DC Elementary School Gave 4-Year-Olds “Anti-Racism” Indoctrination

Janney Elementary School in Washington, DC, recently gave children as young as four years old (up through nine years old) a lesson on “anti-racism” that included such text as, “It’s not your fault for having white privilege, but it is your fault if you choose to ignore it,” and “Where do you see racism in yourself? This requires true soul-searching. Be real with yourself, don’t feel guilt/shame and own it”. Later sections of the presentation asked the kids to identify racist members of their family by stating: “Who in your family has racist beliefs? Do you think you can change their ways? What is your strategy for dealing with them?”

This propaganda comes from the booklet/presentation “Fistbook for Kids” by author Doyin Richards, who also presented the material to the children. After the presentation was given to the students (November 30, 2021), the school sent parents a resource link directing them to Richards’ online presentation. Note that this was not done in advance.

Compare this to last week when we mentioned a football coach who was let go from his position because he knelt down on the football field and said a brief prayer. What was the school’s concern in that situation? That the coach could “influence or coerce” other students into praying because he was an authority figure. But can you see the hypocrisy of the schools? They don’t have any qualms about using the teacher’s or lecturer’s “authority” to brainwash kids into believing that they are racist or need to strategize ways to “deal with” their parent’s “racism.”

It doesn’t solve racism: it creates guilt, shame, and (you guessed it) actually fuels racist attitudes.

Some of these kids were quite scared by the lecture given by Doyin Richards. As one parent noted, their daughter was so scared she had to sleep with the light on and the door to her bedroom open. Not only is this topic age-inappropriate for young children (especially kindergartners), but it is also fundamentally wrong. It doesn’t solve racism: it creates guilt, shame, and (you guessed it) actually fuels racist attitudes.

Now don’t get me wrong here, as fallen humans all of us are sinners and have issues with loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29–31). This can sometimes manifest as hatred for a group of people due to the shade of their skin, their ethnicity, or any other reason. This is wrong and violates God’s Word. But the solution to the problem of “racism” (and physically at least, there is only one race, the human race) is not labeling one group as “racist” and others as “oppressed”; that often causes resentment, which will lead to more racism. The only solution to racism is the truth of God’s Word concerning the human race and the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, which teaches that all of us are sinners, but that Jesus came to earth, died, was buried and resurrected so that he could take our sin away if we repent and turn to him in faith. Jesus then promises to change our hearts so that we can show love, patience, and humility (Colossians 3:12-15), which are the real answers to racism.

A Victory for Now

Since recording this episode, the deceptively named “Women's Health Protection Act”, a bill that would have effectively codified a right to an abortion (right to murder a child), failed to pass, as expected, after it did not reach the Senate's 60-vote threshold. The vote was 49–51, mostly along party lines.

President Joe Biden released a statement soon afterwards claiming, "this failure to act comes at a time when women's constitutional rights are under unprecedented attack—and it runs counter to the will of the majority of American people.”

Regardless of his or supposed majority opinion, murder is murder, and this is a great legislative victory for human rights, as states cannot just guarantee child murder under federal mandate. But as we’ve said before, it is ultimately not legislation that will keep babies safe in the womb (and even out of it). It is only God turning people’s hearts through the gospel of Jesus Christ that will cause people to value all life—life created in his image!

Get More Answers on Answers News

This item was discussed yesterday on Answers News with cohosts Dr. Gabriela Haynes, Rob Webb, and Bodie Hodge. Answers News is our twice-weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience and broadcast on my Facebook page and the Answers in Genesis Facebook page. We also covered the following topics:

• Mom’s voice holds a special place in kids’ brains—until they become teens.
• How did human hair evolve?
• Georgia governor Brian Kemp signs “Parents’ Bill of Rights.”
• And more!

Be sure to join us each Monday and Wednesday at 2 p.m. (ET) on my Facebook page or the Answers in Genesis Facebook page for Answers News. You won’t want to miss this unique news program that gives science and culture news from a distinctly biblical and Christian perspective.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.