Who is Samia Shoman? Educator says 'privileged White voices' should not speak on ethnic studies
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA: Samia Shoman, a district administrator involved in curriculum oversight, demanded that "privileged White voices" be dissuaded from speaking out against a far-Left ethnic studies curriculum. As manager of English Learners and Academic Support Programs, Shoman is responsible for the curriculum at the San Mateo Union High School district.
Shoman also had a problem with the concept of "multiple perspectives" in the ethnic studies curriculum. She called for an even more extreme version of the scheduled Black Lives Matter curriculum lesson. Zachor Legal got an email through a public records request, dated March 2021, as per the New York Post.
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“We urge the [state board of education] not to give in to the pressures and influences of political lobbyists, racist & privileged white voices, and individuals,” Shoman said, adding, "The proposed revisions privileges terms like ‘multiple perspectives’, ‘diversity’, ‘all students’ and ‘broad range of groups’ undermining the primary focus on the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) communities that compose over 80 percent of California’s student population.” She continued, "[E]ven in the African American lesson on the Black Lives Matter movement, which is a direct response white supremacy fails to call out and analyze racism and systemic oppression."
Shoman, a supporter of the Palestinian cause, also denounced a curriculum modification that would incorporate Jewish American Studies. She remarked that putting Jews in ethnic studies under the AAPI umbrella was "grossly inaccurate, and has no institutional history."
“The position taken by Shamia Shoman and others to treat Jews, the true indigenous people of the land of Israel, as ‘white’ occupiers and colonists is utterly at odds with history and facts," said Marc Greendorfer of Zachor Legal. He continued by calling the ethnic studies program in California "indoctrination," as reported by the New York Post. “While the idea of ensuring students are taught about the history of all ethnicities is one we support, we have found that these programs are anything but educational. Instead, they are political indoctrination by extremists who are working to institutionalize bigotry and hate in education,” Greendorfer added.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, district authorities said, “Dr. Shoman… was appointed and served on the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Advisory Committee… She and her fellow committee members wrote to the California State Board of Education in their roles as members of this Committee to express their opinions.”
The authorities continued, “In their letter, the committee did not call for the erasure of Israel, Jews, Jewish perspective or Jewish history in the curriculum. They do suggest that these topics do not belong under the umbrella of Asian American and Pacific Islander History. Further, the group does not criticize multiple perspectives but rather urges the Board of Education to center BIPOC voices through this curriculum.”