Asra Nomani on Preserving Merit in K-12 Education

In the fall of 2020, the school board of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology unanimously voted to eliminate its merit-based, race-blind admissions process. The school principal then went on record saying that she wanted more brown and black children despite minorities representing 80 percent of the school’s students.

In this episode, Naomi and Ian are joined by Asra Nomani, author of Woke Army: The Red-Green Alliance That Is Destroying America’s Freedom. Asra created the Coalition for TJ—a group of Thomas Jefferson parents, students, and alumni—which filed a legal challenge against the new admissions process in 2021. In February 2022, a federal judge ruled it was unconstitutional because the process discriminates against Asian American applicants.

Asra describes how the movement of “racial balancing” at TJ has since infiltrated schools and workplaces around the country. The effort to prioritize equity over equality of opportunity has not only harmed children of underprivileged immigrant families, it also threatens to undermine the ability of American students to compete globally. Parents have rallied to preserve merit and individual achievement, and Asra believes that the next step is to galvanize the parents’ movement toward greater political engagement on the local and national level.

Resources:

• Woke Army: The Red-Green Alliance That Is Destroying America's Freedom | Asra Nomani

• Here’s Why All Students Need Agency Rather Than Equity | Ian Rowe | New York Post

Show Notes:

• 01:23 | What’s been happening at Thomas Jefferson High School?

• 07:10 | Where do things stand at TJ now?

• 09:45 | How do we fall short at communicating that we want to create and expand opportunities for children of all races?

• 12:42 | Where is public opinion on this nationwide?

• 24:00 | What should parents be looking out for next?