A civil rights complaint was filed against Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Thursday after it was revealed that the district offered courses “that illegally discriminate based on race and sex.”
The courses, called “BLACK Culture – Building Lives Acquiring Cultural Knowledge,” were first reported on by The Washington Free Beacon. At South High School, a curriculum guide notes that one section of the course is open to “all black male students” and another is open to “all black female students.”
“The course is open to black male students of any grade,” one of the course descriptions states.
Roosevelt High School also offers the “High School Black Culture Queens” course, the Free Beacon reported.
“The Queens Group is a group for Black girls (Queens), where they will explore different topics relevant to their lives as Black students,” says the course description.
Edison High School and North High School offer both versions of the course, according to the Free Beacon.
Mark Perry, a former economics professor and a senior fellow at Do No Harm, filed a civil rights complaint against the district with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
“As a recipient of federal funds, MPS is legally obligated to actively enforce federal civil rights laws, including Title VI and Title IX. In violation of that legal obligation, MPS is actively violating Title IV and Title IX by discriminating based on sex and race in the three classes outlined above at South High and Roosevelt High Schools,” Perry wrote in his complaint.
“The legal remedies I seek as complainant are for MPS to either (1) discontinue these discriminatory classes at South High and Roosevelt High or (2) open these classes to all students regardless of their race and sex,” he added.
Perry forwarded the complaint to MPS leadership and school board members, suggesting they “conduct an internal legal review of your district’s illegal race-based discrimination and sex-based discrimination.”
“How do you reconcile your alleged commitment to Non-Discrimination and legal obligation to actively enforce Title VI and Title IX with high school classes at South and Roosevelt High that segregate students based on their race and sex? As you should be aware, there are no ‘if you have good intentions’ exceptions to Title VI or Title IX, and racially segregated classes are illegal even if they advantage the ‘right’ race for the ‘right’ reasons,” wrote Perry.
“And just as it would be illegal for MPS to offer segregated White-only, Hispanic-only, or Asian-only classes, it is equally illegal and objectionable for MPS to offer segregated classes exclusively for Black students.”
MPS told Alpha News in a statement that it is “committed to providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for all of our students.”
“Our values include prioritizing a student’s sense of belonging, safety, wellness and respect at school,” the district said. “All students are welcome to request any class that they are interested in provided they meet any applicable academic prerequisites.”
Alpha News asked for clarification on if this means the courses are no longer segregated by race but did not receive a response.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
