Richard Bilkszto: A Dedication
For FAIR’s Substack, Collin May commemorates Richard Bilkszto’s life by continuing to tell his story.
As heartbreaking as his death was, it was also tragically predictable. Cancellation follows a grim formula: public denunciation, decontextualization, and the slow erasure of a person’s full humanity. Achievements are discarded. Complexity is flattened. A person becomes nothing more than a target, defined by a single disputed moment.
For Richard—a man who devoted his life to fostering inclusion and defending the marginalized—this reversal must have been particularly devastating. He who once stood against discrimination now faced a cruel and dehumanizing form of it, aimed squarely at him.
The Death of Merit in Canada’s Largest School Board
For FAIR’s Substack, Bruce Yu reflects on the events leading up to Richard Bilkszto’s tragic death and the legacy he left behind.
In the wake of Richard’s passing, a group of us founded Friends of Richard Bilkszto, a registered Canadian charity that awards an annual scholarship in his name. Our mission is to ensure that his memory—and the ideals he stood for—are never forgotten.
We all want schools that are safe, inclusive, and welcoming. But DEI programs as they exist today do the opposite. They divide students, undermine educators, and cast suspicion where there is none.
Richard believed in something better. So do we.
When Common Sense Rules Become Cultural Battlegrounds
For The Bigger Picture, FAIR Executive Director Monica Harris writes about the backlash over Carnival's new code of conduct and how it exposes the danger of identity-based thinking and lowered expectations.
Let’s face it: there’s nothing inherently “Black” about “ratcheting,” using marijuana or narcotics, bringing children to adult spaces late at night, or playing loud music that disturbs others. In fact, to suggest otherwise should be considered racist. These are individual behavioral choices, not cultural traditions worth celebrating or protecting. When critics of Carnival’s new policies link such conduct to Black identity rather than holding all people to the same reasonable standards, they reinforce stereotypes that civil rights advocates fought decades to overcome.
Perspectives Matter | The Challenges with DEI
For Perspectives Matter, FAIR Advisor Dr. Erec Smith discusses the current state of DEI with Jim Falk and Dr. Meagan Mobbs.
Family Structure Matters to Student Achievement. What Should We Do With That?
For The Next 30 Years, FAIR Advisor Robert Pondiscio writes about why family structure matters in student achievement.
So yes, let's fund fatherhood initiatives. Let's run PSAs about the importance of dads. But let’s also get serious about expanding access to the kinds of schools—whether secular or religious in nature—that support the kind of family culture where children are most likely to thrive. Because if we follow the evidence where it leads, we must conclude that the biggest intervention in education is not another literacy coach or SEL program. It’s dad.
Episode 181 - Jason Riley
FAIR Advisor Wilfred Reilly, Christy Kelly, and Brooks Crenshaw welcome guest Jason Riley of WSJ and The Manhattan Institute to discuss standards in the wake of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Ames v. Ohio, as well as his latest book, The Affirmative Action Myth.
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