A public school “Equity” teacher in Colorado expressed a desire to “burn things down” that failed to conform to his interpretation of equity and said that he hoped to highlight evil acts committed by Whites. As reported by Fox News, Casey Menninger, a diversity teacher for the Jefferson County Public School District, helped put together a DEI-focused curriculum for other teachers at the district’s Foster K-8 School.
"I am trying to impact change in a positive way, but it is very hard to not want to burn things down that I don't find equitable," Menninger said in an email obtained by Fox News in a public records request.
Apparently, Menninger’s curriculum was not well-received by his fellow teachers, as evidenced by Menninger’s claims that he “heard people talking trash about me multiple times already” and that “I am struggling with not-so-subtle shots at me.” Menninger also fretted “I don't think anyone else on the team has that equity lens, so it is challenging to impact change where they don't see a need.”
Apparently, not possessing an equity lens in Menninger’s eyes meant that his colleagues did not have a desire for their students to “understand some terrible things that white people did,” something that Menninger sought to make the focus of his curriculum. The responses to this curriculum seem to have come as a surprise to Menninger, who said he was “learning a lot of restraint” in dealing with what he called “emotional outbursts from adults” who took issue with the anti-white content of the curriculum.
Menninger’s complaints were contained in emails sent in August, 2021 and January, 2022 to fellow teacher Nicole Head. Head appeared to sympathize with Menninger’s plight, commenting to fellow teachers that she felt “strongly that the missing link is an assumption of positive intent.”
Perhaps less than obvious to Head and Menninger is that it might be somewhat difficult to assume well-meaning, good intent when the curriculum is specifically geared towards highlighting “terrible things that white people did.”