Last week, Alpha News uncovered blatantly racist employment policies in the Minneapolis school district. In a leaked contract voted on in March, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) proposed that white teachers should be laid off before teachers of color in order “to remedy the continuing effects of past discrimination.” That’s right: Minneapolis kids could have their teachers chosen by race rather than ability. Thankfully, parents and teachers alike have reacted strongly to this racist policy and are starting to fight back. Minneapolis schools must be held accountable for this policy, which is in flagrant violation of the Minnesota Constitution.
But MFT President Greta Callahan expressed her extreme pride in the decision to effectively discriminate against white teachers. In her opinion, racial discrimination against white teachers is not “one of our concerns whatsoever.” Instead, she submits that retention of teachers from underrepresented groups is far more important.
The Minneapolis policy was ratified by members of the Minneapolis Public School board, which receives taxpayer funding. This means that taxpayer dollars will be used to fund explicitly racist employment policies.
James Dickey, a senior trial counsel at Upper Midwest Law Center, said that the agreement “openly discriminates against white teachers based only on the color of their skin, and not their seniority or merit.” He encouraged teachers and taxpayers to stand up to this “state-sponsored racism” in the hope that a lawsuit would follow. Some Minnesotans have already heeded Dickey’s suggestion.
On Tuesday, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on behalf of Deborah Jane Clapp, a Minnesota taxpayer. According to the lawsuit, the contract violates the Equal Protections Guarantee of the Minnesota Constitution by not giving teachers who lack ‘color’ the same protections as those ‘with color.’
According to Minneapolis union leaders, the policies have not gone far enough. According to the Star Tribune, the goal is to make Minneapolis schools “inclusive enough to attract — and keep — diverse educators.” Sadly, schools are likely to become less and less inclusive as competent teachers are pushed out of their jobs because of their skin color.
Minneapolis public schools have seen a massive plummet in enrollment since 2019, and with the leaked contract in full view, it’s easy to see why. These schools have lost sight of what is important (actually teaching students math, science, history, etc.) and have opted for teaching and enforcing racial ideologies. Instead of treating all teachers equally, they are actively trying to oust white teachers because of the color of their skin.
It's time for some accountability in Minneapolis schools No one should ever be discriminated against because of the color of their skin. Racist policies in taxpayer-funded institutions have no place in Minnesota schools and must be stopped. Let’s make sure everyone in our state, and in our school systems, has equal protection under the law.
