Betsy Devos is using anti-Muslim, anti-Black bigotry to threaten diversity in higher ed programs
Betsy Devos has done it again. On August 29th, the Department of Education sent a letter to the Consortium for Middle East Studies departments at the University of North Carolina and Duke University, claiming that the program “disproportionately portrays ‘the positive aspects of Islam'”. They threatened that if the schools do not make amendments to the program by September 22nd, they could lose their federal grant.
What this shows us first and foremost is that the Trump administration has never held a positive view of Islam to begin with, nor of the millions of people who follow the faith. It’s very rare that we hear positive portrayals of Islam in academic settings or in the media. And where higher education institutions have started to take it upon themselves to revise their curricula to be more inclusive and diverse, Betsy Devos is doing everything in her power to continue to proliferate discrimination both in schools and beyond.
Betsy Devos is no fool. She understands the importance of education and the role it plays in shaping students. She knows that in ensuring that schools perpetuate a negative view of Islam, students (especially white students) have little opportunity to open their eyes to the vision of society that many people of color fight for continuously. It’s a society that would allow them to feel as though their worth is the worth of those who have traditionally held power at all levels. It’s a society that would free them from the judgmental stares, microaggressions, and overt racism and discrimination they face everyday.
And don’t forget about the Muslim students who have enrolled in these programs – the federal government is telling them that no matter what they do, they are going to be viewed as a threat CONTINUE READING: Betsy Devos is using anti-Muslim, anti-Black bigotry to threaten diversity in higher ed programs | Eclectablog
