Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined in studio by all-star panelist Dr. Carol Swain to discuss Lipscomb Academy’s current K-12 diversity training for students.
During the third segment, Swain went into detail about how Lipscomb University’s diversity and inclusion priorities have now “seeped” down into the K-12 levels teaching students to look at each other in a negative light. She cited that parents were upset at David Lipscomb Academy’s K-12 with the changes because they believed their children were getting a Christian education. Swain talked further about the video propaganda being used by young faculty members that could ultimately cause hate and bitterness between classmates.
Leahy: We are joined by our very good friend and all-star panelist and former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain. Good morning Carol.
Swain: Good morning. It’s great to be back.
Leahy: So you’re still wearing your big jacket here in this studio. (Laughs) It’s cold out there isn’t it?
Swain: It’s not as cold as it was a couple of days ago.
Leahy: Yeah. Exactly. And so it’s been a while since you’ve been here. What have you been up to?
Swain: I’ve been to Dallas participating in a conference of university professors who are trying to take back the universities.
Leahy: Hold it. Hold it. How many university professors were there? Are there really university professors who think like us?
Swain: Well, they’re Christian professors mostly.
Leahy: Ah.
Swain: Catholics, Protestants. And they are very concerned. And a common theme was that if you were really recognized as conservative most universities were trying to find a way to ease you out.
But we’re looking at the curriculum in the various fields and trying to bring Christ back to the universities. So that was a conference in Dallas. And then I went to D.C. and I participated in a group called 1776. And we are planning a response to the 1619 group.
Leahy: And lets for a moment for our listeners who may not be familiar with it. Tell us about The New York Times project 1619.
Swain: Well part of that project is The New York Times and a lot of scholars, many of them are black or minorities, arguing that slavery is really what defined America. And that the founding of the country should actually be 1619 when the first slaves were brought to America. And it’s part of that Marxist theory. The culture of Marxism that America was founded on racism. It’s rotten to the core.
Leahy: Rotten, rotten, rotten. Rotten to the core!
Swain: And there are some public schools, and I don’t know all the schools that are involved, but their curriculum just like other things that come from the political left is seeping into some of the public schools.
Leahy: This is that curriculum. I think we’ve seen it here in Williamson County where the teachers go through these trainings on “white privilege” and all that sort of stuff right?
Swain: Well, we’ haven’t really spoken on the air since I published my article about critical race theory and Christian education.
Leahy: Yes. And by the way, a big hit with that one.
Swain: I know. Nationally it’s had over 120,000 downloads.
Leahy: That’s pretty impressive.
Swain: Yes. A million would be better. (Both chuckle)
Leahy: Yes. So elaborate on that for a bit.
Swain: Well, the concern is that many Lipscomb University Academy parents are concerned about the integration of, I don’t know how to say it, a race-based agenda in the Christian academies.
Leahy: And when you say Lipscomb University Academy you’re talking about K-12.
Swain: It started with the University and the University over topped the Academy.
Leahy: David Lipscomb University which is a university here in Nashville. Church of Christ affiliated.
Swain: Yes.
Leahy: But has leaned left since the new president came in. What’s his name? Randolph Lowry?
Swain: Yes. And what he has done and other colleges too as far as I know, again I don’t know everything. I won’t say I know everything but what I do know I’m usually right about. (Laughs)
Leahy: I can attest to the fact Carol. I will agree with that. We will place that as a fact in evidence. (Chuckles)
Swain: The secular universities have already done it and now the Christian universities are hiring “diversity inclusion” officers. And these deans, whatever they call themselves, they may have different names at different institutions for a pretty radical leftist agenda and it seeped down to K-12.
And my article pointed out some of the inappropriate materials that were being exposed to young children. And I found some of the videos disturbing to me as an adult. And I can imagine the damage that would be done to young children. I would really like to hear from some psychologists who watched those videos who can report on how a young child will respond to that.
Leahy: Let’s talk about some of those videos. Can you give us an example of the content of these videos? And you say, young children, K-12 and you’re talking here in Nashville at the K-12 Lipscomb Academy, right?
Swain: I have no reason not to believe that these videos aren’t shown at other schools as well. But in middle school…
Leahy: Do we know that it was shown at the Lipscomb Academy here?
Swain: Yes we do.
Leahy: OK. So that is a fact in evidence.
Swain: But it was not shown by the diversity inclusion officer. It was shown by one of the teachers that’s caucasian and young. There is one particular video that’s called Unequal Opportunity Race. And it has animated characters, two blacks, black male and black female.
Well, when the gun goes off or whatever goes off the whites get to go around a couple of times before the blacks can even start. And then as soon as the blacks start, all these things that come down to hamper them…
Leahy: The hurdles…
Swain: And then there is one scene where a cage comes in and yanks up the black male. That’s the school to prison pipeline.
Leahy: Ahhh. These characters just innocently because of a race they just go to prison?
Swain: Yes. All of these hurdles like shark-infested waters’ and they name what structural inequality is being depicted. And then the girl runs into a brick wall and she collapses and the white male who’s had the baton had things thrown to him by an older white male, he just sails through and wins the race. He beats out the white girl and wins the race.
Leahy: So it’s basically evil white males.
Swain: But it’s so disheartening for any child, for white children being told the message that their ancestors or parents are responsible for these inequalities that minorities suffer. And then for the minority students, I think that it looks like no matter how hard you try you can’t win because there are all these structural inequalities.
Leahy: So, as a result, you don’t try.
Swain: Yes. Or you become very angry. And what they’re doing is causing people to become angry and embittered. At Lipscomb Academy, they also have a black student union. Now black student unions where very common in the late 1960s and 1970s but you would never think that would be at a Christian school. Christians are supposed to have their identity in Christ.
And the whole agenda of the political left is about division and we see that being played out. It should not be played out in the Christian. We should show the secular world how to deal with issues of race. We should not be borrowing ideas that have failed at the university level.
Leahy: Did you have an opportunity to speak with anybody at the David Lipscomb Academy K-12 here in Nashville?
Swain: I’ve spoken to a lot of parents. I’ve not spoken to a lot of the officials. But I’d be willing to speak to any of them.
Leahy: We should probably get them on the show here.
Swain: I would love to see that happen.
Leahy: Ok, what’s your guess. If we invite them to the show will they come?
Swain: Probably not.
Leahy: Probably not. What are the parents of this David Lipscomb Academy students which is a private school, how much does it cost to go there? 10-12 grand?
Swain: I’m not sure, but it may be around 12,000 or more.
Leahy: So what did the parents say?
Swain: Well, I guess it depends on which parents you talk with.
Leahy: What’s the range of comments.
Swain: Most of them had been very concerned with the fact that they chose that institution so that their child would get a Christian education and they feel like the agenda as it’s set up is racializing everything. And children that have played with other of different races and ethnicities have not thought about race.
That they are causing them to think about things differently and to see their classmates in a different light. When you introduce the kinds of films, videos, white privilege conversations, that classmates begin to see each other in a different light.
Leahy: In racial terms as opposed to just human terms.
Swain: Yes. And then what the leftist agenda, this white privilege victimization, oppressor division, it creates anger and bitterness. Nothing good can come from that.
Leahy: Just what everybody in K-12 needs to have. Anger and bitterness.
Swain: They are grooming them for the universities, so they can become social justice warriors.
Leahy: That’s about all that most college graduates can to today for a job.
Listen to the second hour:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 am to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
