An education watchdog has compiled new research that it says shows University of California, Berkeley guiding K-12 teachers to promote radicals such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the Black Panthers at taxpayer expense.
Released on Monday, Defending Education’s report is at this link.
The guidance was through a high school ethnic studies training program that focuses on highlighting various aspects of teaching.
Rhyen Staley, director of research for Defending Education, pointed to one 2024 event called “Teaching Histories of Anti-Imperialistic Solidarity.”
“It’s not just talking about individuals like Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, groups like Black Panther Party, but it is promoting them as heroes of a far-left socialist movement,” Staley told The Center Square in an exclusive interview. “That’s really the issue with ethnic studies on the whole, is that it is sold to the public as culture and history of minority groups. But really, it is a far-left political programming meant to train young children to become street activists for socialist and far-left causes.”
Defending Education did not have a cost estimate for taxpayers for UC Berkeley’s ethnic studies training program, but Staley noted, “I would love to see some sort of investigation from the U.S. Department of Education.”
Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof of UC Berkeley declined to comment for this story. Instead, Mogulof told The Center Square in an email that the university adheres to the highest standards of academia, resulting in success with graduates, college rankings and its affiliations with 63 Nobel Prize winners.
Programs by universities such as UC Berkeley have been documented regularly by Staley, a father with 15 years of experience as a public and private school teacher at various levels. Staley has also written op-eds for websites produced by media such as Fox News.
