Will County Gazette

What should have been a session of learning for teachers hosted by the Community Unit School District, has seemed to have become a series of social media call-outs on different views of anti-racism and education.

This began after a teacher at Naperville Central High School contacted The Federalist and claimed that keynote speaker Dena Simmons told participants that “our education is based on a foundation of whiteness” and that Americans “are spiritually murdering” students.

According to The Federalist they reached out to the district for a transcript or video of the training but were told that “Simmons did not permit any recording or redistribution of her discussion that day.”

The Federalist published an article on the allegations and what had reportedly transpired during the Feb. 26 “Countywide Equity Institute” training.

They also acknowledged that “an individual who handles inquiries for Dena Simmons responded to an email preliminarily, (but) has not answered a follow-up with questions."

Although Simmons is actively posting her thoughts on Twitter.

“Last week, I did a keynote in a conservative district & caused my usual #goodtrouble,” Simons tweeted, The Federalist reported. “My inboxes are full of hate mail & threats. I’m unsettled, esp. after June’s racist attack at Yale. I had a whole article with fake facts attacking me. This work isn’t easy, but I’ll keep on.”

“Thanks to the many educators of @Naperville203 for drowning out the hate with love & support. I worry about your neighbors whose white fragility quickly turns to white rage & what that means for young people. I have to believe you’ll fight the fight towards #collectivejustice,” Simmons wrote.