FAIR Supports Kevin Ray in Lawsuit Against Employer for Civil Rights Violations
FAIR is supporting a new civil rights lawsuit, filed today by Kevin Ray against his employer, alleging violations of his civil rights under federal & New York law.
Kevin Ray works as a teaching artist for New 42, a publicly-funded performing arts organization in New York City, where he delivers art workshops to students across the city. Beginning in 2019, the work environment at New 42 became permeated with insults, stereotypes, and discrimination based on skin color, all under the guise of “anti-racism.” The discrimination was pervasive and aggressive. Mr. Ray asked New 42 to stop these discriminatory acts on numerous occasions. Instead of doing so, they refused to give him any further work assignments.
He has now filed suit against New 42 in federal court, alleging violations of his civil rights. The New York Times has also picked up the story.
Wisconsin School District Closes Title IX Case Against Boys Who Used the Wrong Pronouns
On June 2nd, the Kiel School District’s Board of Education in Wisconsin issued a statement regarding their recent Title IX actions against middle school boys for not using ‘they/them’ pronouns when addressing a classmate.
“We are writing to share with you that consistent with our Board policies and procedures, we have issued clear directives and expectations to all students involved in this matter for the purpose of preventing bullying and harassment,” the letter says. “Based on these actions, and pursuant to District policies and procedures, the School District considers this matter closed.”
On May 31st, FAIR sent a letter to Dr. Deborah Sixel, Principal of Kiel Middle School in Wisconsin, in response to a May 16th FAIR Transparency report about the situation. Following the Board’s closing of the case, FAIR sent another letter urging the Kiel Board to “clarify to the community that First Amendment rights will be respected.”
FAIR Film Festival
The FAIR Film Festival has officially begun! We will be hosting online screenings of the feature films I Am A Victor, What Killed Michael Brown?, Harvard Canceled its Best Black Professor, Mighty Ira, and All of Us.
On June 12th in New York City, FAIR will host an in-person screening of I Am A Victor and other assorted short films. From June 12th to June 16th, FAIR will host Q&A sessions with the filmmakers and special guests including author Shelby Steele, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) Greg Lukianoff, and FAIR Advisory Board Members Daryl Davis, Wilfred Reilly, Angel Eduardo, and Alan Charles Kors.
FAIR Pro-Human Classroom Teacher Training
K-12 Educators, please join us on Wednesday, June 22nd, from 4-6 p.m. ET for a free, online workshop focused on how to create a culture of fairness, understanding, and humanity in the classroom. You'll learn to assess and improve classroom climate with the pro-human teaching rubric, support student viewpoint diversity, and help students build connections and understanding across cultures. The workshop will include methods practice and scenario planning with FAIR’s classroom support tools.
Only 11 spots remaining! Register now to secure yours!
On a Positive Note: Daryl Davis & Eric Hölljes Event
On June 13th at the Carolina Theatre in Durham North Carolina, FAIR is hosting an event featuring FAIR Advisor, race relations expert, and blues/boogie woogie legend Daryl Davis, as well as Delta Rae singer, guitarist, and piano player Eric Hölljes. An honest conversation and musical performance between Daryl and Eric will explore the topics of our common humanity and the uniting power of music.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. ET, with the event beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET. A meet-and-greet reception will immediately follow.
Join FAIR Working Groups!
The Educators Alliance is growing! We are actively working to spread the pro-human message throughout schools and classrooms across our country through the expansion of the Educators Alliance with a FAIR Administrators Alliance, a FAIR Libraries Working Group, and a FAIR Independent School Strategy Working Group.
If you’re a K-12 school administrator and would like to join our Administrators Alliance, please email educators@fairforall.org.
If you work in a library, are concerned with recent trends in your field, and would like to join our FAIR Libraries Working Group to share resources and create a strategy to address the pressing issues facing libraries and their staff, please email libraries@fairforall.org for more information.
If you’re the parent of an independent school student and would like to join our Independent School Strategy Working Group to address the unique needs of parents and students in K-12 independent schools, please email educators@fairforall.org.
Stay tuned to the FAIR Educator’s Alliance webpage for more updates!
Have Something to Say? Write for Us
We want the FAIR Substack to be the go-to publication for diverse perspectives on culture and civil rights. Whether you’re a seasoned author or an amateur writer with a story that can contribute to our mission of promoting fairness, understanding, and humanity, we would love to receive your stories, opinions, investigations, reviews, interviews, and more!
