Black mom sues Los Angeles schools over cotton field project at elementary school; social justice teacher allegedly said it would demonstrate what 'slaves had endured'



A black mother filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District and the board of education last week over a cotton field project at an elementary school in 2017 that a social justice teacher allegedly said would demonstrate what "African American slaves had endured," the Los Angeles Times reported.

What are the details?

Rashunda Pitts claimed in the suit that her daughter "has suffered extreme emotional distress" over the project at Laurel Span School, the Times said.

In addition to the district and school board, the suit names the school's then-principal and social justice teacher as defendants, the paper said, adding that during the last five years Laurel Span School has closed, and a new school — Laurel Cinematic Arts Creative Tech Magnet — has replaced it.

Pitts said she noticed in September 2017 her daughter becoming "very quiet and reserved" when her daughter used to "vibrantly share her day with her mother," the lawsuit states, according to the Times.

One day Pitts saw a cotton field in front of the school as she was dropping off her daughter, and she called the school's office to speak with Principal Amy Diaz, who was unavailable, the paper said, citing the lawsuit.

Pitts spoke with Assistant Principal Brian Wisniewski, who told the mom that her daughter's class was reading Frederick Douglass' autobiography and the cotton field was created so students could have a "real life experience" of slavery, the Times added, citing the lawsuit.

More from the paper:

After Pitts expressed her disappointment with the project, Wisniewski agreed and said the school's principal would reach out to Pitts, the lawsuit states. Diaz listened to Pitts' request for the cotton field to be taken down in 24 hours but said that the school couldn't accommodate such a quick turnaround, saying it could aim for the end of the week or the following week, but couldn't make any promises, according to the lawsuit.

Wisniewski and Diaz didn't immediately return requests for comment. An LAUSD spokesperson said the district didn't comment on ongoing or pending litigation.

Pitts' daughter said her social justice teacher required students to "pick cotton" — and while Pitts' daughter wasn't forced to do so, she had to watch other students complete the project while she cared for other crops in the garden, the Times said, citing the lawsuit.

In addition, Pitts' daughter said she was afraid to tell about the project because she didn't want retaliation from teachers or bad grades, the paper reported.

The school didn't get parental permission for student participation in the project, the suit says, according to the Times, adding that parents weren't told about the project.

The lawsuit adds that the school district later released a statement to a reporter saying it regrets "that an instructional activity in the garden at Laurel School was construed as culturally insensitive," the paper reported.

"Tending to the garden where a variety of fruits, vegetables, and other plants grow is a school-wide tradition that has been in place for years and has never been used as a tool to re-enact historical events," the statement said, according to the Times. "When school administrators became aware of a parent’s concern about the cotton plant, they responded immediately by removing the plant."

But Pitts alleges that the district lied to cover up its conduct and that its statement "directly contradicts" the assistant principal's words about the project, the paper reported.

As a result, Pitts said her daughter was discriminated against on the basis of her race, the Times said.

Pitts added that her daughter "has uncontrollable anxiety attacks and has experiences bouts of depression when she thinks about the Cotton Picking Project," the paper said, citing the lawsuit.

'Look at me!': Black mother blasts 'racist' critical race theory to school board members' faces in fiery address



A black woman who reportedly is a mother of children in Virginia's Loudoun County Public Schools absolutely eviscerated critical race theory in front of the school board Tuesday night.

What did she say?

The unidentified woman, wearing a face shield, began her address to board members by quoting from Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech — specifically the part in which the late civil rights leader said he didn't want his children judged by the color of their skin but rather by the content of their character.

Then she let it rip.

"[Critical race theory] is not an honest dialogue — it is a tactic used by Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan on slavery very many years ago to dumb down my ancestors so we could not think for ourselves," the woman said, using the acronym "CRT."

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @iandprior

"[Critical race theory] is racist, it is abusive, it discriminates against one's color," she added. "Let me educate you: An honest dialogue does not oppress. An honest dialogue does not implement hatred or injustice. It's to communicate without deceiving people. Today we don't need your agreement; we want action and a backbone for what we ask for today — to ban CRT."

She also said "we don't want your political advertisement to divide our children or belittle them. Think twice before you indoctrinate such racist theories. You cannot tell me what is or is not racist."

Then the mother glared at the school board members and growled, "Look at me! I had to come down here today to tell you to your face that we are coming together, and we are strong. This will not be the last 'greet and meet,' respectfully."

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @iandprior

Here's the clip:

#Loudouncounty parents brought the 🔥🔥🔥 at the school board meeting tonight.This is a masterful takedown of… https://t.co/xDdKIiD9Pz

— Ian Prior (@iandprior) 1620783265.0

What is critical race theory?

Critical race theory has come under fire from those who say the concept — which calls the United States a racist country and says academics are filled with racism — is dangerous and divisive.

House Republicans on Wednesday introduced the Stop CRT Act, which bans critical race theory training in the armed forces.

"Critical race theory is a divisive ideology that threatens to poison the American psyche," U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) said at a news conference, according to NBC News. "For the sake of our children's future, we must stop this effort to cancel the truth of our founding and our country."

Chloe Valdary — who is black and is the founder of a New York City anti-racism firm — penned a Newsweek op-ed Monday blasting critical race theory: "We should reject critical race theory's social gospel not only from a wish to see no one — including white people — dehumanized because of their skin color but also as an affirmation of the enduring power, beauty, and triumph of black American life, despite the tragedies we have been made to bear."

What did the school district have to say?

A Loudoun County Public Schools spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday that critical race theory "is not part of the Loudoun County Public Schools curriculum" and noted interim superintendent Scott Ziegler's post on the district's "equity work," which included hiring a third-party group — the Equity Collaborative — that offers "equity coaching" and performed a "systemic equity assessment" on the district.

Fox News noted that racial equity is a key tenet of critical race theory.

Battling back

There's an effort under way to recall six Loudoun County school board members from parents who say they've pushed critical race theory and were indifferent when parents who questioned it were attacked, the New York Post reported.

A video ad was released Tuesday accusing the district of training teachers that Christians are oppressors and pushing the concepts of "white privilege" and "white fragility" on students, the paper said.

Here's the ad:

We Can't Waityoutu.be

Anything else?

In March, GoFundMe reportedly took down a page run by the parents fighting against the district's leftist agenda after local progressive activists complained.

And the woman who blasted critical race theory at the school board meeting earlier this week wasn't the only person who received national attention for such a move. In January, an unnamed man blasted the board for keeping students out of school amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The garbage workers who pick up my freaking trash risk their lives every day more than anyone in this school system! Figure it out! Or get off the podium!" he screamed. "Because you know what? There are people like me and a line of other people out there who will gladly take your seat and figure it out! It's not a high bar! Raise the freaking bar!"