ALL RISE!
The Court of Public Opinion, X Judicial Circuit, is now in session.
Honorable MBradley Ray, presiding.
Ladies, gentlemen and nonconforming of the jury, I have put before you riveting, clear existing evidence with corroborative evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the District of Columbia(District) intentionally discriminated against economically disadvantaged Black elementary children attending District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS)
The Mayor of the District of Columbia has full authority over 117 District of Columbia Public Schools, most of which are elementary schools. Under Mayor Bowser's direction, a program was mandated in DCPS specifically for economically disadvantaged Black elementary students in Wards 7 and 8: Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay).
District's INTENT Discriminatory and IMPACT Detrimental
Jurors, the evidence is crystal clear! By the District mandating Relay's "Strong Start/Culture-behavior management techniques," the District's INTENT was discriminatory and the IMPACT would produce inferior services, inferior benefits, established harm to Black students, forced racial segregation, retaliation against whistleblowers, to include the District's violation of its own ethics laws.
Jurors, I need you to remember two key facts:
1. The co-founder of Relay stated, "our practices perpetuate white supremacy and anti-Blackness,"
Let me Google translate that for you: Relay upholds systems of White supremacy and openly discriminates against Black people.
2. The Mayor DID NOT mandate Relay in affluent and predominantly white elementary schools in the District of Columbia.
Before I continue, we can't overlook the elephant in this case: EUGENICS!
The district's biased assumptions--about race and class--mirror the principles of eugenics:
aimed to determine a child's value based on prejudiced beliefs.
asserted that African Americans possessed traits incompatible with the prevailing social order, labeling Blacks as inferior and genetically flawed.
advocated for special treatment for certain students . Obviously, not Black.
Eugenics continues to influence present-day, into the educational reform movement.
Listen carefully! It is important to know that eugenics continues to influence present-day, into the educational reform movements, playing a key role in teacher training, curriculum development, and school organization. Remember, Relay's co-founder openly admitted to perpetuating anti-Blackness and White supremacy.
No matter how you may attempt to refute the evidence, it's apparent that the DC Mayor, Relay, and DC Education Reform all lead to eugenics.
"D.C. was once the poster child for the education reform movement, but activists who used to see education as the path to equity have mostly moved on to broader issues like poverty and, increasingly, racism. They’ve concluded that reforms like those analyzed in the study—mayoral control of schools, a teacher evaluation system tied to test scores, and a proliferation of charter schools—just didn’t work."--Forbes
The Mayor's intent and Relay's impact were both harmful to Black bodies.
In 2019, the mayor, DCPS chancellor, deputy chancellor, and instructional superintendents, willfully conducted a disparate treatment social experiment upon Black elementary children from economically disadvantaged areas in DC: predominately Wards 7 and 8.
Disparate treatment: intentional unequal treatment/discrimination based on race or socioeconomic status.
As stated in the plaintiff's 2020 whistleblower complaint, "the “overt evidence of disparate treatment” of Black children in Wards 7 and 8 schools were the direct result from DCPS enforcement of specific Relay practices.
This is what we know:
DCPS intentionally segregated elementary schools by socioeconomic status.
Specific Relay practices implemented to police and control Black bodies.
White instructional superintendents oversee the Ward 7 and 8 clusters consisting of over 20 schools headed by Black principals.
The whistleblower's complaint alleges both DCPS instructional superintendents are employed by Relay and receive compensation. (Note: that will be another post on DC ethics violation and conflict of interest)
Instructional superintendents annually evaluate principals, oversee school budgets and the approver for all procurement
Follow the Money
It's clear it's more than suspicious and certainly probable cause for a deeper ethics inquiry given the circumstances, considering the established facts. Allegedly, both DCPS instructional superintendents being employed by Relay and receiving compensation raises significant ethic violations.
Are DCPS instructional superintendents using intimidation to force school principals to spend their budget on Relay services, therefore enriching the instructional superintendents?
DCPS principals encountered two significant challenge:
follow the strict directive from the superintendent and adhere to Relay's approach, or face potential consequences such as negative performance evaluations and possible termination.
Pressure from instructional superintendents to allocate school budget funds for Relay's services is strong. Failure to do so could result in negative performance reviews and even the termination of principals.
The Districts Inferior Services and Inferior Benefits to Black Students
Several DCPS school principals and other administrators expressed significant concern about Relay's curriculum following their participation in Relay's in-person bootcamps.
