https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/1367278649649459200
A Los Angeles mom pushing for schools to reopen has accused a teachers union of racial profiling after they asked for her ethnicity in an email and later blamed 'white wealthy parents' for a 'rushed return' to classrooms.
Maryam Qudrat, who is of Afghan descent, says she received an email from United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the union which represents staff in the LA Unified School District, asking how she identifies after she spoke with the press.
Cecily Myart-Cruz, head of UTLA, then slammed a reopening plan proposed Monday, arguing it was being driven largely by 'white wealthy parents'.
https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/1367308839242985473
In January - shortly before Qudrat received her email - Myart-Cruz said union members have been 'stalked on social media by wealthy white and Middle Eastern parents' about the reopenings.
Qudrat, whose son is in seventh grade, told Fox11: 'Their conclusion is if you want schools to reopen right now, then that means you are racist against African Americans and Latinos.'
She was emailed by the union, who said they were conducting a survey on people who have spoken to the media about the reopenings.
'I think that they are very clearly case building, they are trying to collect data on folks like me who have been quoted in the LA Times, and they're trying to say that if you are in favor the kids coming back to school, you're racist.
'Anybody who spends 30 seconds reading that email would see that it is very clear pointed racism, they are racial profiling. If it was sent out to somebody who was African American or Latino, they would have a lawsuit on their hands.'
Qudrat has been behind calls for schools to reopen in the district. On Monday California Gov Gavin Newsom said that the state had reached a deal to fund getting children back in classrooms.
She added: 'I'm a mom and an educator and I want our kids to come back to school.'
She says she received an email asking her about her race and class as part of a 'research project' on those who have spoken to the media on the issue.
The UTLA said in a statement: 'The email in question is from a UTLA researcher who was attempting to ascertain the race of individuals quoted in order to assess whether or not that is a factor we could evaluate.
'This outreach by the researcher was not authorized and nothing from that outreach is contained in the report. We understand this type of email could be taken out of context.'
The UTLA has already said it fears that Newsom's school reopening plan will favor 'white and wealthier schools' in neighborhoods where COVID-19 is less prevalent.
It's the latest in a series of controversial statements from school boards in California, with the entire Oakley Union Elementary School District resigning last month after a member said parents wanted schools open so they could sit home and smoke pot.
Meanwhile, a teacher who runs the union in Oakland said last month that 'rich white parents' complaining about schools being shut should 'take a seat.'
Newsom and lawmakers have been under increasing pressure to come up with a statewide plan to allow students to return for in-person classes given most have been learning from home for the past year.
If approved by the Legislature, the plan announced on Monday would see $2 billion set aside to pay districts that get select groups of students into classrooms by the end of the month.
Cecily Myart-Cruz, head of UTLA, has slammed the plan and argued that it was being driven largely by 'white wealthy parents'.
'Some voices are being allowed to speak louder than others. We have to call out the privilege behind the largely white wealthy parents driving the push for a rushed return,' she told KABC.
She said the... (Read more)
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