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NYC schools chief accused of creating environment ‘hostile’ to white people

The chancellor of the Big Apple’s schools stands accused of creating an atmosphere “which is hostile toward whites,” according to city Department of Education insiders.

A quartet of veteran DOE white female executives is set to sue the city due to Chancellor Richard Carranza’s “sweeping reorganization” which “pushed aside” Caucasians.

According to the New York Post, Carranza’s reforms allegedly favored less qualified minorities over experienced whites. A source told the Post that “There’s a toxic whiteness concept going on […] decisions are being made because DOE leadership believes that skin color plays a role in how to get equity — that white people can’t convey the message.”

Sources claim that under Carranza, whites have been told “they must give up power or lose responsibilities no matter how well they have performed.”

From the story:

More than a dozen high-ranking superintendents and deputies who had served under ex-Chancellor Carmen Fariña have been demoted — some with large pay cuts — or pushed into retirement, sources said. Others have lesser duties and new bosses.

“Since Carranza took office, he’s brought in a lot of new people. As a result, it’s been bureaucratic chaos and backbiting, with deputies and their subordinates seeking better perches in the pecking order,” said David Bloomfield, a Brooklyn College and CUNY Grad Center education professor.

“Racial tensions appear to be one manifestation of these internal battles.”

Meanwhile, the DOE has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants to coach supervisors on how to “disrupt the power structure and dismantle institutional racism,” a supervisor said.

“There’s been a lot of discussion of white supremacy and how it manifests in the workplace, conversations about race, and looking at how the white culture behaves,” said a white executive who received the training.

“White supremacy is characterized by perfectionism, a belief in meritocracy, and the Protestant work ethic,” the exec said, adding that whites who object when accused of deep-rooted bias are called “fragile” and “defensive.”

This should come as little surprise as one of the consultants hired by the city is Glenn Singleton, creator of the so-called “Courageous Conversations.” Among other things, Singleton posits that “’white talk is ‘verbal, intellectual and task-oriented,’ while ‘color commentary is ’emotional and personal.’”

Singleton’s company has thus far received over half a million dollars, and is contracted for a total of $775,000, according to the Post.

At the cost of an additional $175,000, the city also has hired “DEEP” — the Disruptive Equity Education Project. Company founder Darnisa Amante says her program works “to change mindsets around equity and [the] dismantling [of] systemic oppression and racism.”

One DOE insider says trainings like Singleton’s and Amante’s are anything but courageous, to use part of the title of the former’s program. “The intent is to create a shared understanding,” the insider said. “They believe this is positive and helpful. But it’s resulted in a hostile environment where whites are subject to being criticized, belittled and harassed.”

Indeed, how “courageous” is it when right off the bat you state that your conversations will deliberately exclude factors such as family structure and socioeconomic status when it comes to a children’s educations?

Earlier this year in response to complaints of student misbehavior in city schools, Carranza praised the drop in student suspension rates: “What we don’t want is to put students on a school to prison pipeline.”

City DOE spokesman Will Mantell denies any wrongdoing by the department: “We hire the right people to get the job done for kids and families, and any claim of ‘reverse racism’ has no basis in fact. We’ll continue to foster a supportive environment for all our employees.”

Read the Post article.

h/t to Roxanne.

MORE: The poison that is the ‘Courageous Conversation’ reverse-racism program

MORE: Racial politics hinders improved education

IMAGE: Damian Navas / Flickr.com

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About the Author
Associate Editor
Dave has been writing about education, politics, and entertainment for over 20 years, including a stint at the popular media bias site Newsbusters. He is a retired educator with over 25 years of service and is a member of the National Association of Scholars. Dave holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Delaware.