A Virginia public high school replaced its Columbus Day lesson with a PowerPoint on “Appropriate Terminology” for “Indigenous Rights & Identity in America,” according to a lesson obtained by journalist Asra Nomani.
On Oct. 4, students at Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Langley High School underwent a deep dive on “equity and inclusion” in lieu of a lesson on Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, according to a report from The Federalist. The lesson is part of a “pivot” from celebrating Columbus Day to celebrating “Indigenous People’s Day,” which was established by a July 23, 2020 motion from the FCPS school board.
The lesson teaches students that Native American people are oppressed and continue to face “commonplace” racial discrimination in the United States, according to the presentation.
“Indigenous peoples have been and continue to be the victims of prejudice and systematic discrimination as a result of 500 years of oppression and violence that began with European colonization, and it extends to the systematic oppression indigenous people face today throughout the Americas,” the lesson reads, according to The Federalist.
Students underwent an independent reflection on “the ways in which Native Americans are subject to racial discrimination and/or insensitivity and why that is commonplace in American society,” according to The Federalist. A portion of the lesson also asked students whether “it’s just a mascot” is acceptable phraseology.
Nomani, an investigative journalist and senior contributor at The Federalist, said that celebrating just Christopher Columbus or Indigenous People’s Day fails to provide students with a full picture of history.
“The solution is not to erase communities and people — like the Italian American community to whom Columbus is an important figure — but to provide fair and honest representations, which are very much available to youth,” Nomani said.
FCPS spokeswoman Kathleen Miller told The Federalist that Langley High School leadership “has not received any complaints about this lesson.” FCPS did not respond to the Daily Caller’s inquiry regarding who created the lesson plan.
* Article from: The Daily Caller
