A letter sent from a social justice group called Dallas Justice Now asking white parents not to send their children to Ivy League or U.S. News and World Report Top 50 College is circulating the web.
“We are writing to you because we understand that you are white and live within the Highland Park Independent School District and thus benefit from enormous privilege taken at the expense of communities of color,” the letter says. “Whether you know it or not, you earned or inherited your money through oppressing people of color. However, it is also our understanding that you are a Democrat and supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement which makes you one of our white allies and puts you in a position to help correct these cruel injustices. We need you to step up and back up your words with action and truly sacrifice to make our segregated city more just.”
The letter then asks the white Dallas residents to pledge not to send their children to any Ivy League college, or any of the U.S. News and World Report Top 50 Colleges, in order to allow more black students to enroll in those schools.
“We know this sounds like a tough commitment to make,” the letter says. “But it’s truly disheartening to see wealthy white folks sending charitable donations, posting #BlackLivesMatter on social media, or putting up yard signs as if to say minimal effort is all they are prepared to do in the fight for racial justice.”
One Twitter user posted the full letter on the site.
Is this for real? What is Dallas Justice Now? I wonder what the Asian version of this ransom letter will look like. pic.twitter.com/4Svb88VUDH
— Wenyuan Wu, Ph.D. (@wu_wenyuan) July 24, 2021
Dallas Justice Now’s website says the organization is “ambitious that by tackling the root causes of institutionalized racism in our city we can remedy the injustices we see on a day to day basis like police brutality and access to quality education.”
It lists five demands, including defunding the Dallas Police Department, ending the Dallas Police Association, the Department’s union, an end to qualified immunity, which bars police officers from being sued in civil court, an end to what the group calls “us versus them” law enforcement, and an end to an allegedly discriminatory Dallas school system.
“Why are white children in the suburbs given a better education than children of color in Dallas? Why are racist school board members denying children of color access to school choice? We demand access to equal education facilities,” the site says.
The Tennessee Star reached out to Dallas Justice Now for comment, but did not receive a response.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “West College Princeton” by Andreas Praefcke CC BY 3.0.
