Piedmont Unified School District separates students by race to talk about Chauvin trial; uproar ensues over implication that white students need support; superintendent promises to be more careful with wording in the future

The Piedmont Unified School District thought it was doing a good thing when it set up racially segregated support groups after the Chauvin trial but BIPOC students protested the idea that white students needed support. It appears that clumsy wording in a subject line was deemed offensive to some. According to the superintendent’s email sent to address the uproar, the white group was not for support but rather to give white students “an opportunity to talk about how to be an ally.” The district stands by its decision to segregate students by race into “affinity groups” for these conversations but says it also plans to offer circles open to all.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the board policy on racial equity that the superintendent mentions in his email.

You can view the entire board policy on racial equity here.