FAIR News: Advocating for Pro-Human Ethnic Studies Programs in California
FAIR News: Advocating for Pro-Human Ethnic Studies Programs in California
Newsletter
FAIR Sends a Letter to UC Board on Admissions and Relations with Schools
On May 3rd, FAIR sent a letter to the University of California's Board on Admissions and Relations with Schools (“BOARS”) urging BOARS to reject a proposal to require that all students applying for admission to UC schools take a specific, race essentialist type of ethnic studies course. If ultimately passed by the UC Board of Regents the proposal would effectively mandate that public—and likely private—high schools in California and across the nation adopt “liberated” ethnic studies courses rooted in activism and homogenized race essentialism, and ban pro-human ethnic studies courses that emphasize the uniqueness of every culture and our shared humanity.
The BOARS Proposal being considered contains divisive political and sectarian content which cannot lawfully be taught in public schools under California law. FAIR supports ethnic studies courses that teach pro-human principles of fairness, understanding, and humanity, and that honor and respect differences between individuals while celebrating our common humanity.
The UC BOARS will convene on May 6th to consider the proposal and public comments received and will vote to either reject or pass the proposal for the next phase of consideration.
Announcing 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 our FAIR Substack to be the go-to publication for people interested in sharing and reading 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 submit your piece to submissions@fairforall.org
Submission guidelines:
Complete articles only (i.e., no “works in progress”).
No previously published submissions.
We have no hard word count limits, but prefer submissions between 1,000 and 2,500 words.
In the email, please include a short personal introduction and brief (one paragraph) summary of the article.
We hope to hear from you!
FAIR Perspectives
Our guest on FAIR Perspectives this week is FAIR Advisor Thomas Chatterton Williams.
Thomas Chatterton Williams is the author of Losing My Cool and Self-Portrait in Black and White. He is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, a Columnist at Harper’s, a 2019 New America Fellow, and a visiting fellow at The American Enterprise Institute. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, the London Review of Books, Le Monde, and many other places, and has been collected in The Best American Essays and The Best American Travel Writing.
In this episode, we speak with Thomas about his opposition to identity categories, the ethnic and cultural valence of black identity, the cultural challenges of abandoning race and racialized language, Islamism in France, and the French approach to race policy. We also survey the current landscape of the backlash against Critical Race Theory, the effectiveness of anti-CRT bills sweeping the nation, and debate the relative merits and faults of Christopher Rufo's strategy.
Tune in on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
FAIR News Podcast
For audio versions of our FAIR News and FAIR Weekly Roundup newsletters, subscribe and listen to our FAIR News Podcast.
Melissa Chen: I Came to America for Freedom, but Now It’s Looking More Like the Country I Came From
This week FAIR has released a new video by FAIR Advisor Melissa Chen, where she describes the restrictive free speech climate in her home country of Singapore, and the ways American culture is beginning to echo it.
I moved to America for college when I was seventeen. I wanted a challenging education and a social milieu that valued the free exchange of ideas, because I knew that was the only way to grow intellectually and cultivate emotional resiliency. It wasn’t until I was in graduate school that I realized that the America I had sought was increasingly resembling the conditions in which I grew up in Singapore. Across town from me in Boston, Harvard University had disinvited a record number of speakers, for reasons including their views on topics like immigration, Israel, and sexual orientation. Harvard’s guidelines banned “behavior evidently intended to dishonor such characteristics as race, gender, ethnic group, religious belief, or sexual orientation.” This guideline was nearly identical to what was law in Singapore.
Watch more videos from FAIR Advisors on our YouTube channel.
Webinar: How Activism Impacts Transgender Healthcare: A Pro-Human Discussion
How can we provide safe and quality transgender healthcare in the age of activism in medicine? Join FAIR in Medicine for our webinar How Activism Influences Transgender Healthcare: A Pro-Human Discussion as we engage with this question and others.
Moderated by FAIR Advisor and Senior Fellow Zander Keig, and featuring panelists the Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network’s Corinna Cohn, founder and Director of the Gender Dysphoria Alliance Aaron Kimberly, and psychotherapist, best selling author and founder of Genspect Stella O’Malley, as we discuss the pro-human approach to transgender healthcare.
Heterodox Healing Event in San Francisco This July
Announcing the Heterodox Healing mini-conference!
Come join a day-long gathering of leading authors, journalists, and philosophers who challenge the status quo and who seek to transcend in this era of deep polarization.
Featuring FAIR Advisor Dr. Sheena Mason, FAIR Advisor and Director of Messaging & Editorial Angel Eduardo, and friends of FAIR Jenara Nerenberg and Meghan Daum, the mini conference will be held at The Center SF in San Francisco on Saturday, July 16th from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. PT.
Booths are available upon request! More information at heterodoxhealing.com.
FAIR Wellness Webinars
The first four Tuesdays of the month from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, FAIR Advisor Zander Keig will be hosting a series of FREE Wellness Webinars for FAIR members.
FAIR Diversity Training
Meet FAIR Diversity: What It Means to Be Pro-Human
For all FAIR Members and volunteers. These events are typically held on the last Monday of each month.
Registration is now open for the following events:
May 30th, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
June 27th, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
FAIR Diversity Conversations Series
Open to the public! These events are typically held on the first Monday of each month.
In this webinar series, FAIR Diversity panelists discuss how to apply the fundamental principles of inclusive and civil dialogue to everyday social interactions. We use the pro-human approach to navigate challenging conversations in healthcare, education, corporate, non-profit sectors, and more.
Upcoming Webinar: Navigating difficult conservations with family and friends
June 6th, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
Please feel free to bring any relevant thoughts, ideas, questions, and insights, to the conversation!
To learn more about FAIR Diversity, please visit our FAIR Diversity website.
FAIR Chapter Events
Chapter Leader Meetings
May 23rd:
Series 1: Sharpening Our Perspectives
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET
May 24th:
Series 2: The Pro-Human Leader
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
May 26th:
Series 3: Pro-Humanizing Language
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Chapter Events
TODAY May 5th:
Ontario FAIR 101
7:30 p.m. ET, ZOOM
May 9th:
Washington Open House
7:00 p.m. PT
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/gek-jxdz-rfv
Or dial: (US) +1 567-331-1412 PIN: 624 086 587#
May 11th:
Toronto Chapter Meeting
7:30 p.m. ET ZOOM
May 12th:
Ottawa (613) Open House
8:00 p.m. ET ZOOM
May 20th:
Spokane Meet and Greet
5:30 p.m. PT
Details to come!
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 to 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.