The book Not My Idea is promoted in some fashion in more than two dozen schools and school districts across the country. It features a page in which a shadowy devil figure offers the reader a harmful ‘whiteness contract’
More than two dozen public schools teach a ‘toxic’ children’s book, according to critics, that features a shadowy devil figure that offers the reader a ‘whiteness contract.’
Anti-critical race theory activist Chris Rufo published a list on Thursday of schools and districts across more than a dozen states, including one Native American tribal school, that promotes the book Not My Idea by Anastasia Higginbotham.
Rufo says the book, ‘traffics in the noxious principles of race essentialism, collective guilt and anti-whiteness.’
It is not clear how many private schools have used the book, Corlears School in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, which charges $55,000 a year tuition for pre-K to fifth grade students, has recommended the book for children over 8 years old, Fox News reported.
Not My Idea features a figure inspired by the devil, with a red tail and all, offering the reader a ‘contract binding you to whiteness,’ which if signed will net them ‘stolen land, stolen riches and special favors,’ but will cause one’s ‘soul’ to ‘mess endlessly with the lives of your friends, neighbors, loved ones and all fellow humans of COLOR.’
Anti-critical race theory activist Chris Rufo (left) identified the districts and schools that use the book, which was authored by Anastasia Higginbotham (right) in some form or another
The contract ends with the caveat, ‘Land, riches, and favors may be revoked at any time, for any reason.’
The book posits: ‘Whiteness is a bad deal. It always was.’
It also asks white readers to fight white supremacy, saying that they are also gaining their own liberation in opposition to it.
‘White supremacy has been lying to kids for centuries,’ the book reads. ‘White supremacy is pretend. But the consequences are real.’
Also according to the book: ‘Skin color makes a difference in how the world sees you and in how you see the world,’ and ‘your skin color affects the most ordinary daily experiences.’
‘Racism is a [W]hite person’s problem and we are all caught up in it,’ it continues.
Not My Idea is also the subject of a lawsuit brought by a teacher against a school district in Illinois, as part of its alleged habit of racial discrimination, Fox News also reported.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation, working as part of Rufo’s legal coalition, filed the suit on behalf of drama teacher Stacy Deemar.
The suit alleges Illinois’ Evanston-Skokie district was treating students and employees differently based on race.
In one instance, for example, suit says the district asked teachers to take part in racially segregated ‘affinity groups’ for an exercise.
It also alleges that teachers were forced to undergo ‘antiracist training,’ and uses the teaching of Not My Idea in the district as one of the examples of ways the district is discriminating against white people.
Rufo’s list denotes more than 31 schools and school districts that promote the book, and the ways in which they’ve featured it
The list Rufo compiled also indicates how the book was promoted in each respective school or district.
Most have included it in a recommended reading list, but some are teaching it as part of their curriculum, and in some cases teachers and principals have recorded themselves reading it aloud to students.
Rufo included links to the readings in his list.
In one instance of a presentation for pre-school-aged children, the reading left out the two pages featuring the ‘whiteness contract,’ as did two others.
Three other presentations included the pages, and one featured a principal quickly glossing over them, calling them additional ‘activities and resources’ that the book features.