FAIR News: Standing With Dr. Tabia Lee
Newsletter
Dear friends of FAIR,
Last Monday, De Anza college in California voted out Dr. Tabia Lee, who was serving her dream job as Faculty Director for the Office of Equity, Social Justice, & Multicultural Education. Lee says, "they said they wanted a black person to do this job. Apparently, I am the wrong kind of black."
In her first week at De Anza, Lee was accused of "whitesplaining" as she tried to set a meeting agenda, and she was told that she was perpetuating "white supremacy" by valuing punctuality & engaging in strategic planning. It seemed that her approach would not be allowed.
A lifelong educator, Lee says she has "always advocated multiple approaches in performing anti-racism work, which apparently from the get-go was perceived as a threat to what I now understand to be the critical social justice orthodoxy at De Anza..."
"Through my work, I try to create a place of acceptance for varying points of view, but clearly, they didn't find that acceptable...As a result, my programs and seminars were all undermined and blocked from the college calendar; I was excluded from the Equity Action Council...and I was marginalized by my own Dean—the one from whom I expected the most support."
The people at De Anza, whom Dr. Lee looked to for support, have failed her. So she reached out to FAIR, and we are here to stand up for her rights!
Dr. Tabia Lee entertained a divergent viewpoint. She questioned an orthodoxy. It cost her her job. We are ready to challenge De Anza college and advocate for the upholding of constitutional and civil liberties. If you’d like to support our efforts toward academic freedom and equal treatment, consider donating to FAIR’s legal advocacy fund.
Warmly,
The Team at The Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism
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Dr. Carrie Mendoza: Pro-Human Medicine Means Ending Unquestionable Orthodoxies
FAIR’s Director of FAIR in Medicine, Dr. Carrie Mendoza, explains the urgent problems in the medical field FAIR in Medicine seeks to solve and how the program intends to do so: establishing a pro-human approach in the medical field.
We need Pro-Human medicine that benefits all patients...We must be allowed to question and challenge prevailing opinion...We must never let unquestionable illiberal orthodoxies prevent the saving of lives and the healing of illness.
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai, Illustrated by Kerascoët
This poignant autobiography tells the story of Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace prize, who used writing to advocate for girls’ right to attend school.
FAIR’s literature guides emphasize pro-human values and support literacy development. Designed for use with elementary-age students, each guide features a high-quality picture book, with discussion questions and activities aligned with FAIR’s Pro-Human Learning Standards.
FAIR’s Legal Team Sends a Letter to Palisades Charter School
On March 6th FAIR Legal sent a letter to Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles about an incident report we received through our anonymous reporting site, FAIRtransparency.org. The report indicated the following:
A school counselor instructed teachers to use the student’s new, chosen name and pronouns without contacting the student’s parents, while the student was a minor under the age of eighteen. When the parents contacted the counselor to ask about the name change, the counselor did not return emails; “The 504 Coordinator ... acted without a license by contacting the LA LGBT center on behalf of [the student] to get information on how [the student] could get housing, legal, and medical. Thus, pushing [the student] to separate himself from his family”; and “This teacher never contacted [the student’s parents] about why he felt it necessary to suggest [the student] leave his family.”
In our letter to the school, FAIR outlined the parental rights at issue in this type of case, and opined that when schools behave in the way reported to FAIR, they violate parents’ constitutional rights.
In this case, it appears [the school] concealed the student’s gender transition from the parents, while the student was a minor under parental care, with no due process….Public schools may not knowingly abridge parents’ due process right to know of and be involved in a process that has such deep, broad, and lasting effects on their children’s lives.
FAIR has urged the school to investigate the matter and ensure that this scenario does not play out there again. FAIR has not yet received a response from the school.
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FAIR Educators Alliance & Administrators Alliance Happy Hours
Connect with other pro-human educators through the FAIR Educators Alliance. We bring together educators from all levels to share experiences and concerns and work on developing resources that can support teachers, community members, and FAIR chapters.
The FAIR Educator’s Alliance hosts an informal, virtual happy hour every other Thursday evening with occasional speakers and presentations.
FAIR also offers a K-12 Administrators Alliance, which holds meetings the last Thursday of every month at 1:00 p.m. ET, and a group for Librarians and Library staff that meets bi-weekly.
Teachers, administrators, librarians, and educators of all kinds are welcome. For more information and to subscribe to the calendar, reach out to educators@fairforall.org. For interest in the librarians group, please contact tanya.simons@fairforall.org.
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Learn more about the pro-human approach to DEI on our FAIR Diversity website.
Oh my lord. When does it end. This is just good ole fashioned racism. Wow. Animal Farm, people.
Of relevance: https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/chris-rock
I find it ironic that Dr Lee has been turned on by her own DEI people. While I don't get joy from others pain, I think it's karma. Welcome to the world we all inhabit today thanks to DEI programs. 'He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount'. I'm disappointed that FAIR will advocate for her. They have lost their way.