Seattle School Faces Civil Rights Complaint for Racially Segregating Children

By Hudson Crozier

What’s happening: Pathfinder K-8 School in Seattle, Washington, has been grouping elementary and middle school students into “affinity groups” based on race for months, according to investigations by the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR). School staff reportedly directed children to groups matching their skin color and “physically guided” them if they walked toward the wrong one. The reports, drawing from allegations made by parents, have led FAIR to file a civil rights complaint.

Judgment for white kids: Students in white affinity groups learned how to "embrace, excavate, and reckon with their Whiteness, including their privilege and power” and avoid “harming and/or re-traumatizing [minorities],” according to a statement from the principal.

Victimhood for minority kids: Children in a “BIPOC” (black, indigenous, people of color) group learned to "take care of themselves and one another while unpacking racism, internalized oppression, and racialized trauma, discussing the impact of White Supremacy Culture and the pressure of assimilation in the absence of Whiteness.” Though the school originally had affinity groups for Jewish, white, and mixed-race students as well, as of January it only offers an affinity group for black students.

Left-wing racial segregation is a growing issue. School districts across the country have been exposed for or accused of racially segregating children under the guise of progressivism and “equity,” including one in Atlanta that the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating. Seattle has also separated government employees by race for diversity training.