Why teaching about diversity in schools will be a big battle this year

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1. The Topic to Spotlight: The Fight of the Semester in School Districts

Those who promote teaching various subjects with a focus on diversity in schools and studying the impact of racism are gearing up for a new battle against conservative movements that want to ban such initiatives or eliminate readings that address these teachings, sometimes known as theory. Criticism of Race (CRT).

This time they may be better prepared than last year, as students, librarians, academics and other professionals are organizing protests and winning public office in school districts.

Why it matters

: About 25% of kindergarten through 12th grade students in the United States are Latino, according to the Census.

Half of the entire student body are Hispanic, Black, Asian, or of Native American or Indian descent.

• Given this growing diversity, several districts have asked school boards to make social studies classes more inclusive.

• While fights over the CRT in schools — though rarely a topic taught at the elementary level — have become so intense in recent years that there have been death threats against teachers in races to form school boards.

The Big Picture

: A number of conservative candidates critical of the CRT competed in the November midterm elections, and some were elected to school board seats.

People who support subjects that include issues of systemic racism were also voted for.

Protests in January at Great Oak High School in Temecula, California, against attempts to ban teaching on diversity and racism.

Watchara Phomicinda/The Press-Enterprise via Getty Images

In numbers

: In 1,530 school districts in 49 states, there were school board members who took a stand on CRT in January elections, illustrating just how prominent the issue has become nationally, according to the election analysis site Ballotpedia.

• Candidates for educational positions opposing CRT courses won nearly 28% of the seats up for grabs, according to that data.

  Almost 40% of those who support having CRT won.

• At least 14 states enacted legislation to limit the teaching of "divisive concepts," or CRTs, in 2021 and 2022, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Current situation

: Republican governors such as Ron DeSantis, of Florida, and Greg Abbott, of Texas, based part of their campaigns on the debate about what to teach in schools after passing measures such as "Don't say gay", which prohibits speaking about sexual orientation or gender identity.

DeSantis and Abbott won and have said they are studying more laws against the various teachings.

• Republican leaders in North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana and Missouri are pushing bills banning CRTs in schools.

• Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed this week after a series of executive orders were inaugurated.

  One of them is, she said, to prevent public schools from "indoctrinating" with CRT.

  She also prohibited the use of the term

  Latinx in government materials.

Yes, but

: In other states, such as New Mexico, which has the highest percentage of Hispanic population in the US, Democrats and supporters of teaching about racism have vowed to block any anti-CRT proposals.

• "These measures will not prosper," legislator Javier Martínez, nominated to preside over the state House of Representatives, told Axios Latino.

2. Who is missing from medical schools?

The proportion of Hispanic faculty in US medical schools has declined over the past three decades, even as they have become more diverse, according to a study published in December in the

.

Why it matters

: Latinos are about 19% of the population, but only 3.4% of the faculty in medical schools in 2021, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

• Greater diversity in the medical field is particularly important because studies show that many black and Latino patients tend to distrust doctors, most of whom are non-Hispanic white.

• Many of those patients say that many health professionals dismiss their concerns or treat them unfairly.

In Numbers

: The study, conducted by researchers at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Rochester, found that the representation ratio of Hispanic faculty—their participation in medical schools in proportion to their participation in the total population of the United States—dropped by averaged 1.7% each year from 1990 to 2019.

• The average number of black faculty in medical schools rose 0.5% each year over the same period, and that of Asians by 1.6%.

• There were no changes for non-Hispanic white faculty.

Yes, but:

The percentage of Latino students enrolling in medical school last year grew by four percentage points, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

• Latinos now represent 12% of all students.

3. The man behind historical showcases

Manny Urquizo, a Peruvian who immigrated to New Jersey when he was seven, is now responsible for some of New York's most iconic decorations.

Details

: Urquizo was named head of Macy's window and window program two years ago, where he oversees the windows of the brand's flagship store.

• Urquizo says he spends almost nine months of the year planning the window displays for the Christmas season.

  That means that now that the designs set for the holidays of 2022 will change, very soon the team will already be working on this year's.

This is how this Latino designer became the person in charge of the windows of Macy's in New York

Dec 21, 202202:08

Big Picture

: Retailers like Macy's have slowly diversified who does corporate-level jobs, especially in the last couple of years.

But there are still considerable gaps.

• Racially and ethnically diverse people held 13% of executive-level positions in retail in 2019, according to a 2021 report from McKinsey & Company.

4. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean

1. A Brazilian judge ordered

the arrest of Anderson Torres, a former security chief in the capital, accused of sabotaging security operations in Brasilia before the attacks on Congress, the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace on Sunday.

• Torres, who was in Florida when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the buildings, was fired that same day.

• Speaking on the accusations, he said he has always acted "ethically and legally" and promised to return to Brazil.

They hold vigil for 40 people who died during violent demonstrations in Peru

Jan 11, 202300:34

2. The Public Ministry of Peru

opened a criminal investigation into the government's response to the protests that have left 47 dead for a month.

• The protesters demand that the new president, Dina Boluarte, resign and that there be elections immediately, in rejection of the fact that former president Pedro Castillo was removed by Congress (after he tried to dissolve the legislative body) and is now under arrest.

Pachanga Thursday

It's impressive: Carlota Ortiz Monasterio, an art historian and curator from Mexico City, has just opened her first institutional and international art exhibition.

Photographic background illustration by Axios Visuals.

Photo courtesy of Carlota Ortiz Monasterio

• It is located in the Casa de México en España, located in Madrid, and presents the works of 14 artists from different parts of Mexico.

  He tells us that the goal is to celebrate the diversity of contemporary Mexican art.

• The exhibition began on December 15 and ends on February 12.

  And, he tells us, more than 900 people turned out on opening night alone.

  Congratulations!

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We return on Tuesday.

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