The Chandler Unified School District hosts a lecture serious on equity, in partnership with the Chandler teachers union. The latest lecture on Feb 1, 2022 focused on identity politics.
Despite repeated assurances that critical race theory is not in Chandler schools, the director for equity and inclusion of the Chandler Unified School District, CUSD80, Adama Sallu, hosted the latest in a series of equity lectures. In it, guest speaker David Adams, the CEO of The Urban Assembly, UA, out of New York City, talked about identity politics, namely how members of a group become a community by associating with a common identity. In attendance online, but offscreen, were district staff and teachers. On screen were Adama Sallu, Mina Baghdev from the Arizona Alliance of Black School Educators and a high school chemistry teacher at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Katie Nash, the President of the Chandler Education Association (teachers union), and David Adams.
The Urban Assembly is a non-profit from New York City where it partners with public schools. Among others its mission is: "Through rigorous academic programming and a deep commitment to equity and social justice UA schools will graduate well-prepared, caring, informed citizens who have the individualized supports and guidance they need to maximize their potential and succeed in their postsecondary academic and career paths."
It has been acknowledged that "deep equity" is a synonym for critical race theory, CRT, a term that has become toxic and is hence being replaced with more innocuous sounding synonyms by its proponents. UA is also committed to anti-racism, which many believe simply means anti-white racism combined with Marxism, and is hence also more or less equivalent with CRT.
In her CUSD80 position, Adama Sallu receives a six-figure pay package plus bonuses and benefits. According to CUSD80, the equity lecture series is being sponsored by Intel, State Farm, ASU and, in what appears to be a clear conflict of interest, the Chandler Education Association, CEA. CEA is the Chandler teachers union. CEA itself appears deeply committed to critical race theory in its various forms. It has operatives in most schools in the Chandler Unified School district. CEA President Katie Nash was on the zoom call of the lecture, featuring prominently. She was acknowledged by name by Sallu who described her as a colleague. Sallu thanked participants in the name of the governing board and the superintendent, Frank Narducci. Sallu described Adams as "brilliant" and someone "we had to have here".
In one of the presentation slides Adams, who holds an EdD, had standing side by side a brown horse on the left, and three zebras on the right. He asked what the difference between both animals is. Participants offered different answers, most focusing on physical differences between both species. Adams then claimed that the key difference is that horses form mutual herds that support each other, while zebras do not. According to him horses will work together to fight a common enemy, a predator say, while zebras do not. His point appeared to be that horses form communities while zebras merely form groups.
Comments to the CUSD80 governing board are due at noon on Tuesday before the bi-monthly board meeting on Wednesday and can be made here. Board meeting dates can be found here. The next board meeting is on Feb 9, 2022.
Fighting misinformation spread about zebras and horses
In truth plain and mountains zebras do indeed form stable family communities, usually led by a single dominant male. The male offers protection from predators and other males. These zebra communities persist even if the dominant male dies. On occasion they join into larger herds with other zebra communities. Plain and mountain zebras are nomadic and migrate together from place to place. Grévy's zebras on the other hand are characterized by more territorial behavior. Males mark out and defend territories and associate with groups of females that enter them.
Today's horses are a in fact product of thousands of years of selective breeding by humans, not of natural development. Traits such as calm, size and obedience were bred into these animals over time. Even so called wild horses, like mustangs in North America, are really nothing more than feral horses, meaning domesticated horses that are now living in the wild. In terms of behavior, original/natural horses very likely were much closer to today's zebras.
Video
Below is the video posted online (unlisted). We will regularly check the link, if you do notice that the video has been taken down, please let us know, we made a back up copy and can use it as a record.