The head of an elite private school in New York City privately admitted to a teacher that the institution is “demonizing white people for being born."
The call between math teacher Paul Rossi, who was later relieved of his duties after publicly criticizing the school’s anti-racist orthodoxy, and George Davidson, head of Grace Church School, took place on March 2. The two discussed wokeness at the school and how it’s affecting white students.
"Let me ask you something, George, because I think there's something very different about having a single experience where you make sense of it, right, and having a teacher, an authority figure, talk to you endlessly, every year, telling you, that because you have whiteness you are associated with evils, all these different evils," Rossi says to him. “These are moral evils, it's not the same as taking like a physical thing, because it doesn't affect your moral value. That's the problem.”
“The fact is that I'm agreeing with you that there has been a demonization that we need to get our hands around, in the way in which people are doing this understanding,” Davidson responds.
“So you agree that we're demonizing kids,” Rossi answers.
“We're demonizing ki—" Davison starts to say before cutting himself off, adding, “We're demonizing white people, for being born.”
“And are some of our students white people?” Rossi asks.
“Yes,” Davidson replies.
“Okay, so we're demonizing white kids,” Rossi says. “Why don't you just say it?”
"We are using language that makes them feel less than, for nothing that they are personally responsible for," Davidson responds.
The conversation was posted online by the civil rights organization Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism. FAIR is supporting Rossi, who was “relieved of his teaching duties” for his public criticism of the school on former New York Times editor Bari Weiss's Substack.
Grace Church says Paul Rossi misquoted him. It doesn't sound like it. Listen to these clips:https://t.co/laExNH21rU pic.twitter.com/2wEF6hAkF4
— Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) (@fairforall_org) April 20, 2021
https://t.co/laExNH21rU pic.twitter.com/GnbRWzpcYd
— Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) (@fairforall_org) April 20, 2021
https://t.co/laExNGKqAm pic.twitter.com/ErC5iqfH9l
— Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) (@fairforall_org) April 20, 2021
On Monday, Rossi responded to the head of school's letter about him to his colleagues.
"Grace's public story — the story it is telling to the press and to its own community — has been very different from what you have told me. In light of your statement that my essay 'contains glaring omissions and inaccuracies,' and in support of those who will inevitably be scared into silence by seeing the price I am now paying for speaking up, I am compelled to share what you have told me in our previous conversations."
Paul Rossi stood up to neo-racism at Grace Church School. But the school doesn’t see it that way. The school “relieved him of his teaching duties” and claims he now threatens the "well-being" of students. We stand firmly behind Paul. Here’s his response: https://t.co/laExNH21rU pic.twitter.com/woArymrzB5
— Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) (@fairforall_org) April 19, 2021
According to the Daily Mail, a former parent at the school claimed students spend one week per month learning Critical Race Theory.