Minneapolis Schools Turn Ethnic Studies into Ideological Indoctrination
By Mitch Siegler, Founder

Minneapolis Public Schools’ version of ethnic studies is clearly of the “liberated” variety – politicized, ideologically rigid, and obsessed with dividing people by their immutable characteristics.

Documents obtained by Defending Education and reported by The Washington Free Beacon make this plain. One Hmong studies course features an image depicting the “pillars” upholding “white supremacy”: colonialism, genocide, capitalism, slavery, war, and orientalism. These pillars are both ahistorical and nonsensical.

Equating capitalism – a system of voluntary exchange that has lifted billions from poverty – with genocide and slavery is grotesque.

Slavery has been practiced across the world for millennia; far from being associated with “white supremacy,” predominantly white countries were among the first to abolish the institution. For centuries, black African leaders and merchants sold other Africans into slavery and the trans-Saharan slave trade relied on a network of Arab merchants.

“Orientalism” is a hackneyed concept popularized by Columbia University professor Edward Said which posits that any Westerner’s attempt to study, depict, or understand the East is inherently racist.

These linguistic distortions insult the real victims of genocide, slavery, and war. Words are important because they shape thought; unfortunately, words have become playthings in the hands of proponents of “liberated” ethnic studies (LES). These activists have stripped many important words of their meaning, reshaping language and using propaganda to malign Western civilization and indoctrinate K–12 students into hatred and mutual suspicion. This leads to sloppy thinking, the inability to distinguish between historical phenomena, and, ultimately, a deeply incorrect understanding of the world and how it truly works.

This approach leaves zero room for the students to interpret a subject or concept on their own; they are simply handed the “truth” from on high. Students suffer because they aren’t given the opportunity to develop flexible and critical thinking skills and the knowledge of how to debate complex issues and disagree with their peers in an agreeable fashion. In our modern age – where many industries and career paths which will exist in just a few years haven’t yet been identified – skills like flexible learning and critical thinking will be essential building blocks for today’s K-12 students and for our society.

LES, born in California universities, has spread far beyond that state’s college campuses and now reaches classrooms as early as pre-K in schools across the country. This divisive ideology piles guilt and shame on students dubbed “oppressors” (those who are “white and white-adjacent”) and disempowers “oppressed” students (those from particular minority groups – who are essentially stripped of agency and taught that there’s no point in excelling because the deck is stacked against them). LES will continue to advance unless parents and communities push back, demanding that schools teach genuine civics and history, not ideology.

To have a thorough education, students need to learn America’s flaws and injustices, but also its triumphs and ideals. Critical thinking, civics, and mutual understanding and respect must be cultivated. Civil debate and listening to diverse viewpoints must be encouraged.

What we must do without is indoctrination, which is toxic to a democratic republic.