Education

Arizona’s Education Department Launches Internal Review After Report Reveals Its ‘Equity Toolkit’ Traces Racism To Babies

(Photo illustration by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

Marlo Safi Culture Reporter
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Arizona’s state education department is conducting an internal review after it was revealed the department’s “equity toolkit” suggests racism develops in children as young as 3 months old, the Discovery Institute’s Christopher Rufo reported Friday.

Although the department “recognizes the need for resources that explore equity and inclusion issues,” it would probe the “recently publicized resources around equity” that it says were intended for school leaders, Arizona’s Department of Education said in a statement, according to Rufo. The materials were not “shared widely with Arizona schools and do not constitute curriculum for students,” which is determined at the local level.

The statement read, in part:

The Arizona Department of Education recognizes the need for resources that explore equity and inclusion issues as we work to ensure that every student has access to an education that allows them to achieve their full potential. Our goal is to provide research and evidence-based guidance and best practices on these sensitive topics and how they intersect with delivering an equitable education. We are committed to ensuring that all resources available on our website meet the highest of standards. 

Earlier in the week, Rufo revealed the components of the “toolkit,” which includes an infographic spectrum of children from birth to ages over six, with the title “They’re not too young to talk about race!” It cites a study that shows at birth, “babies look equally at faces of all races. At 3 months, babies look more at faces that match the race of their caregivers.”

“By five, Black and Latinx children in research settings show no preference toward their own groups compared to Whites; White children at this age remain strongly biased in favor of whiteness,” the graphic says, citing a 2008 study. (RELATED: REPORT: Arizona Education Department Provides ‘Equity Toolkit’ That Shows Racism Starts At 3 Months Old)

The document encourages adults to talk to children about race instead of letting children “draw their own conclusions based on what they see.” 

“Silence about race reinforces racism,” the document says.

The toolkit features articles encouraging white parents specifically to address “antiracism” with their children before they can even speak through “antiracist” attitudes. One article cites a book that says there are “only three ways to be white: ignorant, color-blind, and racist.” Because these options may prevent people from wanting to identify as white, there need to be an “antiracist white identity.”

An additional recommended reading claims that white people use terms like “the race card, black-on-black crime, reverse racism, and colorblindness” to “alleviate some of their white fragility.”

Rufo appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” to discuss the revelation, and also reminded viewers that Arizona has a Republican governor and legislature, which he recommended launch a “full investigation” into the state’s education department.

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“They are turning education into politics for kids to become antiracist crusaders before they even know their ABCs,” Rufo told host Laura Ingraham. “This is deeply disturbing for most families who want a public education, to give their kids the basic skills to make it in life, and not just turn into left-wing activism.”

Numerous public schools across the country have reportedly offered trainings with similar “antiracist” messaging, often requiring students or teachers to participate, Rufo has previously reported. 

In February, whistleblower documents revealed Buffalo Public Schools in New York reportedly required its kindergarten students to participate in a lesson on “racist police and state-sanctioned violence” which involved showing images of black children who have died.

In the district’s middle school, students are reportedly taught that “all white people play a part in perpetuating systemic racism” and “white elites” play an outsized role in perpetuating racism, making them especially important to hold accountable.

In Philadelphia, fifth-grade students at a public school reportedly participated in activities celebrating “black communist” Angela Davis, which included a Black Power rally simulation. In San Diego, public school teachers were reportedly told that “whiteness” caused failing schools and that white teachers must undergo “antiracist therapy” to remedy their ignorance.