Please send your piece to submissions@fairforall.org along with a short personal introduction and a brief, one-paragraph summary.
Submission guidelines:
Complete articles only (i.e., no “works in progress”).
No previously published submissions—this includes personal blogs as well as online or print publications.
We have no hard word count limits, but prefer submissions between 1,000 and 2,500 words.
We hope to hear from you!
Submit Questions for FAIR Perspectives Q&A Episodes!
Members of FAIR Community can now submit questions for an upcoming Q&A episode of FAIR Perspectives.
We want to give you, our fans and listeners, the opportunity to ask Melissa and Angel questions about FAIR, the pro-human movement, the podcast, and more.
Log into or create an account to submit your questions, and keep checking back for even more exclusive content coming soon!
FAIR News Podcast
For audio versions of our FAIR News and FAIR Weekly Roundup newsletters, subscribe and listen to FAIR News Weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or via RSS feed.
New Alliances Livestream Sessions
The Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, Free Black Thought, and the Chinese American Alliance of Greater New York hosted a retreat on June 7th and 8th, gathering a wide variety of thought leaders dedicated to protecting liberal values and opposing the imposition of ideology on our institutions.
You can view recordings of the livestream sessions on JILV’s YouTube channel. Panels included Conversations Across Differences with FAIR Advisors John Wood, Jr. and Angel Eduardo, as well as Reimagining Racial Identity with FAIR Advisors Kmele Foster and Sheena Mason, along with Greg Thomas and Amiel Handelsman.
FAIR Pro-Human and Perspectives Tour
On June 11th in Denver, please join FAIR National, FAIR Colorado, and local chapters to celebrate the kick-off of the FAIR Pro-Human and Perspectives Tour and to discuss the FAIR principles in the context of current issues of the day. This event will be an opportunity to connect with FAIR Board of Advisors members Daryl Davis and Erec Smith, FAIR’s founder and president Bion Bartning, and FAIR-minded friends from around the state.
FAIR Twin Cities Quarterly Meeting
FAIR Diversity Trainings
FAIR Diversity Conversation Series
For all FAIR Members and volunteers. These events are typically held on the first Monday of each month from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. ET.
Registration is now open for the following events:
June 13th
NO SESSION IN JULY
August 1st
Meet FAIR Diversity: What Is Pro-Human? Meetings
For all FAIR Members and volunteers. These events are typically held on the last Monday of each month from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. ET.
Registration is now open for the following events:
June 27th
July 25th
August 29th
FAIR Chapter Events
Chapter Leader Meetings
Chapter Events
June 9th:
Ottawa (613) Chapter Meeting
8:00 p.m. ET
June 14th:
Ontario Chapter Meeting
7:30 p.m. ET
June 15th:
Waterloo Region Chapter Launch
7:30 p.m. ET
June 15th:
Alberta Chapter Meeting
8:00 p.m. ET
June 21st:
Indiana Summer Town Hall
7:00 p.m. ET
June 23rd:
Toronto Chapter Meeting
7:30 p.m. ET
FAIR Educator Alliance ‘Happy Hour’
Teachers often feel isolated and alone in their schools, but FAIR is here for you! The FAIR Educators Alliance brings together educators from all levels to share experiences and concerns and work on developing resources that can support teachers, community members, and FAIR chapters.
We have an informal “happy hour” every Thursday evening at 8:00 p.m. ET, and hold more formal monthly meetings that will address issues based on your interests and needs.
We welcome all teachers and hope you will get connected.
For more information, contact educators@fairforall.org or, for Canadian educators, contact educators-canada@fairforall.org.
Join the FAIR Community
Become a FAIR volunteer or join a FAIR chapter:
Join a Welcome to FAIR Zoom information session to learn more about our mission, or watch a previously recorded session in the Members section of www.fairforall.org.
Sign the FAIR Pledge for a common culture of fairness, understanding and humanity.
Join the FAIR community to connect and share information with other members.
Share your reviews and incident reports on our FAIR Transparency website.
I’m curious if the kids were told their not using correct pronouns was a form of bullying and wouldn’t be tolerated because of that. It seems like it could be another way of silencing the kids. Just use the reason of bullying speech to get the kids to stop. the statement the school board issued seemed to say that in so many words. It’s ridiculous.