An administration of a high school district in California is calling for “privileged white voices” to be removed from any pushback against extreme left-wing racial studies curricula.
According to Fox News, Samia Shoman, who manages curriculum in the San Mateo Union High School district as head of English Learners and Academic Support Programs, made the call in a March 2021 email that was obtained through a public records request by Zachor Legal. She had made contact with California State Superintendant Tony Thurmond that month and ripped “white voices” by saying they ought not to have any influence at all regarding the ethnic studies curriculum.
“We urge the [state board of education] not to give in to the pressures and influences of political lobbyists, racist & privileged white voices, and individuals,” the pro-Palestinian advocate said.
She also had an issue with the idea of “multiple perspectives” regarding the proposed ethnic studies curriculum.
“The proposed revisions privileges terms like ‘multiple perspectives’, ‘diversity’, ‘all students’ and ‘broad range of groups’ undermining the primary focus on the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) communities that compose over 80 percent of California’s student population,” she wrote, going on to call for a more extreme version of a proposed Black Lives Matter curriculum.
“[E]ven in the African American lesson on the Black Lives Matter movement, which is a direct response white supremacy fails to call out and analyze racism and systemic oppression,” she said.
She also ripped a suggested curriculum revision that would include Jewish American Studies.
“This is grossly inaccurate, and has no institutional history,” she said about including Jews in ethnic studies.
Marc Greendorfer of Zachor Legal told the outlet: “The position taken by Shamia Shoman and others to treat Jews, the true indigenous people of the land of Israel, as ‘white’ occupiers and colonists is utterly at odds with history and facts.”
He also described the curriculum as nothing more than “indoctrination” of students.
“While the idea of ensuring students are taught about the history of all ethnicities is one we support, we have found that these programs are anything but educational. Instead, they are political indoctrination by extremists who are working to institutionalize bigotry and hate in education,” he said.
In a statement to Fox News, the district noted: “Dr. Shoman… was appointed and served on the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Advisory Committee… She and her fellow committee members wrote to the California State Board of Education in their roles as members of this Committee to express their opinions.
“In their letter, the committee did not call for the erasure of Israel, Jews, Jewish perspective or Jewish history in the curriculum. They do suggest that these topics do not belong under the umbrella of Asian American and Pacific Islander History. Further, the group does not criticize multiple perspectives but rather urges the Board of Education to center BIPOC voices through this curriculum,” the district added.
