Ethnic Studies is a straightforward and uncontroversial topic. Recognizing that America is a historically and increasingly diverse country, Ethnic Studies curricula inform students about the variety of ethnicities and cultures that comprise the American tapestry, including their struggles and key contributions to our nation. Ethnic Studies addresses the parts of American history involving prejudice against minority groups, but it does not focus on them to the exclusion of all else. The goal of Ethnic Studies is preparing children to engage positively and respectfully with peers of every background.
Openly admitting that its goal is not to educate but to create political activists, Liberated Ethnic Studies (LES), which often goes by the name "critical ethnic studies" or "critical race theory," perverts and corrupts Ethnic Studies. LES rejects the notion that America’s diverse groups are equal partners in improving our shared future. It instead constructs a rigid hierarchy of deservingness into which it shoehorns groups based primarily on their physical appearance. Children are taught that, solely because of their ancestry, some groups are “oppressors” who must constantly apologize and defer to “oppressed” groups, who themselves can justifiably commit any act against those supposed oppressors.
The LES approach is a zero-sum paradigm under which one person’s gain can only come at the unfair expense of another, and all differences in group achievement are necessarily the result of prejudice. Where Ethnic Studies seeks to inform and unify, Liberated Ethnic Studies seeks to indoctrinate and divide.
Inclusive Ethnic Studies appreciates the contributions of myriad ethnic, racial, and religious groups to the American story and teaches our children about their histories and cultures. Educating students about the various historical experiences of different groups – such as Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Jews, and so on – is the constructive and inclusive way of teaching Ethnic Studies. The constructive or inclusive approach to teaching about differences seeks to find common ground and does not pit the different groups against one another or assert a hierarchy of value in the way that LES does.
A good litmus test while comparing curricula is to check whether the material prioritizes facts or judgments. Does it stick to facts and ask good questions, or does it weave narratives and presume to tell students how they should react?
Pay special attention to sections that purport to teach the “hidden side” of or the “untold story” behind a historical event. Are these sections adding new information, or just reinterpreting things in service of an ideology or political agenda?
Any curriculum that cites The New York Times’ highly dubious 1619 Project should be viewed with suspicion.
LES explicitly teaches our children to think in divisive terms and trains them to become radical activists. Instead of being taught to respect each person as an individual and to judge everyone by their behavior and the content of their character, children are taught to look at other people through the lens of physical characteristics like race, ethnicity, or religious background. Different groups are apportioned different value. Children who are part of the “oppressor” groups – white and “white-adjacent” (including Asian Americans, Hindu Americans and Jewish Americans) – are made to feel guilty, unwelcome, and unappreciated for the purported wrongdoings of their ancestors.
We want education to leave children curious, open-minded, and eager to explore; LES seeks to divide people from a very young age, closes the door on one of children’s most valuable traits – curiosity – and renders some people’s histories more “worthy” than others.
America is founded on the idea that anyone can achieve a good life regardless of their background through hard work and perseverance. Our nation’s Bill of Rights provides each of us with extraordinary personal freedoms. The concept of America as a melting pot has such staying power not just because of our incredibly diverse population, but also because Americans can be proud of their heritage without taking anything away from their American identity. Here we are free to enjoy and draw on a vast array of cultures without seeing them as alien. In a world where so many countries are founded on an ethnic or religious identity, our foundation in pluralistic ideals marks the American experience as unique.
LES sees American multiculturalism not as a strength but as the hallmark of subjugation. Under its proponents’ zero-sum worldview, one group’s accomplishment must necessarily come at the expense of another – the antithesis of “a rising tide lifts all boats”. LES asserts that there is no collective American journey toward prosperity, but rather a constant struggle of inherently virtuous “oppressed” groups against inherently immoral “oppressor” groups.
Where America offers the chance to forge one’s own path and start fresh with each generation, LES seeks to define everyone by their forebears’ worst acts, no matter how far in the past they may have occurred.
There appears to be a direct line between the radical ideology being taught in some of our K-12 classrooms – that some people are inherently “oppressors” and others are inherently “oppressed” – and the radicalism we have been seeing on many of our college and university campuses. Like college protests and encampments which vilify Israel and glorify Hamas terrorism, LES constructs a binary worldview that paints Israelis as white settlers who deserve no sympathy as it casts Palestinians as virtuous victims who are morally justified in violently resisting their supposed oppressors.
This approach is not only rife with error; it also excuses extremism and even terrorism, priming children to adopt radical positions as they grow up. The results – the encampments, the occupations of buildings, the vicious rhetoric toward not just Israel but American Jews as well – are there for all to see.
LES curricula have been implemented on both the statewide and local levels in many states. Proponents of LES have plans to vastly expand the footprint of LES curricula in additional regions. For more information, please call your local school board.
Liberated Ethnic Studies has been implemented, or there have been discussions about implementation, in school districts in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
LES goes by different names in different places, and legislation that impacts LES may not mention the term. Seventeen states, including Florida, Texas, and Georgia, have restricted the teaching of Critical Race Theory, which has a large overlap with LES.
Parents must be made aware of Liberated Ethnic Studies increasingly permeating K-12 curricula because there is no guarantee that changes to curricula will be announced or made public. A key part of our mission is promoting transparency in establishing or modifying curricula and providing parents with the resources and information they need to push back against LES whenever it appears.
Of course, not all educators believe in the LES dogma. Some may not have heard of it; others may have heard of it, but do not know much about it; yet more might know a bit about it but may not understand how or why it is harmful. The THINC Foundation provides information as to how LES divides our students against each other, cultivates uncomfortable environments, and provides a poor educational foundation for our children.
Elected officials similarly may not understand what LES is or how or why it is harmful. We provide the information they need to make informed decisions about education policy. For example, if an elected official is alerted to the dangers of LES curricula, he or she can intelligently discuss it with constituents and fellow legislators. An elected official can be a force multiplier in raising awareness about LES and why it is dangerous for our children and society more broadly. We hasten to add that the THINC Foundation is entirely apolitical.
Follow the THINC Foundation on social media for news and check our News page regularly for legislative updates and thought leadership. If you can, stream your local school board meetings or go in person; they are all open to the public. Finally, if LES comes for your school district, let us know! We may be able to help raise awareness or provide useful advocacy material.
The ugly truth is that you may not be aware if activists are trying to insert LES into your child’s school, since LES activists are routinely hostile to curriculum transparency. Don’t let them get away with it; as the parent of a child in public school, you are entitled to know what your children are being taught. If you suspect LES is being pushed on your children, keep asking questions and get the answers in writing if possible.
Speak with your child’s teacher and the school administration. Attend a school board meeting. Speak with other concerned parents and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA). Once you have all the facts you can muster, tell your local TV station or newspaper that it’s happening if they haven’t already reported on it. The more people who know, the better. Drop us a line at info@thinc.org (we can’t act on or respond to all inquiries).
The THINC Foundation is committed to promoting transparency in the development or modification of curricula and preventing harmful and divisive political ideologies from being taught in K-12 classrooms. We will work to stop these ideologies from seeping into classrooms by raising awareness about their dangerous content, providing resources for local advocates, and articulating a positive vision about constructive, inclusive Ethnic Studies.
No. The THINC Foundation is an entirely apolitical organization.
Yes. This designation means that THINC can endorse sound education policies, but not candidates for elected office.
