By Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill
On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, WAESN’s Executive Director, Dr. Castro-Gill, gave public testimony to the Seattle School Board. This blog post builds on that testimony and includes important calls to action.
My name is Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill. I am the co-founder and Executive Director of Washington Ethnic Studies Now, and the only Washington-based scholar publishing peer-reviewed research on K–12 Ethnic Studies. I co-authored OSPI’s Ethnic Studies Framework, consulted with the State Board of Education on their graduation requirement, and partnered with the Professional Education Standards Board on a pilot to certify K–12 educators in Ethnic Studies pedagogies.
Nearly 10 years ago, I was part of the group that successfully lobbied the Seattle School Board (SPS) to develop its Ethnic Studies Program. Today, I am highlighting the fact that the program we worked so hard to build in authentic relationship with SPS communities and students has been completely dismantled. The program’s budget and staff were stripped, leading the program manager to leave, and we are left with staff and leadership that have actively worked to thwart and dismantle the program since 2017.
Now, this dismantled program is at risk of being co-opted by a racist organization: the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, or FAIR.
The Threat of FAIR’s “Distorted” Curriculum
FAIR is hawking a distorted version of Ethnic Studies curriculum written by white scholars who have no background in the field. This group is known for being a special interest group that seeks to demonize and discredit the work of WAESN and other organizations fighting for racial justice. Their stale strategy involves quoting Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech to advocate for colorblind ideologies, win lawsuits for cis white men in reverse racism claims, advance Donald Trump’s ban on DEI curriculum and training, and engage in anti-intellectualism by calling into question decades of research conducted by Ethnic Studies scholars of color.
Two examples from FAIR’s website of lawsuits they’ve funded for cis, white men claiming reverse racism.
FAIR’s “Ethnic Studies” curriculum authors
FAIR’s Black Lives Matter Week of Action guide for parents citing the Trump administration’s anti-DEI policies
FAIR is actively marketing its curriculum to school districts across Washington State as a “non-partisan” alternative, attempting to undermine the authentic, anti-racist frameworks developed by WAESN and State agencies. By framing their materials as “pro-human,” they seek to bypass the rigorous, peer-reviewed research conducted by scholars of color and disrupt the implementation of statewide Ethnic Studies graduation requirements.
Our Vision for Authentic, Anti-Racist Ethnic Studies
The curriculum FAIR promotes is a prime example of what Ethnic Studies is not. Authentic Ethnic Studies must be explicitly anti-racist. As an active and proactive process, anti-racism means intentionally interrogating systems, questioning who they serve, and dismantling those that harm people of color. If a practice simply means “equitable access to Whiteness,” it is not anti-racist.
WAESN advocates for a liberated, pan-ethnic model rooted in intersectional solidarity. This pan-ethnic approach examines how systemic racism impacts all marginalized groups collectively, instead of the traditional approach of focusing on individual groups separately. We believe Ethnic Studies can and should be incorporated into every K–12 subject, which is why we have created Ethnic Studies curriculum frameworks for 14 different subjects and provide professional development to thousands of educators using this integrated model.
To the Seattle School Board, I asked for a partnership with Washington Ethnic Studies Now, SESEC, and the NAACP Youth Council, urging them to learn about authentic Ethnic Studies and how the State has defined it, so they may guard against the harmful attempts of FAIR to pull us further backward. This is a fight the entire community must join.
Take Action: Support Authentic Ethnic Studies
The fight against anti-intellectualism and co-opted curriculum requires a unified, well-resourced movement. Here is how you can join the struggle to defend and advance authentic Ethnic Studies:
Join us July 9 6pm-7pm for a free webinar to learn more.
Contact the SPS School Board: Send an email demanding they work with WAESN and its partner organizations on re-building Ethnic Studies in SPS. It takes 30 seconds!
Here’s your copy/paste script:
Subject Line: NO FAIR! Authentic Ethnic Studies Now
Dear SPS School Board, I am writing to demand that you enter into a formal partnership with Washington Ethnic Studies Now (WAESN) and its partner organizations to rebuild an authentic Ethnic Studies program. It is critical that Seattle Public Schools follows the state-defined frameworks and works with established experts to ensure our students receive a truthful and anti-racist education.
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- Youth between 12 and 21 can Join our Youth Advisory Board.
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