Irvine Unified Removes ‘Antiracist’ Language from Website

The Irvine Unified School District recently removed a paragraph from its website describing the creation of a committee to “develop a curriculum that is antiracist” and links to a website that makes controversial claims about race after a parent brought the language to the board’s attention last month.

During an Oct. 25 board meeting, several parents expressed concern that critical race theory—an ideology that divides society into oppressors and oppressed based on race—is being taught in the district’s schools.

At the meeting, Debra Kamm, an Irvine Unified parent who is also running for the district’s Trustee Area 2 in the Nov. 8 election, read aloud the paragraph—which is a part of an article written by the district to introduce a June 2020 board resolution “proclaiming that black lives matter and calling for a commitment to creating an unbiased and inclusive society through education.”

The now-deleted paragraph read as follows:

“Additionally, [Irvine Unified School District] recently formed Educators for Social Justice in which teachers will participate in the examination of resources and facilitation of conversations on how to develop a curriculum that is antiracist and gives time and space in the classroom to address past and present ways in which racism exists. It is a critical examination of individual and systemic racism and empowers students through historical and civic exploration and engagement to take action in ending racial inequities in our daily lives.”

On the district’s website, the word “antiracist” is hyperlinked to a page on the National Museum of African-American Culture’s website which at that time stated, “Race does not biologically exist … in a society that privileges white people and whiteness, racist ideas are considered normal …”

It further stated different forms of racism, such as “structural racism”—referring to racial bias in institutions and society—“give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color.”

Kamm said at the board meeting the page’s language was “racist and did not belong in Irvine Unified.”

“[Not] every single white child in the district is privileged, and that statement itself is racist. We have children with disabilities who are white and many who are struggling. They are not ‘privileged,’” she said.

Kamm told The Epoch Times she did not receive a response from the district regarding her comments.

However, by Oct. 26—the day after the board meeting—she said, the paragraph she singled out was deleted from the webpage.

“[Irvine Unified] staff and board members keep insisting that tenets of [critical race theory] are not being taught,” Kamm said. “Then why did they delete this part of the website immediately after getting caught?”

In response, a district spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that the paragraph “was removed because the content that was linked to on the National Museum of African American History and Culture website has changed since we originally posted the article more than two years ago.”

“We appreciate that this year-old link, to an external website, was brought to our attention and in the spirit of continuous improvement we have updated the article,” the spokesperson said.

They also said no such curriculum has been created and the district does not have an Educators for Social Justice Committee, and that the district facilitated “conversations on how to develop a curriculum that is antiracist” in August 2020.

In Irvine Unified, community members may request to have an item placed on the agenda for the school board’s consideration.

Prior to the October board meeting, Kamm said she had requested earlier that month that an item be placed on the agenda banning the tenets of critical race theory from being taught in the district.

Board members denied Kamm’s request, however, saying they would consider the resolution after the Nov. 8 general election.

At the time, Kamm referred to the postponing of her resolution as “political games,” noting that all five board candidates have endorsed her opponent, Katie McEwen.