculum Is Bludgeoning Black History Month

Parents are noticing that Black Lives Matter curriculum is increasingly making its way into the classroom under the guise of Black History Month. The curriculum is not exclusive to teachers or high school students, it’s being taught to America’s most impressionable individuals as well: elementary and middle school students. 

Parents have also noticed that Black History Month curriculum is no longer exclusive to history classes, either. 

On Feb. 5, students at a middle school in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) were taught about Black History Month and the important role Black Lives Matter plays in the racial justice movement at the end of science class. In a screenshot of the curriculum obtained by The Daily Wire, students were asked to read about the impact of Black Lives Matter, watch a young black poet speak at Joe Biden’s inauguration, and discuss issues of racism that “continue to plague [the] school.” 

“BLM’s mission is to get rid of white supremacy and come together to fight and end the violence against Black communities,” the slide reads. “Many peaceful protests took place in May and June of 2020. Media broadcasted the riots and the looting instead of the peaceful fight towards equality.”   

The slide explained to students how words have an impact on people’s perception of a movement. It insinuated that when the Black Lives Matter movement was portrayed as a bunch of rioters and looters, those words hurt the group’s ability to effectively message. 

Impact of Words on BLM lesson taught at San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

After reading the slide and watching the video, students were forced to sign a form acknowledging that “#WordsMatter.” 

The #WordsMatter campaign is a left-wing activist slogan initially aimed at stopping people from using the words “illegal immigrant” to describe an immigrant who has illegally crossed the border. Activists prefer the term “undocumented.” The campaign has since morphed into the broader idea that the “wrong” words, regardless of whether they have malicious intent and regardless of context, can be harmful to racial justice.  

For example, if a student vocalizes support for Donald Trump, they could face backlash because those words may be considered harmful to other students who do not support Donald Trump. 

An SRVUSD parent — who spoke to The Daily Wire on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution — said their child already understands the implications that the #WordsMatter campaign has on their ability to speak freely not only in the classroom but privately to friends. 

“My child’s takeaway is that if anyone finds out their parents voted for Donald Trump, they won’t have any friends and they’ll be ostracized,” the parent said. “I don’t know why science teachers are promoting Black Lives Matter.” 

In the same school district, elementary-aged students were shown a nine-minute video addressing police brutality and its effects on black Americans. The video describes the death of George Floyd, Treyvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Breonna Taylor, among others.

The video features a cartoon robot and a young black woman displaying an LGBTQ flag on her jean jacket. It explains to children how racism has not improved since Civil Rights legislation was signed, it has merely gone underground and can be seen as “systemic racism.” 

“Interpersonal racism — expressing bigoted ideas — is widely seen as unacceptable,” the narrator explains. “But the protests we are seeing today aren’t about that kind of thing. They’re about structural racism in our society.”

The narrator also used the Minneapolis City Council defunding the police as an example of success for the racial justice movement. According to the New York Times, after seeing a spike in crime in Minneapolis, many of the residents and city council members said they regret defunding the police.  

The video concluded with calls for children to become activists. 

The concerned SRVUSD parent told The Daily Wire they found the content to be wholly unacceptable for young children to fully comprehend without being “indoctrinated.”

“How does an elementary student have an honest, intellectual discussion about a police shooting?” the parent asked. “When you start pushing propaganda to young kids it’s completely unacceptable. Especially with taxpayer money.” 

In the last few weeks, parents told The Daily Wire they noticed an uptick in Black Lives Matter curriculum creeping into the classroom, though the movement is already in full swing among high schoolers, staff, and parents. 

Local activists in northern California have been lobbying the SRVUSD since June to take a more socially radical stance. They started a “Racial Justice Petition” calling for a district-wide review of curriculum and asking the district to reduce the “dominance” of white and European history. 

According to a full list of demands, activists are calling on the school board to take a more aggressive approach in teaching students about racism, microaggressions, and racial/class privilege both in and out of the classroom. They also demand that the district hire more “self-identified” people of color so that the percentage of minority teachers is reflective of the national population. 

One demand calls for the practice of “formally acknowledging the Indigenous histories of the lands on which [the] schools sit.” Activists want this acknowledgment to become commonplace in school board meetings and “for students of all grades.” 

Other demands follow the national Black Lives Matter agenda, such as the demand to divert funding for police to social workers and support systems for students of color. 

The petition also calls out the SRVUSD school board for using the coronavirus pandemic as an “excuse” to avoid dealing with “the crisis of American racism.” 

“To fulfill its own commitment, we call on the Board to devote extra time, resources, and personnel to address both crises in tandem,” the petition reads. “The district must also support and listen to students, especially students of color, as the drivers and agents of change.”

Parents who wish to speak up against not just activists, but the school district that is caving to activists, feel they are powerless. One told The Daily Wire that they feel their words are “taken out of context” and one wrong move could leave them without a job or a home for their children. 

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District did not return requests for comment. 

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