North Carolina pastor calls out school board for pushing equity agenda that isn't benefiting students
Pastor and activist John Amanchukwu criticized the Wake County School Board for pushing diversity initiatives while academic scores suffer.
Pastor and activist John Amanchukwu torched a North Carolina school board's equity initiative during a meeting earlier this month, arguing that the district's priorities are misplaced as he pointed to declining performance across the spectrum.
"We're wasting taxpayer dollars putting money toward this diversity office that's not benefiting those who need it the most," he said.
Amanchukwu slammed the office by pointing to a majority of Wake County's Black students in grades 3 through 8 who are "not proficient" in mathematics and alluding to a bigger problem, citing statistics from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
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North Carolina Pastor John Amanchukwu speaking at a Wake County School Board meeting. (Wake County School Board/Screenshot)
Amanchukwu added that a majority of the county's Black students are also not proficient in reading and slammed the school board for claiming to champion Black students while depriving them of opportunities for success.
"If they're not reading on grade level, they're not performing mathematically, then they're not going to be able to get jobs in the fields like STEM, but we're wasting money on a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office while we are failing Black students in the name of diversity," he said.
He criticized the lack of options for children to escape defective institutions in the public education system, calling for school choice before the board, arguing "they need to be able to take their taxpayer dollars to school systems that will benefit them and support them and educate them."
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Amanchukwu told Fox News Digital that Marxism and critical race theory are dominating Wake County public schools. (iStock)
"As we talk about inclusion and making sure that the trans student feels comfortable, and the queer student feels comfortable, what does that have to do with reading, writing and arithmetic?" he asked the board.
Amanchukwu lambasted the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as "cultural Marxism" and ways to "groom" children during the meeting.
"As a resident of Wake County for the past 30+ plus years, after hearing about the failed test scores of all students, in particular black students, along with the intentional politicization of the classroom, I thought it necessary to attend the school board meeting and fight back against the cultural Marxism, critical race theory, gender theory, and queer theory that is dominating Wake County Public School System and many other schools around the country," he told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
"While Whites are being demonized for whiteness, and Blacks are made to feel as if they are inferior or victims(CRT), tax dollars are being wasted on a diversity office, while blacks, the group they claim to protect/support, are declining academically. Wake County has become ‘Woke County’ and the intentional indoctrination of our children has become the school system's chief goal, to the detriment of all students," he continued.
While some speakers at the school board meeting were optimistic about the equity policy's potential to help LGBTQ+ students, special education students and others, some parents and guests sided with Amanchukwu, including Wake County Moms for Liberty chairwoman Julie Page.
"Is the school system supposed to teach facts or feelings?" she asked during the school board meeting. "Instead of focusing on educating children, this school board seems hell-bent on being a trendy boutique for the far-left radical extremist socialist movements."
Will Chavis, the county's assistant superintendent for equity affairs, touted the policy as something "critical" in enforcing an equity lens throughout the district.
When contacted for comment, the Wake County School Board said the policy has not been enacted yet and provided further information about what the policy entails.
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"The Board acknowledges that disparities exist within our school district, and that there is a predictive association between race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. These patterns are not unique to the Wake County Public School system and are evident across the country," the district's policy manual reads. "The Board believes equity benefits all students, and we hold ourselves accountable to practices that will interrupt the predictive association between race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status."
The manual goes on to assert the benefit of applying an "equity lens" to all aspects of the district's education, asking employees to "examine and reflect on individual beliefs and biases by asking and taking necessary actions to address" ways in which they are hindering opportunities for all students.
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