The Long Beach Unified School district in California is funneling money to a progressive activist group which is paying students $1,400 each to become racial and social justice warriors.
The district paid $900,000 for a one-year contract to Californians for Justice (CFJ), a "youth-powered" non-profit that pushes racial justice ideology on children, the Free Press reports.
Of that, $60,200 was allocated to pay 33 students and 10 families or parents $1,400 each to participate in CFJ's training programs.
According to the contract, the program exists to "provide assistance to teachers, administrators and selected students in building strategies to support cultural understanding and change."
On CFJ's website, the group claims to have "trained hundreds of youth of color in Long Beach to be community leaders and organizers," adding that it "provides leadership development opportunities throughout the school year and summer to ensure our youth leaders gain the political education and valuable organizing skills they need to lead social justice movements."
"It’s so fun! You get paid good, you can have a fun time," one of the students posted recently to Instagram.
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A spokesman for the Long Beach School District framed the paid program as "internships" which are to ensure "equitable participation in CFJ programs, embracing diverse perspectives in education." Quite diversity word salad there.
Teachers have serious concerns
Four teachers from the Long Beach district voiced concern over the program, with one telling the Free Press that paying kids to participate is a "horrible propaganda strategy."
"I am shocked and horrified at such a fact," another teacher told the outlet.
Interestingly, one of CFJ's major donors is a descendant of Levi Strauss - the Walter Haas fund. Other donors include the Rockefellers, an the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
One major donor is a descendant of Levi Strauss, Walter Haas fundhttps://t.co/fsIlNiHVfs
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) March 7, 2024
According to the report, Long Beach has paid CFJ nearly $2 million since 2019 to work with them. In 2021, the organization ran three professional development seminars in Long Beach high schools, during which participants were encouraged to embrace the role of "student voice," and to "advance a district wide Equity Agenda" in conjunction with teachers and admins, the 2021-2022 contract read.
Per the latest contract, CFJ will be hosting 15 more of these trainings during the 2023-2024 school year.
One teacher told the Free Press on condition of anonymity that the workshops have become open forums for students to complain.
"The way that they are handing scripts to students, even the words coming out of the students’ mouths it just feels like indoctrination and not information," she told the outlet.
Another teacher, Jay Goldfischer, agreed - saying "They're teaching them parroting," adding "which is the exact opposite of how you empower children."
CFJ defended itself in a statement to the Free Press, saying "Our agenda is not hidden and is simple: we want the Long Beach Unified School District to be a place where every student is represented honestly in classrooms and curricula, and where they are safe to be in critical dialogue supportive of democratic participation across differences."
