The Indianapolis Public School District has announced a program created to “build community across shared identity” by separating staff into groups by race, sexual orientation, religion and gender.
The office of racial equity for the district said in an email to staff, “We are so excited to be able to offer this opportunity this school year and hope that you’ll consider joining an affinity group”.
The 12 affinity groups from the email were shared on the Parents Defending Education website and Twitter.
“Confronting White Privilege” was the name given to the group for White people. The form says the group ‘was launched during the 19-20 school year and the name was decided by the group itself”.
… focused on advancing a collective of IPS staff members who have assembled to build safe communities of solidarity and support, educate allies on needs and challenges and attract and retain talent. These groups will serve as a resource for all IPS employees to build community across shared identity, learn, and grow professionally while making a positive impact throughout the communities we serve.
The office of racial equity’s definition of affinity groups
The program is set to start on September 23 and Parents Defending Education’s director of outreach Erika Sanzi said, “It is hard to imagine how deliberately separating colleagues based on their immutable traits can possibly lead anywhere good”.
The fixation of IPS on group identities is not only misguided but dangerous because of how quickly it can lead to the dehumanization of others.
Erika Sanzi
Other schools around the country have begun implementing segregation programs including two in Massachusetts and Georgia. Kila Posey, a Black mother from Atlanta, filed a complaint after finding out that her daughter’s school was separating Black students into different classrooms. She stated, “First, it was just disbelief that I was having this conversation in 2020 with a person that looks just like me — a Black woman. It’s segregating classrooms. You cannot segregate classrooms. You can’t do it”.