Social Justice movement - Screenshot courtesy of NJ Spotlight News on YouTube

Social Justice movement - Screenshot courtesy of NJ Spotlight News on YouTube

Lawmakers in New Jersey pass legislation to push ‘social justice’ education in state public schools

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TRENTON, NJ – A bill that was recently passed by the New Jersey state legislature may result in the adoption of a state-wide educational program and curriculum on racism and social justice.

According to reports, Bill 3601 was drafted to supplement an existing state law that requires public schools to incorporate black history into lesson plans.

Angela McKnight, a New Jersey Assemblywoman and sponsor of the bill, said the bill will ensure students in the state of New Jersey are taught a more complete version of black history. In a statement, she said:

“Our children will learn about black history and not just being slaves. We will know the contributions that black people continue to do.” 

Bill 3601 was originally introduced back in March 2020 and now awaits Governor Phil Murphy’s signature to become state law. Section 4b of the bill appropriates $400,000, among other things, is used:

“To teach that inequality is a consequence of prejudice and discrimination in the pursuit of maintaining power and dominance over certain portions of society and emphasizes the personal responsibility of each citizen to fight racism and hatred whenever and wherever it happens.”

One school district has already taken the issue into its own hands. the Cherry Hill School District recently announced that it may become the first school district in the state to require all students to take a black history course prior to graduation.

 

 

Reportedly, the proposal was first introduced by students associated with the Black Lives Matter movement earlier in the year. The district is currently working with historians from Stockton University and the University of Pennsylvania on the development of the course.

Cherry Hill Curriculum Director Farrah Mahan said she knows there will be “difficult conversations” involved with the course requirements, especially regarding issues related to social justice.

Said stated that it has not yet been determined what year students would be expected to take the class and that the district is also reviewing its black history curriculum and textbooks used for lower grades. She said:

“We are evolving with the times. This is just another example of where we are. It’s everyone’s history.”

According to 12-year-old student Ebele Azikiwe, who runs a youth organization called Rise Against Hate, told lawmakers that the proposed bill could help ease social conflict in the United States.

She said that younger students should also be taught more comprehensive black history to help dispel stereotypes about African Americans. She added that she was partly motivated to advocate for change after her stepfather was stopped by police because of mistaken identity.

Azikiwe said:

“There is so much to share, to help awaken people. If people were taught early we aren’t a threat by simply (being) human, it will make a huge difference.”

She added:

“I hope that it will catch on in other districts and states. Black history is history and it’s a history that everybody should know.”

Mahan said the new course would be offered for the 2021-2022 school year. Cherry Hill already has an elective African American studies class that is offered for dual credit through Stockton University.

Cherry Hill is the 11th largest public school district in the state of New Jersey. It enrolls close to 11,000 students. The district is 57% white, 18% Asian, 13% Hispanic, and 8% black. 

First-grade teacher Tamar LaSure-Owens, who has developed a black history curriculum previously, said that teachers need training in order to “infuse black history into everyday lessons.”

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Harris calls for blacks to vote for her and Biden – despite their record of incarcerating minorities

October 26, 2020

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Failed Presidential candidate and now current Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee, Kamala Harris insists that people of color have to vote for current Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden. 

Why? 

To “honor the ancestors.” 

Yeah, she said that, not vote for them because of key issues and stating facts, but to honor minority ancestors.

Of course, this was not the only reason that Harris is calling for minorities to vote for the dynamic duo, she also preached yet again, the vastly disproven, or at least impossible to prove claim, that President Donald Trump, is racist. 

She, Biden, and the rest of the democratic leaders hope and pray that people will be too trusting of them to look up the facts for themselves and decide. After all, there is still a large number of people that believe, despite concrete evidence otherwise, that Russia colluded with Trump in 2016.

Harris said:

“Voting is about honoring those ancestors, honoring what they fought for and what they sacrificed for, our right to vote.  Let’s not let anybody take our power from us.  We know the power of our voice…And we know what’s at stake and we honor our ancestors every day.”

During the event, she was challenged by Jermaine Dupri, who noted that she “put a lot of black brothers away in your past.”  Which is a good point, regardless of how you view her decisions during her prosecutorial endeavors both as the Attorney General for the State of California and the District Attorney for San Francisco.

In those roles, the self-proclaimed “progressive prosecutor” seemingly did not fit the mold of progressives in her state. 

As Attorney General, she would not endorse a bill that would have seen a special prosecutor assigned to investigate police involved shootings. 

The bill would have required that all police involved shootings be investigated by an independent party, a move that many police organizations already have in place throughout the United States.

Now, Harris has flipped flopped on this stance as she is trying to get elected with Biden, and feels like she needs the full support of her liberal base.  She is now viewed as an important proponent of the bill, which she refused to endorse, just six short years ago.

As a District Attorney, she immediately angered police groups who demanded the death penalty for a gang member who murdered San Francisco Officer Isaac Espinoza.  Then, she began angering the minority base in the area when she determined that parents would be held responsible for their children being truant from school.

Harris said that she felt that children being truant was “tantamount to a crime” and pushed out letters to the schools informing parents that if they could not make their children go to school, they would face legal ramifications. 

Harris sponsored a bill in 2010 which would have made it a misdemeanor offense that would carry a fine of $2,000, despite minority communities complaining that it would adversely affect people of color.

Harris also refused to endorse a plan which would lessen minimum mandatory sentences.  Of course, that changed when she ran for President where she called for the end of the practice.

In addition, she opposed legislation in 2010 to legalize marijuana throughout the state.  Now, suddenly, she has flipped flopped on that staunch belief and says that marijuana should be legalized.

When Harris responded to Dupri’s concerns, she said:

“Yes, I was a prosecutor.  I decided to go in a system that I knew was flawed to reform it.  Yes, I decided to go up the rough side of the mountain, as we say in church.  And I didn’t fix the entire system.”

 

 

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About The Author

Jenna Curren, MS, is an assistant professor in criminal justice studies. As chair of a CJ advisory board, Jenna actively partners with members of the community to integrate current students into internships and prospective law enforcement careers. Prior to working in academics, Jenna held various custody and treatment positions and was a lieutenant for the CT Department of Correction. Throughout her tenure, she supervised men, women, youth and mental health offenders. A C.E.R.T and honor guard member, as well as a training officer, Jenna has 10 years of experience in the criminal justice and human services fields.

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