At least 30 school districts use children's book that teaches 'whiteness' is an evil contract with the devil

At least 30 public school districts from 15 different states teach about race using a children's book that claims "whiteness" is a contract with the devil, filmmaker and journalist Christopher Rufo reported this week.

What are the details?

The book, titled "Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness," was published in 2018 by Dottir Press and written by progressive children's author Anastasia Higginbotham.

It follows the story of a young white girl who wrestles with the issue of race after seeing a news report of a police officer shooting and killing an unarmed black man. The child tries to get answers from her white family members, but they either remain silent or make excuses. So she sets out on an educational quest herself, first discovering the harmful reality of white supremacy in America and then resolving to dismantle it.

Based solely on the plot, the book — though certainly hamfisted and partisan — might not be considered all that radical. But what's particularly troubling are the downright racist insinuations made about white people that are sprinkled throughout.

One such insinuation occurs toward the end of the book when the author writes, "Whiteness is a bad deal ... it always was," in response to a picture of the devil holding out "a contract binding you to whiteness."

In case there were any questions about the identity of the devilish character, the author added, "Dude, we can see your pointy tail."

According to the whiteness contract, signees are promised "stolen lands," "stolen riches," and "special favors." In return, whiteness gets to "mess endlessly with the lives of ... all fellow humans of color for the purpose of profit" — oh, and "your soul."

What else?

In the book's foreword, Higginbotham claims that she wrote the book to help her own white children "dismantle white supremacy."

Watch below as a YouTube personality reads through the entire book. The part about the whiteness contract with the devil comes up at the 11:23 mark.

Not My Idea - A Book About Whiteness - a picture book read by a dad - Seriously Read A Book!www.youtube.com

"You can be white without signing onto whiteness," the author claims.

Anything else?

According to Rufo, the school districts that have adopted the book into their curricula have done so by scheduling read-alouds in class, asking parents to read the book to their children, or including the book in recommended reading lists.

Rufo noted that in doing so, the school districts are trafficking "the noxious principles of race essentialism, collective guilt, and anti-whiteness" into classrooms.

He also pointed out that that the idea of "whiteness" as a form of "stolen land and riches" is derived from "one of critical race theory's founding texts, 'Whiteness As Property,' authored by Cheryl Harris in 1993."

"They've directly adapted CRT for elementary schools," he argued.