That's Racist!: How the Regulation of Speech and Thought Divides Us All (Societas)

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Conservative councillor Alistair McNair said: “I support what Councillor O’Quinn has said and I agree with Mr Hart as well. Councillor Alistair McNair He said: “Hiding this from scrutiny is unwise – but to cite commercial interests in your ‘freedom of information’ request refusal is … a misreading of the Act.” There is nothing in our strategy that aims to engender guilt or victimhood – and the development of critical thinking skills is one element of our educational output. Green councillor Hannah Clare, who chairs the Children, Young People and Skills Committee, said: “I don’t have anything more to add as I think you’re aware of our positive position towards the importance of discussing the reality and existence of racism in schools Adrian has lived and worked in Bethnal Green and Stratford in east London since 1984, and before that he was an activist in late 1980s/early 1990s anti-racism campaigns.

We accept that as a council we have got a lot to learn and a lot to do to prevent and mitigate against the racism that pupils, students and their families have told us happens in our schools. Our feeling is that it should be transparent. We represent residents in the city and obviously that includes parents.” It’s a very important issue. We are deeply committed to it. But we do feel that it must be democratic and transparent – and it’s very, very important to have that.” Councillor Hannah Clare We should be deeply concerned that the council is using very contentious and divisive philosophies to influence its guidance to schools such as CRT.We would just like to ask that we are given access to this material … but we’d also like to have a report … as to how the anti-racial teaching is going in our school. CRT is a set of beliefs about society – not facts. Its message to children is that they are either the bearers or the victims of ‘white privilege’. The work is central to the council’s legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between communities – as well as to encourage civic engagement by under-represented groups. And I understand that you’ve brought this issue to several committees and had a response there too.”

We are proud of how Brighton and Hove schools are engaging with us and leading on this complex work and hopeful that our approach will make a difference.” It is controversial. It is a controversial programme so it’s even more (reason) that we should have some access to it. By understanding the history of racism, we will equip school staff to take steps to prevent and mitigate the experiences of racism in our community. Yet the strategy seeks to overturn and racialise children’s indifference to skin colour differences. What is clear is that Critical Race Theory is divisive and it doesn’t necessarily divide people along party lines or by colour. The Equalities Minister is obviously not white yet has set out clearly, eloquently and passionately why she opposes it and believes it breaches the Public Sector Equality Duty.Before writing a series of books (based on research in schools), Adrian Hart was a community and schools filmmaker and film tutor. After seven years as a part-time lecturer in special needs education, he formed Coyote Films in 1998. His films prioritise the participation of children and focus on a range of cohorts from refugee and asylum seekers to children with moderate or severe learning difficulties. Other projects simply use filmmaking as an enabling process for children in schools or in theatre groups or in council estates. In his last years in filmmaking (hired to develop local authority anti-racism educational resources) he concluded the work was damaging. He ended this work and warned about it in subsequent writings. It is my understanding that people who have engaged with the strategy are overwhelmingly in support of it.

I can go on to my laptop if I want to look at what is being taught in secondary schools and I can go to the examples and I can find out what is being taught and so on. All reasonable people agree racism is bad, but many people have doubts about whether this is the most appropriate way to help children see what is wrong with it and why. And I would be very concerned – and I am concerned – that we’re being denied that. And I know that other councillors are concerned about that … These are all things that we should know about.” Leading proponents of Critical Race Theory reject rationalism, liberalism and Enlightenment values. I’m really proud of the work we are doing in our schools to be anti-racist and the wider work across the council.

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Critical race theory is our lens for developing our understanding of the complexities of racism – and not an ideology. Ramzi's story was more complex than some. "I grew up in an Armenian-American community and I grew up in a divorced family so I feel like I had to come out twice," he said. It took until age 21, even after dating someone for the coming out to occur. "I was so scared of what it actually meant to call yourself gay so even the first man I dated, I still thought that afterwards I was going to eventually meet a girl and get married because that's what men did," he said. "Especially Armenian men." Critical race theory, he said, “invites teachers and children to define and treat one another differently according to the immutable characteristic of skin colour. Mr Hart put forward some alternatives to learning materials based on critical race theory and added: “We strive to offer children a politically neutral sphere where they learn how to think as opposed to what to think.

She said that she and her Labour colleagues were all former teachers and added: “We should be able to see this material. It should actually be available to us and parents as well.Collaborations with various London arts organisations resulted in a number of award winning films. These include Safe (winner of LWTs Whose London? competition and broadcast in 2002), Moving Here (awarded beacon status in 2006 by the Home Office) and Only Human (made in 2006 for Essex primary schools and broadcast on Teachers TV in 2009). At GCSE or A level stages, partisan political or religious ideologies are rightly presented, discussed and balanced with differing perspectives, but we accept that they should never be promoted.” Deb Austin said: “I’m aware that Mr Hart has been trying to access the training materials used by an independent trainer who is employed outside of the city council – and that request has been refused on the grounds of commercial sensitivities. Councillor Clare said: “My understanding is the training is commercially sensitive but also it’s schools who decide what materials they use.”