NYC mom ‘censored’ by DOE official for asking ‘racially-charged question’ about children’s book

A New York City Department of Education official shut down a mom during a public forum for asking Manhattan school superintendent candidates to comment on a racially divisive children’s book — a move the silenced parent called an act of “outrageous” censorship.

Danyela Souza Egorov tuned into the forum, held virtually on Monday, as not just a mother, but as a member of the Community Education Council (CEC) and a State Senate candidate to represent District 27.

Her question to the incumbent superintendent, Kelly McGuire, and her opponent, Sean Davenport, centered around a book called “Our Skin,” intended for children ages 2 – 5.

Part of the “First Conversation” series of children’s books, publisher Penguin Random House (PRH) describes “Our Skin” as a “read-aloud book” that “begins the conversation on race.”

“Developed by experts in the fields of early childhood and activism against injustice, this topic-driven board book offers clear, concrete language and beautiful imagery that young children can grasp and adults can leverage for further discussion,” PRH promises.

But according to the New York Post, the book “tells kids that white people invented the concept of race to claim they are ‘better, smarter, prettier, and that they deserve more than everybody else.'”

“How do you feel about the book ‘Our Skin’?” Egorov asked the candidates via Zoom. “Do you think whites invented racism? And if so, when? What century, roughly? At what age do you feel children should be introduced to such material without direct parental involvement?”

Before either McGuire or Davenport could respond, NYCDOE parent leadership liaison Bibi Matadin shut the question down.

“I’d like to interject and say that this could be a racially-charged question,” Matadin stated.

Egorov explained that she was asking the question on behalf of community members from CEC 2, a parent advisory group that represents most of downtown Manhattan and part of the Upper East Side.

“Some families think it’s racially charged to put this book in front of our kids,” she shot back. “It’s definitely a topic that has been very relevant in our meetings and it’s definitely very relevant for several families.”

The book has already been distributed to schools in the city and, according to The Post, “is on a kindergarten reading list for the DOE’s yet-to-be-launched Mosaic curriculum to boost academic diversity,” but the department has claimed it isn’t part of a “prescribed” curriculum.

After Matadin told the forum to forget the question and move on, fellow CEC member Chien Kwok chimed in, asking Matadin, “What are you afraid of?” and demanding to know who ordered the discussion to be shut down.

The order came from the executive director of the DOE’s Family and Community Empowerment office, Matadin explained.

“Now a bureaucrat at the DOE is going to decide which questions our families can ask or not?” Egorov asked. “It’s outrageous.”

In a thread on Twitter posted Monday, Egorov asked, “So the DOE thinks it is ok to teach kids about race but not ok for adults to discuss the books being taught to our children?”

“It’s wildly inappropriate for any school system to silence parents or squelch debate over curriculum and school culture,” Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who focuses on K-12 education, told The Post. “It’s a public school district that operates — or should — in the public interest with public dollars. The arrogance is stunning.”

Following questions about the incident from The Post to the education department, CEC members, including Egorov, received an apology from NYCDOE deputy chancellor of school leadership Desmond Blackburn, who oversees the candidate forums.

The District 2 candidates were asked by Blackburn to answer the “Our Skin” question in writing, but according to The Post, neither candidate was critical of the way the book characterized white people.

While Davenport said he believed that parents should decide what is appropriate for their children, the black candidate wrote “Racism does exist” and claimed he has been victimized by it “on many occasions, quite possibly by this question.”

The current superintendent, McGuire, who is white, was more inclined to leave parents out of the discussion, stating he believes schools “are the most productive places to discuss the text” with the guidance of trained principals and teachers.

Neither answer impressed Egorov, and while she appreciated the apology, she told The Post she was disappointed.

“Personally as a Latina,” she said, “I wish we had candidates who would embrace the opportunity to both discuss and strongly oppose books that promote racial division, inject politics into the classroom, and create tension instead of understanding.”

You can watch the entire Zoom forum here, or advance to 1:30:50 to skip right to Egorov’s question:

 

CEC Supt Candidate Town Hall – May 23 – District 2.mp4 from LearningTimes on Vimeo.

 

Melissa Fine

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles