Birth of a Nation, states’ rights, busing, welfare, disannexation, Willie Horton, defund the police, and Let's Go Brandon, are all racial dog whistles used to signal Whites, some Blacks, and some others, that they should fear the children of the formerly enslaved Africans. Here are three reports, one each from the Associated Press, the Black-owned Philadelphia Tribune, and Port Of Harlem that clarify efforts to spread misinformation to cause fear and ways some communities counteract this form of hate internally.
After Virginia, GOP Amplifies Debate Over Race and Education
By Thomas Beaumont, Aaron Morrison And Will Weissert for AP
Coming out of Tuesday’s elections, in which Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s office after aligning with conservative parent groups, the GOP signaled that it saw the fight over teaching about racism as a political winner. Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, chairman of the conservative House Study Committee, issued a memo suggesting “Republicans can and must become the party of parents.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced support for a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” opposing the teaching of “critical race theory,” an academic framework about systemic racism that has become a catch-all phrase for teaching about race in U.S. history.
Banks’ memo included a series of recommendations on how Republicans aim to mobilize parents next year, and many touch openly on race. He proposed banning federal funding supporting critical race theory and emphasizing legislation ensuring schools are spending money on gifted and talented and advanced placement programs “instead of exploding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion administrators.”
On Port Of Talk Radio: Historian CR Gibbs shares the history of racial dog whistles in America, Thursday, December 9, 8p. Podcast recordings will be available at
Port Of Harlem Talk Radio, Spotify, and at least seven other podcast platforms.
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Freedom's Journal: Racists Voted in Tuesday's election — and Won!
By Michael Coard for the Philadelphia Tribune
The entire political platform of Glenn Youngkin, the Republican who won Virginia’s gubernatorial election on Tuesday, is made clear in just one (despicably pandering) quote by him: “Critical Race Theory has moved into our school system and we have to remove it.”
But he’s not the only one who supports that ignorant and racist platform. It’s also the 1.7 million Virginians who voted for him.
And it’s not just those voters who enthusiastically supported that ignorant and racist platform. It’s also elected and/or appointed Republican officials in at least 36 state and local governmental bodies who have passed, introduced, or are considering anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) laws, ordinances, rules and policies.
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How Other Communities Educate for Liberation & Transformation
By Elena Featherston for Port Of Harlem
Consider Li Tan of San Francisco who sends her 14-year-old son David to a culturally relevant K-12 “Saturday school” for the same experiences that allowed the Ethiopians to succeed.
“Sometimes it is hard,” she explains, “he doesn’t want to go, but he must know who he is. He will not learn his history in American schools. I do not want him to believe what the children say when they tease him.” He goes for three hours every Saturday, David, along with Chinese children, immigrant and U.S. born, learn to speak, write, and read Cantonese. They are also taught Chinese history, get tutoring for “regular” school work, and take computer training classes.
Cost for the education is based on family income. Li Tan pays only $22 per month while other families may pay as much as $200. The instructors are professional teachers, college students, and community members, all supporting their young people.
Chinese parents seem to understand for their community something W.E.B. duBois wrote in a 1936 essay about ours. “An integrated school with poor and unsympathetic teachers, with hostile public opinion and no teaching concerning Black folks is bad.”
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