National Review
Civil-Rights Complaint Filed over ‘Black Excellence’ Pledge by Denver School District
By CAROLINE DOWNEY
February 21, 2024 7:40 PM
An education watchdog on Wednesday filed a federal civil-rights complaint on the basis of discrimination against a Denver school district for allegedly requiring teachers and district staff to participate in a pledge of “Black Excellence.”
In the complaint, submitted to the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education, nonprofit Parents Defending Education (PDE) argues that the pledge violates both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
An internal memo sent to staff and teachers within Denver Public Schools contained the pledge, which stipulated that “all educators need to understand the prevalence & deep harm whiteness brings to students,” the X account End Wokeness reported in January.
Titled “DPS Belief in and Commitment to Black Excellence,” the memo stated institutional racism in the school system as a fact, pledging to train teachers to combat it and require school-leader-led conversation about “white supremacy culture.”
The document also promised “equity-based revisions to curriculum” and encouraged teachers to “work to dismantle the system that allows certain students to excel, and others to perish.”
On the last page, a series of claims portrayed as myths or biased views about race — such as “All Lives Matter” and “I am not racist” — were juxtaposed next to statements supposedly debunking them.
One response read, “As Robin Diangelo, author, tells us all, ‘It is not if you are racist, but how you are racist.’ We all perpetuate racist ideologies, policies and practices in some way and must work tirelessly in our efforts to be anti-racist.”
PDE is asking that the Department of Education promptly investigate the allegations in the complaint, remedy unlawful policies and practices, and order appropriate relief. The organization is arguing that the pledge, if applied to the classroom, will undermine course curriculum and the quality of education for children.
Denver Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Prioritizing equity over merit puts students on the backburner in Denver Public Schools,” Caroline Moore, vice president of PDE, told National Review in a statement. “Educators and staff in this district are required to pledge their allegiance to ‘black excellence,’ as opposed to American values. The district should be embarrassed for promoting curricula that exemplifies the ‘deep harm whiteness brings to students.’ No student, even those who are white, should go to school and feel ashamed for what they look like. Discrimination is discrimination, end of story.”
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