Tag: equity

Woke VA middle school bars Whites, Asians from joining college prep program

Cooper Middle School in McLean, Virginia sent out an email inviting students to apply to the College Partnership Program (CPP) offered by Fairfax Country Public Schools (FCPS). The email to parents outlined the criteria for application, which indicated that Black students and Hispanic students can apply. But the same correspondence also stated that all non-disabled Asian or White students whose family members have attended college are not welcome to the CPP.

Those who are accepted into the program can avail of academic counseling, college experiences, assistance with completing college and scholarship applications, a summer experiential learning opportunity and receive news and information related to colleges and careers.

The exclusion of White and Asian students from the CPP criteria appears to be intentional. As per the website of FCPS, a “typical CPP student” is either Black, Hispanic, native American or native Alaskan.

Cooper Middle School’s racism did not sit well with many parents in the school district. One lawyer whose child is enrolled at the school said the CPP was problematic.

Keep reading

Biden signs executive order, instructing AI development to promote “equity”

Last week, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that critics warn will allow the development of biased artificial intelligence.

The executive order is aimed at establishing an annual “equity action plan” to help “underserved communities,” and is focused on calling for parameters that ensure AI is programmed to focus on promoting “equity.”

The order contains a section titled “Embedding Equity into Government-wide Processes,” where the Director of the Office of Management and Budget is directed “to support equitable decision-making, promote equitable deployment of financial and technical assistance, and assist agencies in advancing equity, as appropriate and whenever possible.”

The section continues to provide guidelines about AI.

“When designing, developing, acquiring, and using artificial intelligence and automated systems in the Federal Government, agencies shall do so, consistent with applicable law, in a manner that advances equity.”

Conservative commentators have criticized the order, accusing the Biden administration of attempting to develop biased AI.

Keep reading

Joe Biden Releases Executive Order Promoting Woke AI

Critics have claimed that the new executive order signed by President Joe Biden will lead to the further creation of woke AI that will promote “racial division and discrimination” in the name of an “equity action plan.”

The Electronic Privacy Information Center reports that President Joe Biden has approved an executive order directing federal organizations to create an annual “equity action plan” to support underserved communities. The order instructs organizations to use AI in a way that promotes equity and complies with the law. The decision has caused debate, with opponents expressing concern about the development of woke AI that encourages racial animosity and discrimination.

The executive order, which is titled “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” seeks to combat inequality in a number of fields, including healthcare, education, housing, and criminal justice. The order outlines various steps that agencies should take to ensure that all Americans receive equitable treatment and opportunities and declares that “advancing equity is a moral imperative.”

The order’s provisions include a section titled “Embedding Equity into Government-wide Processes.” It instructs the Office of Management and Budget’s Director to encourage equitable decision-making, advance equitable financial and technical assistance allocation, and support agencies in advancing equity, as appropriate and whenever possible.

The section also provides additional guidelines for using AI, stating that “When designing, developing, acquiring, and using artificial intelligence and automated systems in the Federal Government, agencies shall do so, consistent with applicable law, in a manner that advances equity.”

Keep reading

Biden Gives Power to Susan Rice for Sweeping “Racial Equity” Makeover of the Federal Government: “Agency Equity Teams” to Be Established to Run All Departments, Reeducate Workers

Joe Biden has appointed Susan Rice to be the chair of the new “White House Steering Committee on Equity” to conduct a sweeping “racial equity” progressive makeover of the federal government with the establishment of “Agency Equity Teams” in all departments that answer to Rice. Biden issued an executive order on Thursday titled, “Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government.”

The Agency Equity Teams will have power and funding to transform the federal government by “Delivering Equitable Outcomes Through Government Policies, Programs, and Activities.” Every year agencies will submit an “Equity Action Plan” to the White House Steering Committee on Equity chaired by Rice. Also, “each Agency Equity Team shall support continued equity training and equity leadership development for staff across all levels of the agency’s workforce.”

Excerpt from Rice’s about page at the White House details her job description:

“Ambassador Susan E. Rice is the Domestic Policy Advisor in the Biden Administration. As Director of the Domestic Policy Council, she drives the formulation and implementation of President Biden’s domestic policy agenda, from economic mobility and racial equity to health care and immigration. She previously served as President Obama’s U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and National Security Advisor from 2009-2017.”

Keep reading

Biden Requiring Federal Agencies to Form ‘Equity Action Teams,’ Deliver ‘Annual Equity’ Plans

President Joe Biden has ordered federal agencies to ensure delivery of equitable outcomes for all Americans, particularly people of color, women, LGBT persons, and other minorities.

The executive order, issued Feb. 16, sparks fresh debate over what it means for all Americans to receive equal protection under the law.

Biden signed a previous order mandating equity on his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2021, to address “systemic racism in our Nation’s policies and programs.”

This latest order has the broader aim of ensuring equity for religious minorities, women and girls, LGBT persons, and persons with disabilities, among others.

The president directed administrators to form Agency Equity Teams and create Annual Equity Plans to deliver equitable outcomes through government policies, programs, and activities.

That includes ongoing equity training and equity leadership development at all levels of the federal government, and embedding equity into all government processes.

Mixed Reaction

Critics have claimed that equity initiatives subtly shift the government’s focus away from guaranteeing equality under the law to creating an equitable status in life.

Indeed, while the president’s order defines equity to mean fair and impartial treatment of people, the order repeatedly states the aim of producing equitable outcomes.

