When you view everything in life through narratives of “oppression,” you end up accusing black families of being tokens for wanting their children to succeed.
Such is the case in Seattle, where Seattle Public Schools is eliminating its Highly Capable Cohort program, preventing students from taking advanced courses. SPS is doing this because, of course, its leaders don’t like the skin color of the students that make up the program. Evidently, there were too many white and Asian students, so now SPS is going to make the program a completely different one focused on being “more inclusive, equitable and culturally sensitive.”
There are black students in the program. In fact, the share of black students has risen from 1.6% in 2018 to 3.4% last school year. And black parents of students in the program support it, with one saying in 2020 when the school board was voting to gut the program, “My request is that you please consider the disservice you would be doing to the minorities that are already in the HCC program.”
How did the white school board vice president at the time respond to him? By saying, “This is a pretty masterful job at tokenizing a really small community of color within the existing cohort.”
Yes, black students in gifted programs who want to remain in those programs instead of being put into failing schools are “tokens,” according to the SPS school board. Better that they be put into a program focused on “inclusivity” and “equity” that will make sure it hits racial quotas based on skin color. Black students succeeding, according to SPS, is “tokenizing.” Black students being sorted based on skin color numbers in a spreadsheet is not.
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There is no way to describe this decision other than racism. Looking at a program and saying there are too many Asians, and so it must be eliminated is racist. Looking at a program and saying there are too many white people, and so it must eliminated is racist. Looking at black students in a successful program and calling them tokens for wanting to stay in that program is racist. And yet this is what is guiding Seattle Public Schools, not actual academic achievement or helping students succeed.
This is what happens when a racist worldview meets the reality of running things like a school district. Everyone is worse off, but at least they are all worse off in nice little “equitable” quota groups sorted by skin color, so Seattle school officials can cheer about how “equitably” they are preventing students from succeeding.