Is Segregated 'Brown v. Board' Style Education Making a Comeback in Baltimore?

 

Spencer Lindquist, "BIPOC Students Must be Protected from 'The White Gaze'"

The Director of Diversity and Inclusion for a private school in Baltimore expressed support for racial segregation in order to protect students from the “white gaze” and promoted turning children into woke activists.

Kalea Selmon, the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Maryvale Preparatory School, gave a presentation where she argued that nonwhite students must be given spaces away from white students and described how those who work in education can use students as activists.

The presentation was given at the People of Color Conference, which is hosted by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and tells teachers and administration how to embed the tenets of Critical Race Theory into their schools. The NAIS is America’s largest accreditation agency for K-12 private schools.

In a video of part of her presentation, Selmon claims that “BIPOC spaces are sacred.” The term stands for “Black, Indigenous, People of Color.”

Selmon then goes on to say “It’s necessary for BIPOC students to have space away from white gaze and that it is absolutely okay to give black and brown students things you’re not giving white children because the white children are fine.”

In a second clip, Selmon discusses the utility of racially segregated affinity groups, saying that they can be used to find future leaders, who she refers to as “boots on the ground,” for organizing.

In yet another video clip, Selmon explains that her work is motivated by what she calls “70 over 460.” She goes on to explain that 70 is “the number of BIPOC students” while 460 was the total number of students at the school. The slide read “This is why we do this work!”

According to her LinkedIn profile, Selmon “Supervises affinity student groups with the Dean of Students” and “Chairs the Equity and Justice Committee” in her role as a diversity director at Maryvale Preparatory School. Selmon is also tasked with developing “inclusive and multicultural curricular and co-curricular programming that reflect the school’s mission and commitment to diversity.”

The school teaches Critical Race Theory to its students, with lessons for middle school students, like “The Historical Construction of Race and Current Racial Identities Throughout U.S. Society,” and “Racism as a Primary ‘Institution’ of the U.S. – How We May Combat Systemic Inequality.”

Meanwhile, teachers at the school have engaged in professional development training seminars based in the tenets of Critical Race Theory. Among the professional development training resources listed on their website are talks titled “Identity, Race, and the Classroom,” as well as “Let’s Talk! Discussing Whiteness.”

There is also a talk from Critical Race Theorist Robin DiAngelo, titled, “Healing the Racial Water: a half-day Anti-Racist Workshop with Dr. Robin DiAngelo.”

In the talk, DiAngelo presents a “systemic analysis of White Supremacy and work around Whiteness and White Fragility. Dr. DiAngelo takes participants through topics including white socialization, systemic racism and the specific ways racism manifests for white progressives.”

Maryvale Preparatory School received over $1.2 million dollars in federal money through the Paycheck Protection Program. Maryvale, which is an all-girls school, is a 501c3.

In addition to being the school’s diversity director, Selmon works with the Wells Collective, which provides diversity consulting services. The organization, which describes itself as “one of the few organizations in the United States that is run exclusively by all Black women,” consults on topics like “diversifying constituent groups,” “diversity audits,” and “curriculum development.”

“The Wells Collective is intentional about prioritizing the needs of the marginalized by changing the narrative, educating the privileged, and creating safe spaces for women of color to improve their wellbeing,” the group’s website reads.

Maryvale Preparatory School is associated with the NAIS. The accrediting organization has a history of pushing both Critical Race Theory and “queer inclusive,” transgender ideology on young students.

A covert network of concerned parents, called Undercover Mothers, has formed to fight back against the indoctrination of students at the hands of the NAIS. The organization describes indoctrination in the private school system as a form of “elite capture.”

Following exposés by the Undercover Mothers, Representative Jim Banks (R-IN) pledged to investigate the NAIS if the Republicans retake the majority in Congress. Representative Banks specifically scrutinized the organization’s role in political advocacy given its 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit.