St. Matthew’s School in Pacific Palisades is locate on a beautiful site of land.
St. Matthew middle school teacher Victoria Rosenberg sent a letter (below) to parents, which was shared with CTN, and also sent to Breitbart News.
Rosenberg attended a NART (National Anti-Racist Teach-in) conference that hosted prominent critical race theorists including author of the 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones.
NART professes one of the core beliefs of Critical Race Theory, that “Racism and white supremacy exist today, and all members of this society are active participants in it. No exceptions.”
Rosenberg wrote to parents and teachers that “all have been socialized with the same poison of whiteness.” She advocated for the integration of “anti-racist teaching into all subjects at all grade levels” on the basis that it will give white students more “exposure” to “racially stressful encounters.”
She specifically argued that these encounters will prepare white students to act as woke activists who can become better at “processing, discussing, and enacting change against white supremacy.”
Reverse racism. Anytime someone discriminates against another person based entirely on the color of their skin, they are a racist. Being a racist is not a white phenomenon, and when skin color is chosen to define a person, it is a disservice to all people.
People are afraid to say that in today’s political climate, because then, they are called racist and labeled not smart enough to know they are racist.
This editor acknowledges there has been injustice and inequality in the past, not only in the United States, but in countries around the world.
The United States has had a black president and vice president. CTN believes that both were chosen for their leadership abilities and not because of skin color. There is opportunity in this country for anyone who wants to strive for it.
Growing up on reservation in South Dakota, people have intermarried for generations, and one might be surprised to find the blue-eyed, red-headed woman was actually enrolled in the tribe. Or the man with more melatonin in his skin, who looks darker, might not have enough “Indian” to be part of the tribe and qualify for benefits.
For the most part, people have no control over their physical being, so to hate them because of the color of the skin, the color of the hair, height, large/small nose, pointy ears, is inane.
CTN feels sorry for Rosenberg – and her students. She tells parents that she has “a responsibility” to “consistently expose my students to abolitionist ideology” for the sake of “collective liberation.”
The teacher concludes her letter by noting her own intention of fostering “collaborators” and “co-conspirators.”
It is important to acknowledge history, but also important not to live in the past, to see and take advantage of the opportunities that exist today.
St. Matthew’s Parish School is an elite private school, with tuition costing nearly $40,000 for seventh and eighth graders. CTN reached out to St. Matthew’s for comment but did not receive a reply.
Bravo, Sue. What a moron Rosenberg is.
Courageous of you to speak truth with all the woke idiots around here!
This is a disgusting letter and unfortunately it has been pushed across the country in a very organized manner. A virus of the mind spreading faster that any virus! The entire American Education -with very few exceptions- has been contaminated, where mediocracy and rigid thinking have taken over the schools. I pity America for the seeds of hatred that is planting today and the crops of division and misery is going to reap tomorrow!
Thank you for your viewpoint. I completely agree. It is time for action in November.
You have my agreement and support. Good job.
I do think you may have misunderstood what she meant in her letter. I think the idea is that things may come up in the course of class where some type of culturally ingrained racism could be at the root of a comment or interaction, and if that happens, it’s important not to ignore it, but instead to take the time to look at it more carefully and have a discussion about it, which may create a “racially stressful encounter.” For example, an innocent comment about an African American girl’s hair by a white student could be an example of something that might have racist undertones of which a student wouldn’t be aware if it weren’t unpacked with the teacher’s help. Often African American kids are left to deal with these incidents alone, and I think she is trying to end that pattern and instead approach these issues in an anti-racist fashion. This is how students may begin “processing, discussing, and enacting change against white supremacy.” Anti-racism isn’t anti-white, it’s anti-white supremacy, and anti-any type of racism, including against whites. I remember a historical discussion of slavery in a high school class that left one of my African American classmates so stressed that she started crying, and ran out of the room. Our teacher never unpacked what happened with us, so this moment of trauma didn’t become the moment of greater understanding that it could have become for the class. I think this teacher’s letter and the reaction to it here shows how important it is to consider these things. “How to be an Anti-racist” by Ibram X Kendi is a good book at explaining some of the issues, and it includes addressing anti-white racism. His book “Stamped from the Beginning” is also an amazing history of how anti-black racism became woven into the fabric of society in varied ways that are still impactful. I think everyone would benefit from reading both. In the first book, he also examines his own racism, which is mainly anti-black but also anti-LGBTQ (he’s against any discrimination so this is included), and how he realized it and addressed it. Seriously, becoming an anti-racist is a great thing for everyone, and I think this letter doesn’t explain things that well because of the use of some jargon. Although she used a phrase like the “poison of whiteness,” my belief is that she means the poison of white supremacist thinking that can be unintentionally part of white acculturation, not about having pale skin. I think she’s super excited to share what she’s learned, but it’s a very complicated subject that is difficult to address in a short letter.
Thank you for publishing this article, Sue. I would love to know what the St. Matthew’s parents thought when “Rosenberg wrote to parents and teachers that ‘all have been socialized with the same poison of whiteness.’ ”
I will never believe that my skin color or upbringing is poisoned.
I commend CTN for publishing this unfortunate letter which you say was sent to some St. Matthew’s Parish School parents. As a former independent school teacher, I am truly surprised that a faculty member could contact families directly with political/social advocacy and without the expressed approval of school administration. However, her extra-curricular ranting, to an immature individual, may seem to have tacit approval from the Episcopal Church at large. Your readers might want to refer to Episcopalchurch.org/responding-to-racial-violence/act/#!
Meanwhile, I pray for these students and parents as they seek the truth, and for a teacher who has abused her position, that she may repent and be helped.
Thank you.
Signs like BLACK LIVES MATTER promote the thought that only they matter, when in reality we as humans should believe that ALL LIVES MATTER regardless of race, color, etc. I have been told that saying that is racist! It seems that trying to be inclusive of all is not accepted unless it is only for black lives which just adds to the confusion and makes “being woke” not at all “woke” but just seeding more prejudice and misconceptions regarding all humans. Not all humans should be judged by the few who over the centuries, from many countries, with many different ways have degraded many peoples for being different and continue to do so. Most of us don’t have to be “woke”. We are the kind and respectful ones who will continue to be and always will be regardless.