From the Spies of Mississippi to the Eyes of the White House: Surveilling and Obstructing Antiracist Work in the U.S

The Professional Educator 2021, © 2021 Kamden K. Strunk, Leslie Ann Locke, Jin Chang, Peter W. Clancy, & Logan Drake Advance Online Publication https://doi.org/10.47038/tpe.44.01.03 From the Spies of Mississippi to the Eyes of the White House: Surveilling and Obstructing Antiracist Work in the U.S. Kamden K. Strunk Leslie Ann Locke Jin Chang Peter W. Clancy Logan Drake Auburn University University of Iowa University of Iowa University of Iowa University of Iowa We write this editorial at the end of the Trump described neo-Nazi demonstrators as “very fine presidential administration. There is much to be written people” (Phelps, 2019, para. 1), was widely interpreted about this period in U.S. government and public life. as being supportive of white supremacist militia groups As of this writing, the current U.S. president and his like the Proud Boys (Aleem, 2019) and rejected an lawyers continue pursuing ill-destined litigation to opportunity to denounce them during a presidential attempt to overturn an election result that saw him debate, called antiracist demonstrators during the ousted from office (Landau et al., 2020). The U.S., and summer of 2020 “thugs” (Wise, 2020, para. 9), most of the world, remain embroiled in the worst public dispatched federal agents to violently suppress protests health crisis in over a century (Freire-Paspuel et al., in several U.S. cities (Zimmerman, 2020), and 2020). The onslaught of police violence against people deployed teargas outside of a church in order to clear and communities of Color continues (Hayes et al., clergy and protestors to enable a presidential 2000), as do mass protest movements and efforts to photoshoot (Schake, 2020). Trump also incited an redirect police funding to other services (to ‘defund the armed and violent insurrection in the U.S. capitol police’; Jean, 2020). Scholars have suggested that the (Connolly, 2021; Spinelli & Weinberg, 2021; Stokols Trump administration has been among the most openly & Hook, 2021), called by some an attempted coup and unapologetically anti-Black (De Genova, 2020) (Clancy et al., 2021), that led to multiple deaths and and anti-immigrant (Paik, 2020) administrations in injuries (Yancey-Bragg et al., 2021), interrupted the modern U.S. history. certification of his election loss for several hours (Herb Among the shortlist of executive actions of the et al., 2021), and gave rise to calls for his immediate Trump administration are efforts to build a wall along removal from office (Levitz, 2021; McNamara, 2021). the U.S.-Mexico border (De Genova, 2020), orders Trump is no stranger to racist remarks. He kicked aimed at excluding immigrants from predominantly off his 2016 presidential campaign by saying Mexican Muslim nations (Stanbrook, 2017), efforts to curtail immigrants were “bringing drugs. And they’re bringing asylum-seeking from Central American refugees, crime. And they’re rapists” (Lind, 2015, para. 4). In attempts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood 2017, when NFL players were taking a knee during the Arrivals (DACA) program (Locke & Gonzalez, 2020; national anthem, Trump otherized the mostly-Black Pierce & Selee, 2017), and efforts to reduce visa protesters by referring to them as “those people” and issuance to citizens of certain non-European nations “son of a bitch” (Yglesias, 2017, para. 10). In 2018, (Stanbrook, 2017). Meanwhile, Trump himself has when discussing immigrants to the United States coming from Africa, he infamously referred to their This editorial was reviewed by the Editors and members of nations as “shithole countries” (Watkins & Phillip, the Editorial Board in non-anonymous editorial review. 2018, para. 1). More recently, Trump has used the Kamden K. Strunk, Department of Educational Foundations, COVID-19 global pandemic to employ racist language Leadership, and Technology, Auburn University. Leslie Ann Locke, Department of Educational Policy and against China by referring to the virus as “the Chinese Leadership Studies, University of Iowa. flu” and the “kung flu” (Zhou, 2020, paras. 1-4). There Jin Chang, Department of Educational Policy and Leadership is some reason for hope for relief under an incoming Studies, University of Iowa. Biden administration, which at present promises to Peter Clancy, Department of Educational Policy and revoke multiple Trump administration executive Leadership Studies, University of Iowa. actions (Preston, 2020), though many activists and Logan Drake, Department of Educational Policy and organizers remain skeptical (Phillips, 2020). Here Leadership Studies, University of Iowa. though, we take up one particular executive action of Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to the Trump administration as a continuation of historical Kamden K. Strunk, College of Education, Auburn University, trends in which educators must be centered as agents of 4036 Haley Center, Auburn, AL 36849. Email: [email protected] antiracist change. 