BELLEVUE, Wash. — In the middle of the Bellevue School District race is a debate over equity after two district candidate's e-mails surfaced with controversial statements on both race and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Faye Yang is running for Bellevue School District Position 3 against Joyce Shui. In an e-mail from Yang to the Bellevue School District in March 2018, Yang expressed her concern about a district equity program.
Yang wrote in the email, "It seems that tutoring, academic support, and targeted graduation support will mainly apply to certain ethnic groups for successful graduation and other areas. We find this type of program non-viable on several different levels."
In the next paragraph, she references the controversial book "The Bell Curve" by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray. The book analyzes IQ and race.
Yang's email continued, "With whites being 38% of students, and Asians being another 38% of students; the 10% high school graduation failure rates of both, suggests a yearly failure rate of 77 Asians and 76 whites from high school...On the other hand, blacks are only 2.5% and Latinos are 11% of BSD student body. Their graduation failure rates are predictably higher at about 25%, most likely related to the immovable element of genetic disparity between the races when it comes to IQ scores."
On Monday, Yang told KING 5 the e-mail was intended to protect kids of all racial backgrounds.
"The Bell Curve I was using was because I believe Bellevue School District made an absurd assumption. The resources having to be allocated based on race, I think that was absurd. So I then cited a ridiculous study as a counter to what they were doing," said Yang.
Yang said she doesn't believe there is a genetic disparity between race when it comes to IQ and regrets using the example.
Gregg Smith is running for Bellevue School District Position 5 against Jane Aras. In September 2020, Smith sent an e-mail to the principal of Eastgate Elementary School asking for the removal of a Black Lives Matter poster.
"It’s unfortunate that the BLM organization has changed from its original charter/purpose of creating equality and equity for African Americans to what it is now, a highly political special interest group engaged in rioting, violence, a heightened level of crime/looting, vandalism & the destruction of property, domestic terrorism and an ever increasing list of outrageous demands to both our schools as well as our government. None of this has a place in our schools and our children should be protected from this," said Smith in the e-mail chain.
In March 2021, documents show Smith e-mailed the principal of a Bellevue elementary school to voice comments on a Power Point presentation shown at a townhall. Smith said the presentation, "proclaimed all white people as being inherently racist and essentially at the root of racial problems in this country. This comes straight out of CRT(critical race theory) and BLM(Black Lives Matter)."
Smith refused to speak with KING 5 on camera. But over the phone, he wouldn't say whether or not he supports critical race theory. Instead, he called it confusion and said through campaigning, he has learned people have different definitions for the term. For Smith, critical race theory means equality. He said there should be a discussion to define the term on a district level.
Both Yang and Smith tell KING 5 people have taken their comments out of context and say the race for the Bellevue School Board positions have been divisive.
They both support the district's current equity statement, Policy No. 0130, "All students have an inherent right to an equitable, accessible, inclusive, and culturally responsive learning environment. The District values students’ diverse ideas and contributions, and believes that students’ identities and backgrounds should actively contribute to their successful academic outcomes and that of their peers. Diversity is a core strength of our District and requires that we work systemically to eliminate racial inequalities and inequities for all marginalized students."
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