Mayor Exposes Radical “Equity” Training in Government and Schools
The mayor of the western Twin Cities suburb of Victoria has pulled back the curtain on the radical agenda being promoted under the guise of equity in local government and schools. In a letter to the Chanhassen Villager, Mayor Tom Funk said he was shocked by a supposed training program staged for local and county government staff that functioned as more of an indoctrination than education.
As mayor of Victoria, I question the meaning of the word “equity” we see permeating government after attending GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity) training put on by the League of Minnesota Cities (summer 2019). I, along with other community leaders and staff, attended this training hosted by Eastern Carver County School District 112.
I was stunned when instructors told us that Thomas Jefferson’s famous words from our Declaration of Independence, “All Men Are Created Equal,” actually mean that only white male property owners can vote. They said the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance is an example of our “Christian Privilege.” They similarly twisted Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” Their basic message was that our society operates on white and Christian privilege, and we must accept and “own” that fact.
RELATED: Racial Equity Program Pockets More Than $275,000 from MN Taxpayers
The radical rhetoric did not go over well with Funk, a career military veteran before going into the private sector and getting involved in his community.
As a retired veteran, I’ve served 16 years in Army intelligence in Asia and Central America. In comparing these places to America, I know just how great our country is. I took issue with these “equity” views that delegitimize the meaning of our Founding Fathers. They are directly attacking America by perverting our history. I left the training early, upset with the anti-American indoctrination.
But it’s not just local and state government employees being subjected to this revisionist history at taxpayer expense. Funk found the local school district has also bought into it.
The training spurred my interest in GARE. Why would District 112 host such rhetoric? I wondered if this nonsense made its way into district classrooms. I discovered that GARE is not a government agency, but a nonprofit funded by progressive organizations. I discovered GARE had made its way into the dialogue of the District 112 Equity Advisory Council (EAC), a council hand-selected to facilitate an equity agenda into our schools. According to their June meeting minutes, attendees suggested that the district adopt the tenets of GARE…
Concerned about the direction of District 112, I wrote to them asking to attend an EAC meeting. As mayor of Victoria, I assumed I’m a stakeholder. Surprisingly, I was told the meetings are closed to the public, and I could not attend. Yet the EAC meeting minutes show that Minneapolis community activists along with other outside community members, attended EAC meetings (summer 2019). Wow — what are they trying to hide? Where is the transparency?
Yet Minnesota has more local, county and state government entities involved in GARE’s divisive race-based agenda than any other state except California. See the list of participants below.
GARE Cohort Participants
2019 Introductory Cohort for Small/Greater MN Cities
- Columbia Heights
- Fairmont
- Luverne
- Marshall
- Monticello
- Pipestone
- Shakopee
- Willmar
2018 Introductory Cohort
- Eagan
- Hennepin County Library
- Metropolitan Council
- Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
- Minnetonka
- Richfield
- Roseville
2018 Advanced Cohort
- Hennepin County 4th Judicial District
- Hennepin County Library
- League of Minnesota Cities
- Mankato
- Metropolitan Council
- Minneapolis
- Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
- Northfield
- St. Anthony Village
2017 Introductory Cohort
- Bloomington
- State of Minnesota
- Northfield
- St. Anthony Village
- State of Minnesota—Department of Revenue
- St. Louis Park
- Shoreview
- Three Rivers Park District
- White Bear Lake
- Woodbury
- Dakota County
- Edina
- Golden Valley
- Hennepin County, Fourth Judicial District Court
- Hennepin County Library
- League of Minnesota Cities
- Met Council—regional comprehensive planning
- Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
2017 Advanced Cohort
- Bloomington
- Red Wing
- St. Louis Park
- Hopkins
- Hennepin County
- Mankato
- Maplewood
- Minneapolis
- Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
- State of Minnesota
- Ramsey County Workforce Solutions
2016 Introductory Cohort
- Bloomington
- Brooklyn Center
- Brooklyn Park
- Duluth
- Hopkins
- Mankato
- Maplewood
- Minneapolis
- Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
- Workforce Innovation Board of Ramsey County
- Ramsey County Workforce Solutions
- Red Wing
- St. Louis Park
- State of Minnesota—Governor’s Office
- State of Minnesota—Department of Transportation
- State of Minnesota—Minnesota Management and Budget
- State of Minnesota—Department of Human Services
- State of Minnesota—Department of Public Health
- Woodbury