1 STRUNK, LOCKE, CHANG, CLANCY AND DRAKE 2 Executive Order 13950 Project” (Perez Jr. & Gaudinao, 2020, para.11). However, the 1776 Commission and related “Unites” We are focused on Executive Order 13950, curriculum frame education about racism and inequity “Combating Sex and Race Stereotyping.” The as a distraction from the ‘pursuit of excellence’ rather executive order (E.O.) bans diversity training that is than a reckoning with a complicated, cruel, and deemed divisive from occurring in federal agencies oppressive history (Ravitch, 2020). (Exec. Order No. 13950, 2020). This E.O. appears tied In the E.O., the explicit focus is less on public to Trump’s very public repudiation (Trump, 2020, para. schooling (because they are largely funded and 11) of antiracist history projects like the New York regulated by states, a President’s authority in public Times Magazine’s (2020) 1619 Project as a “totally schools is limited). Instead, the E.O. is primarily discredited” project (Trump, 2020, para. 11), his own focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) promotion of a so-called “1776 Commission” to training offered or funded by the federal government. counter the efforts of the 1619 Project (Trump, 2020, It specifically bans any such training that “perpetuates para. 25), and his public statements about equity and racial stereotypes and division” (Exec. Order No. justice work (Trump, 2020). The E.O. appears rather 13950, 2020, sec. 1), calling diversity training that fixed on Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT, often supposedly promotes “race or sex stereotyping” in isolated to academic circles, is a theory that was born federal agencies “divisive” (Exec. Order No. 13950, out of critical legal studies (Bell, 1995; Crenshaw, 2020, sec. 1). The E.O. defines this racial stereotyping 1998), and critiques policies and practices that as “ascribing character traits, values, moral and ethical systematically oppress, marginalize, and codes, privileges, status, or beliefs to a race or sex, or disenfranchise people of Color. The administration’s to an individual because of his or her race or sex” interpretation of CRT is that it is “Marxist doctrine” (Exec. Order No. 13950, 2020, sec. 2). The same E.O. (Trump, 2020, para. 14), claiming that “teaching this frames all mentions of white privilege and systemic horrible doctrine to our children is a form of child abuse racism in federal agencies’ diversity training materials in the truest sense of those words” (Trump, 2020, para. as “racial scapegoating” – which, according to the E.O., 16). The E.O. text and President Trump, as well as other is anyone “assigning fault, blame, or bias” to others for officials’ public statements about it, belie an racism (Exec. Order No. 13950, 2020, sec. 2). Black unfamiliarity with CRT (for example, CRT is not part activists have noted that the line of reasoning here of the Marxist lineage of theorizing; Cole, 2017). suggests white people experience “reverse racism” Trump has also directly tied his desire to ban CRT (Parnell, 2020, para. 1-2). However, scholars have to his disdain for the 1619 Project and its attempt to noted that, in reality, the discourse of ‘reverse racism’ reckon with the racist history of the U.S. more honestly, denies “system-wide patterns that differentially stating, position whites and people of Color” (Bush, 2011, p. Critical race theory, the 1619 project, and the 5). crusade against American history is toxic Reactions within the realm of higher education have propaganda, ideological poison that if not removed ranged from resisting and ignoring the E.O. altogether will dissolve the civic bonds that tie us together. … to immediate stoppage of DEI work across campuses. It will destroy our country. That is why I recently For example, the University of Michigan delivered a banned trainings in this prejudiced ideology from statement recommitting to DEI work (Flahtery, 2020), the federal government and banned it in the the University of Iowa placed a temporary hold on such strongest manner possible. (Perez Jr. & Gaudinao, work in order to review it for compliance (Fuchs, 2020, para. 6) 2020), and Stanford University created a checklist to In addition to threatening to defund public schools ensure compliance (Johnson, 2020). The quick reaction that teach the 1619 Project (Liptak, 2020), Trump and of some institutions to comply with the order has not his administration have also produced an alternative. been lost on faculty, students, and staff whose work The 1776 Commission and its 1776 Unites Curriculum centers equity and justice (Jeffries, 2020). In other “… encourage educators to teach children about … the words, what came about in the wake of the E.O. was a miracle of American history” (Perez Jr. & Gaudinao, system of identification, surveillance, and reporting of 2020, para 4). The “1776 Unites project has been DEI work that ran contrary to the government mandate. described as a way to offer …a more complete and However, government efforts to stifle civil rights and inspiring story of the history of African-Americans in denounce antiracist education and organizing are the United States… and is a direct response to the 1619 nothing new.

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