The black director of diversity, justice and inclusion at a California college was fired after asking for definitions of terms like anti-racism, leading to her being branded a “right-wing extremist” by Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza.
dr Tabia Lee began working at De Anza College just outside of San Jose in August 2021. She has since spoken out against being forced to join a “socialist network” and has had to fight to organize an event on “Jewish inclusion” at the school, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Additionally, Lee said she earned the ire of the school’s bright student body and management for her refusal to use terms like “Latinx” and “Filipinx,” while also wondering why the letter B in “black” is capitalized was written, but not the W in “white”.
She argued that the use of gender pronouns is akin to “toxic ideologies surrounding race” and that the constant debate surrounding the issue causes discomfort among those “who identify as gender or struggle with gender dysphoria.”
Lee, a University of Phoenix graduate with a PhD from the University of California Irvine, was also branded a supporter of white supremacy and accused of “whitesplaining” and “white speaking.”
dr Tabia Lee began working at De Anza College just outside of San Jose in August 2021
One of those reviewing Lee’s position at De Anza accused the educator of disrespecting Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza
The official reasons for Lee’s dismissal were charges of not being able to work with other employees and not being able to accept constructive criticism. The school’s board of directors wrote in a report that they did not expect Lee to improve in any of these areas.
De Anza College, the alma mater of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and actress Teri Hatcher, has not publicly commented on Lee’s firing, claiming internal personnel matters are confidential.
Speaking to Inside Higher Ed, Lee said she is considering filing a lawsuit against the school and has support from the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, also known as FAIR. A group whose board members include former Fox News host Megyn Kelly.
An attorney for the group, Leigh Ann O’Neill, told the website that Lee’s work in promoting open investigation and diverse viewpoints and discussion is “important work”.
“We are often asked to support lawsuits and if she decides to take legal action, we will be very happy to support her,” O’Neill said.
Lee said she was given guidance to only support what she calls “third wave anti-racism ideology.”
The educator wrote about this notion in an essay published on Substack on February 28 entitled Race Ideology in Practice.
“I hope this article will help us better understand and more critically examine the ideologies used to advance racial equality in our schools, organizations and civic life,” Lee wrote on her LinkedIn page, explaining the essay.
De Anza College, just outside of San Jose, is the alma mater of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and actress Terri Hatcher
“When I started asking [certain DEI initiatives in my workplace]… FAIR was instrumental in protecting me so that I could continue to … serve our California community colleges and keep them safe places for academic freedom and freedom of speech.”
– Tabia Lee pic.twitter.com/xmQNbZn7Je
— Foundation against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) (@fairforall_org) January 15, 2023
Lee went on to tell Inside Higher Education that among those sitting on a selection board for her term test was a woman who had asked to become a member of a socialist group, whom she accused of disrespecting Alicia Garza.
During this review, Lee said that she encountered “really ugly opposition from third-wave anti-racist vigilantes who don’t care too much about me because I haven’t uncritically endorsed their narratives or ways of knowing/working”.
Discussing her refusal to use terms like LatinX and FilipinX, Lee said they don’t reflect the “worker class communities” in which she’s worked for decades.
“I found these terms linguistic imperialism and an inappropriate attempt to conform beautiful languages to English-speaking social norms,” Lee said.
In another incident, Lee said she railed against the school for recognizing the wrong Native American tribe as De Anza College’s indigenous land.
In this dispute she was referred to as “b****” and “dictatorial”.
A supporter of Lee, Sheena Mason, an assistant professor at Oneonta Campus State University of New York and author of Theory of Racelessness: A Case for Antirace(ism), said Lee was cast in her role as a ‘Token Black woman.’
“So you’re black, so you’re supposed to think in one direction? Why isn’t that dehumanizing?’
Lee also said the “wokeism” her office promoted slowed the process of creating a more equal school
Lee also said the “wokeism” her office promoted slowed the process of creating a more equal school.
She said the “bright” members of her office used “divisive” techniques without offering a solution, merely accusing other staff members of being “racist or not bright enough”.
A month before she was fired by De Anza, Lee quit her job at the Center Joint School District in Antelope, California, blaming the board for not doing more to help the most vulnerable students in the district.
In her resignation letter, Lee also accused the board of ignoring Black History Month and accused a board member of making “racist and homophobic” comments.
During her time on the board, Lee successfully lobbied to remove the reciting of the Oath of Allegiance from meetings.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been at the forefront of fighting “awakened” ideologies on college campuses in his state.
In February, his government blocked high school teaching of a new Advanced Placement course on African-American studies, saying it violated state law and was historically inaccurate.
So far, at least 25 states have considered legislation or other steps to limit how race and racism can be taught, according to an analysis by Education Week.
Eight states, all Republican-led, have banned or restricted, by law or administrative action, the teaching of critical race theory or related concepts. The prohibitions relate largely to what can be taught within the classroom.