That echoes a statement made by Vice President Kamala Harris when seeking election in 2020.

Harris said in a Tweet: “So there’s a big difference between equality and equity. Equality suggests, ‘Oh everyone should get the same amount.’ . . . Equitable treatment means we all end up in the same place.”

Critics claim that is both discriminatory and dangerous.

“Equality means equal treatment, unbiased competition, and impartially judged outcomes. Equity means equal outcomes, achieved if necessary by unequal treatment, biased competition and preferential judging,” Charles Lipson emeritus professor of political science at the University of Chicago wrote in a 2021 op-ed.

Keep reading

Virginia’s GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin slams ‘maniacal’ decision by SEVEN schools in woke district to hide merit awards from top students to boost ‘equity’ – as AG warns move could have cost youngsters college scholarships

Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has slammed the decision by seven Fairfax County schools to withhold from their students whether they received a prestigious national merit recognition as ‘maniacal’.

Only awarded to 50,000 of 1.5million high schoolers who score well on the PSATS, the prestigious award can help students compete for scholarships, honors accolades, and college admissions. 

The schools – which include America’s best-performing public school, Thomas Jefferson High – have explained their decision to keep the results secret as a form of ‘equity.’ They insist it’s part of a new school strategy meant to provide ‘equal outcomes for every student, without exceptions.’ – but parents are furious. 

As a result of the deception, pupils who had been named ‘commended students’ by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation were purposely left in the dark so as to not ‘hurt the feelings of’ other students. 

Keep reading

Race to the Bottom: High School Withholds Academic Awards for the Sake of ‘Equity’

It’s almost funny how when it comes to the American education system, leftist indoctrination and pandering has paved the way for “equity” to be a good trait or quality.

We all know that simply isn’t the case…

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, has come under intense scrutiny and fire after it was revealed that the school had intentionally delayed notifying students of national academic honors in the name of “equity.”

A Fairfax County parent, Asra Nomani, joined “Fox and Friends First” to lament the award delays and the philosophy backing up such decision-making.

Keep reading

DeSantis Campaign Nukes Kamala Harris Over Racial Remarks About Natural Disasters

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis‘ (R) campaign blasted Vice President Kamala Harris (D) Friday afternoon over remarks that she made suggesting that the administration is working to prioritize distributing relief funds for natural disasters based in part on race.

Harris made the remarks during a discussion with leftist Priyanka Chopra at the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C.

“It is our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions and impacted by issues that are not of their own making,” Harris claimed. “And so we have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity, understanding not everyone starts out at the same place.”

She added, “And if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities and do that work.”

DeSantis Rapid Response Director Christina Pushaw responded directly to Harris’ remarks by saying that it was false.

“This is false. @VP ‘s rhetoric is causing undue panic and must be clarified,” Pushaw said. “FEMA Individual Assistance is already available to all Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, regardless of race or background. If you need assistance visit http://disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362.”

Keep reading

Here Are the 90+ ‘Equity’ Plans Taxpayers Are Now Funding Across the Federal Government

Under the Biden administration, more than 90 federal agencies have pledged their commitment to equity by adopting action plans that put gender, race and other such factors at the center of their governmental missions.

The Equity Action Plans, which have received little notice since they were posted online last month following a document request from RealClearInvestigations, represent a “whole of government” fight against “entrenched disparities” and the “unbearable human costs of systemic racism.”

The equity blueprints show that:

  • The U.S. State Department is keen on exporting American-style gender and race consciousness into foreign diplomacy and across the globe. Citing “identity” and “intersections of marginalization” as focal points, State Department officials acknowledge that promoting these Western concepts in foreign lands may clash with “societal norms” and elicit an “unwillingness to cede power by dominant groups.”
  • The Environmental Protection Agency plans to tap into “community science” from tribal nations and other interest groups, in addition to relying on academic peer-reviewed research. As the agency shifts its enforcement focus from responding to complaints to proactively initiating its own investigations, the EPA plans to fund “community scientists” to supply evidence of what it calls environmental racism and other corporate practices to be targeted for federal investigation.
  • The Smithsonian Institution is embedding diversity and equity in “everything we do” across the labs and collections that make up the world’s largest museum complex. The Smithsonian has, like other agencies, enthroned a Head Diversity Officer position to coordinate these efforts, and will refocus its energies to explore “how race has informed all our lives” and affirm “the centrality of race in America.”

The Equity Action Plans are a response to an executive order President Biden signed on his first day of office in January 2021, committing his administration to pursuing “a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”

Keep reading

Biden Covid Czar Says the Quiet Part Out Loud: “The Goal in My Mind is Not to Go Back to Normal, the Goal is to Build a Very Different New Normal”

Biden’s Covid Czar Dr. Ashish Jha on Friday said he doesn’t want life in the US to go back to normal.

Dr. Jha wants to build a ‘new normal’ that has “equity” at the heart of it.

The Biden Regime just says the quiet part out loud now.

“I’ve heard Secretary Cardona say this over and over again. You know, people do talk about going back to normal… and I’ve heard the secretary say, ‘well, you know, normal wasn’t working out so well every-for some people,” Jha said.

“So the goal in my mind is not to go back to normal, the goal is to build a very different new normal that has equity much more at the heart of it,” Dr. Jha said.

You gotta crack a few eggs…

Keep reading