Community Concerns
Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies is a diverse coalition made up of partner communities sharing their concerns with the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum.
"No one should be judged based on perceived privilege– to lump us all in one homogenous group based on the color of our skin erases our diversity, our unique history and struggles. We are more than just the color of our skin. Teaching our children to judge others solely based on the color of their skin does the opposite of what an ethnic studies curriculum should accomplish."
— Skylar Cutler (Community Organizer, sociologist, and Korean Immigrant)
“This version depicts non-violent Black leaders as ‘passive’ and ‘docile,’ maintains an emphasis on Black accomodationalism, and allows the opportunity for one-sided examples in vague general categories like "African American Political Figures” or “Evolution of Black Political and Intellectual Thought.”
— [Black American for Inclusive Ethnic Studies Petition]
"As a proud Latino Californian, I am deeply concerned that the draft Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum continues to promote an offensive, one-sided political ideology, and encourages our children to view themselves as victims rather than leaders. Latinos have contributed so substantially to our nation’s success- in government, industry, science, the arts, education, etc…"
— Victoria Samper (Retired teacher, health care professional and Latina immigrant from Colombia)
"The antisemitism we’re seeing is insidious, persistent and quantifiably dangerous. It is the antisemitism propagated and encouraged … the one which vulnerable students are internalizing and accepting … the one which politicians and activists are supporting, the one that is allowed to thrive and that now has inevitably seeped into our lower education system with California’s Critical Ethnic Studies Curriculum."
— Isaac de Castro (Panamanian Jewish college student, quoted in Times of Israel)
"For those of us that grew up in Soviet bloc countries, the ESMC is like déjà vu. We are dumbfounded by a curriculum that consistently elevates Socialism, Marxism, and Communism as the way students are encouraged to become socially responsible.”
— Vera Hartford (Lawyer, parent, political refugee from Communist Czechoslovakia)