Criticism from other states such as Connecticut and New York also raised issues with Relay, stating that its approach emphasizes controlling methods rather than being research-based and supportive of critical thinking.
Instead of a flexible curriculum, they were subjected to a rigid one that enforced control and conformity, suppressed their individuality, hindered critical thinking skills, disempowered their sense of agency, and left them feeling helpless and disconnected from academics which can lead toward feeling like school was not meant for them.
Video training sessions show Relay instructors are taught to "bark commands and questions" in a manner similar to a military drill sergeant, using fewer words and more hand gestures as if directing animals.
The District's reasoning for enforcing Relay culture practices lacked substance. When asked about whether DCPS had the basic data to support Relay as a viable option for the student population, the Chief of Elementary Schools at DCPS responded, "No."
District Establishing Harm to Black Students
The established harm done to Black elementary students is the exclusion from participation and denying them the benefits of a well-rounded learning experience, which their White peers were able to enjoy.
District's Forced Racial Segregation
Not too long ago the Red Cross segregated blood donations based on race
Not too long ago DC Jim Crow laws enforced segregation
The District of Columbia is home to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, which ruled that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
The Mayor's premeditated actions perpetuated DC's historic systemic inequalities and racial segregation within the DCPS education system. The District of Columbia intentionally segregated elementary schools by low-income and racially divided areas to enforce Relay practices.
The District clearly shows, beyond reasonable doubt, that Relay's practices and policies worsened disparities for Black students in the most economically disadvantaged areas, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and inequality.
The experiment will have a long-term negative impact on the students' educational development and well-being. The Mayor's actions have betrayed and manipulated the children and families of Wards 7 and 8, perpetuating inequalities and discrimination in the education system.
Relay was already nationally known for being controversial e.g, depicted as racist, school to prison, zero excuse and rigidly conforming, and its controversial culture practices had no place at DCPS. However it was mandated!
They had the audacity to confront injustice and oppose the mayor's Relay mandate.
The mayor's pervasive culture of retaliation, fear and termination against those who opposed any adverse actions silenced educators who desired to speak out against Relay's harmful effects.
The three brave school leaders and other administrators who spoke out against this unfair treatment were met with severe repercussions, including a death threat and termination.
Boone's principal Dr. Jackson-King "expressed concerns that this program was being deliberately implemented to create a school to prison pipeline system for black and brown children. She felt that the lower income black students of D.C. were the experiments for a program that has not been proven to work anywhere."
The principals and administrators who opposed Relay received the lowest ratings in their careers and or position removed from school budgets, leading to swift terminations.
Ward 8 council member Trayon White and council member Robert White expressed strong support for Boone's principal. Educators rallied behind the principal creating a website in solidarity, while local and national media outlets, from Washington Informer Blogger NPR Forbes, and others have been captivated by this inspiring David and Goliath underdog story. Despite being told they had little hope of success, these two school administrators stood their ground and fought for the most vulnerable among us: our children.
In conclusion: We must confront the ugly truth!
I have presented before you substantial evidence to prove--not only by a preponderance of evidence--but clearly and convincing, beyond a reasonable doubt the District of Columbia is guilty of unlawful discrimination and wrongful termination of whistleblowers for opposing and exposing the Districts scheme.
I want you to imagine your child subjected to Relay's school-to-prison structure, racist and militaristic treatment. Imagine small children walking to a drum beat, in a straight line, eyes forward, hands behind back upon entering the cafeteria for lunch (actual Relay training video). Imagine teachers barking commands so your child will too bark on command, as if training a dog.
You now know the District of Columbia intentionally enforced these practices upon Black elementary children in poor neighborhoods attending schools in Wards 7 and Ward 8, but excluded Relay practiced in predominately affluent White elementary children.
Finally, we cannot ignore Relay's co-founder statement, "our practices perpetuate white supremacy and anti-Blackness." And we cannot ignore the District intentionally excluded affluent White children from Relay practices.
Therefore, ladies, gentlemen and nonconforming, I implore you to swiftly deliberate and come back with an unanimous verdict of guilt for the unacceptable and shameful actions of disparate treatment and wrongful termination by the District of Columbia, lead by mayor Muriel Bowser.
VERDICT:
I, juror #_____ ,find the District of Columbia ______.
We the jury find the District of Columbia _____.
Note: The above information comes from the plaintiff's report as a whistleblower filed in 2020, and despite four years later, there has been no communication from the DC Office of Inspector General.
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