A civil rights complaint has been filed against Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) after reports that several high schools offered courses restricted by race and sex.
Minnesota outlet Alpha News reported that the complaint concerns courses titled “BLACK Culture – Building Lives Acquiring Cultural Knowledge.” The Washington Free Beacon first noted that South High School’s curriculum guide listed one section of the class as open to “all black male students” and another to “all black female students.”
“The course is open to black male students of any grade,” one course description reads. Roosevelt High School reportedly offers a similar course titled “High School Black Culture Queens.”
“The Queens Group is a group for Black girls (Queens), where they will explore different topics relevant to their lives as Black students,” according to the course listing. The Free Beacon reported that Edison High School and North High School also offer both versions of the program.
Alpha News reported that Mark Perry, a former economics professor and senior fellow at Do No Harm, submitted the complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
“As a recipient of federal funds, MPS is legally obligated to actively enforce federal civil rights laws, including Title VI and Title IX,” Perry wrote. “In violation of that legal obligation, MPS is actively violating Title VI and Title IX by discriminating based on sex and race in the three classes outlined above at South High and Roosevelt High Schools.”
Perry said he is asking MPS to “either discontinue these discriminatory classes” or “open these classes to all students regardless of their race and sex.” He also urged district leadership to “conduct an internal legal review of your district’s illegal race-based discrimination and sex-based discrimination.”
“How do you reconcile your alleged commitment to Non-Discrimination and legal obligation to actively enforce Title VI and Title IX with high school classes at South and Roosevelt High that segregate students based on their race and sex?” Perry wrote.
“As you should be aware, there are no ‘if you have good intentions’ exceptions to Title VI or Title IX, and racially segregated classes are illegal even if they advantage the ‘right’ race for the ‘right’ reasons.”
He added, “And just as it would be illegal for MPS to offer segregated White-only, Hispanic-only, or Asian-only classes, it is equally illegal and objectionable for MPS to offer segregated classes exclusively for Black students.”
MPS told Alpha News it “is committed to providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for all of our students.”
“Our values include prioritizing a student’s sense of belonging, safety, wellness and respect at school,” the district said. “All students are welcome to request any class that they are interested in provided they meet any applicable academic prerequisites.”
Alpha News reported that the district did not respond when asked whether the courses remain restricted by race.
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