'We are demonizing white people for being born'; NYC school director pushing Critical Race Theory
The damning statement indicts the entire movement after math teacher critical of anti-racism movement is removed from classroom and confronts principal over the phone
Grace Church School in Manhattan is forcing Critical Race Theory on its students, leading one math teacher to publicly chastise the effort, leading to his being removed from the classroom. (Photo: Google Maps)
A math teacher at Grace Church School in Manhattan has released a damning audio recording of a conversation he had with school director George Davison Monday night in which the director acknowledges that, in pushing Critical Race Theory as the school’s primary curriculum, “We are demonizing white people for being born.”
Paul Rossi, who has been relieved of his teaching duties Monday, had published an essay on former New York Times editor Bari Weiss's Substack page, the same venue on which I present these pieces as America’s Conservative Voice editor. In that article, Rossi said he could “no longer stay silent while witnessing the harmful impact that the curriculum has on children.”
According to the school’s communication director, Topher Nichols, some parents had “expressed discomfort” with Rossi’s presence in the classroom and several unidentified students had requested transfers out of Rossi’s classes following the release of the essay. Rossi had emailed a link to the article on Weiss’s page to most of the student body’s parents or guardians when it was published two weeks ago. As a result, the school removed Rossi from his classes before school began Monday morning.
Nichols — no relation to this writer — did not deny the authenticity of the recording but said there would be no comment on it at this time. Without speaking for attribution to ACV, some administrators and faculty members claimed that Rossi’s essay was an inaccurate view of the curriculum at Grace Church School. That, however, does not appear to be the case.
A former parent of the school, who identified himself as C. Bell, commented on the record to ACV about Rossi’s essay, in which the math instructor said students are being forced to undertake controversial lessons focused on “antiracism, equity and belonging.”
Bell told ACV, “I'm a former parent. My son had Paul Rossi. Sadly, Mr. Rossi's account is not hyperbole. One week out of the month is now fully devoted to CRT (not academics).”
Grace was in the news earlier this year as well for it's language guide, which suggested — among other things — that students and teachers say “folks” “parents” or “family” and not specifically say “mom” and “dad” because, according to the glossery of terms, “not all kids have mom and dads and such a person might be offended if you ask about their mom and dad.” It also strongly suggests replacing “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” and other religious terms to be replaced with secular references.
The goal of education cannot be to eliminate all possibility of offense. But that is, as Rossi pointed out in his essay, where Critical Race Theory is taking the students at Grace Church School.
After his removal from the classroom, Rossi telephoned Davidson to discuss the situation, recording the conversation. New York is a single-person consent state in regards to secretly recording a private conversation so Davidson did not know, nor need to know, that he was being recorded. The damning admission is in the segment below:
The recording Paul Rossi made of his telephone conversation with Grace Church School Director George Davidson in which he made the admission “We are demonizing white people for being born.” (Video: Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism Twitter Account)
The school's website has a page devoted to antiracism where it outlines the programs offered to pupils and parents. Among the upcoming events are ZOOM meetings for parents of white backgrounds where they can discuss how to better tackle racism. The offerings appear to be the tangible efforts at “demonizing white people for being born” by providing “woke” alternatives to those parents’ current manners and attitudes.
Rossi’s audio recording proves Davison privately agreed the school is “demonizing white people for being born.” Rossi’s accusation came in response to a letter by Davison said to have been shared with staff Sunday.
That note from Davison is said to have read: 'You should know that Paul has declined his contract so will not be returning in the fall. The wellbeing of our community is our first priority, and we take it seriously whenever students raise concerns about the professionalism of a teacher.”
Rossi then said he received an email from Davison saying he should stay home until further notice for “security concerns.” He is said to have been asked to stay home after another colleague threatened him in the wake of his complaints being published.
Conservative talk show host Candace Owens said Sunday that parents need to start suing woke schools who want to cancel conservative thinking. She told Fox News, “Parents have to start speaking out, not just speaking out, but suing. You have to start suing the schools because they're ruining the lives of young children.”
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk added: “Where are the adults that are going to start to stand up and realize that the next generation that's standing up for freedom in our country is worthy of protection, in this situation?
“It takes courage to be a young conservative.” Kirk added. “It's time for adults to start to protect young people's right to organize and speak their mind.'
Their comments came in the wake of a second controversy that impacted another elite New York City prep school where a parent complained his child was being brainwashed with anti-racism ideology.
Andrew Gutmann, 45, had announced in an April 13 letter shared by the former Times editor Bari Weiss this week that he has chosen not to reenroll his daughter in the all-girls school where annual tuition is $54,000.
He pulled his daughter from the school over its woke antiracism “obsession.” He accused the school of “teaching what to think not how to think.”
Math teacher Paul Rossi and his school principal, George Davison, Tuesday became the focal points of the national debate heating up regarding the teaching of Critical Race Theory in both public and private schools. (Photos: Grace Church School)
The school responded by slamming him for being “offensive.”
On Monday, “Woke, Inc.” author Vivek Ramaswamy also blasted what he calls a culture of 'indoctrination'.
He said American schools are “going down the tubes” because they have been “infected with woke culture” that has “sacrificed the idea of excellence by 'indoctrinating” students.
I would compare this wave of insipid “wokeness” in schools to China's Cultural Revolution of the 60s and 70s, when its people were indoctrinated with Maoism by the Communist Party. The incidents at several exclusive — and quite expensive — schools in Manhattan and around the country illustrate the extent to which American children are being brainwashed.
It's going to be damaging to young impressionable mind, poisoning them with lies and fake history in a way that will destroy this next generation. America as a country is not like many other countries throughout history — defined on the basis of a single ethnicity, or a single language, or a single monarch.
America is an idea, and part of being an idea as a country means this: The way we describe America affects how America actually works. That is why we call it the American dream.
'It's what we aspire to be. E pluribus unum — out of many, one. That's what we should be aspiring to, ideas that bind us together, not lies and indoctrination that tear us apart.
Paul Rossi knows that. He had the courage to speak out and expose the lies.