Parents raise concerns about books being promoted at PS 144

  • New York City Public Schools - New York

Incidents

Issues

A parent of a Queens Parents United seven-year-old at PS 144 in Forest Hills expressed concerned about a website, BooksForLittles.com, that the school sent parents in an email, according to a report in the Queens Chronicle.

A passage on the website reads, “Growing up, I was told that discrimination would magically disappear if we stop acknowledging racial difference. ‘All people are the same. Skin color doesn’t matter. Only bad people are racist. If we are all nice and well-behaved, racism will go away.’ This is the fallacy of colorblind ideology. It’s a tool to keep us complicit in white supremacy. Don’t be a tool.”

Another link went to a “Parent Tool Kit” that quotes Dr. Margaret Hagerman, a sociologist, who wrote the book “White Kids: Growing up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America.” The whistleblower said the readings were too mature for elementary school students.

References

Parent rips language in school’s message, Queens Chronicle, June 11, 2020