Stop Dividing Children By Race. It’s Harmful and Divisive | Opinion

Stop Dividing Children By Race. It’s Harmful and Divisive | Opinion

Last week, the Lower Manhattan Community Middle School reportedly separated middle school students into racial groups for a two-day program meant to explore how "racial identities influence our experiences." The students were divided into five groups: whites, Asians, mixed-race students, and combined African American and Hispanic students. There was also an additional group made up of those uncomfortable with the format.

Of course, this is not the first nor the only such racial affinity group exercise. Earlier this year, after a brutal shooting in Atlanta caused eight fatalities, six of whom were women of East Asian ancestry, Wellesley public schools in Massachusetts hosted a Zoom session called a "Healing Space for Asian and Asian-American students and other students of color." "This is a safe space for our Asian/Asian-American and Students of Color, not for students who identify only as White," the school administrators who organized the event explained.