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Consultant Dr. Darnisa Amante (pictured) allegedly told New York City public schools educators and staff that resources should be devoted to middle class black students over poor white ones

A consultant working with New York City public schools on its implicit bias training allegedly told educators and staff that resources should be devoted to middle class black students over poor white ones. 

A person present at the training in question told the Post that educational and racial equality strategist Dr. Darnisa Amante said:

'If I had a poor white male student and I had a middle-class black boy, I would actually put my equitable strategies and interventions into that middle class black boy because over the course of his lifetime he will have less access and less opportunities than that poor white boy. That’s what racial equity is.' 

DailyMail.com reached out to Dr. Amanta to confirm the quote and seek additional context, but did not immediately receive a reply.  

Dr. Amante is said to have made the statement during a workshop as part of New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza's mandatory anti-bias training program for all Department of Education (DOE) employees, according to the New York Post.

The comment was said to have been made during recent implicit bias training, as part of a $23 million program implemented by New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza (shown)

The $23million program has come under fire from some including New York City Parents Union President Mona Davids, who said she was appalled by Dr. Amante's directives, calling them 'completely absurd.' 

Davids took issue with this idea, saying the approach is racist in itself. 

Parent leaders are divided on the approach to eradicating racial bias and inequality. New York City Parents Union president Mona Davids (pictured) told the New York Post she was appalled by Dr. Amante's directives, calling them 'completely absurd'

'It’s completely absurd,' Davids said. 'They want to treat black students as victims and punish white students. That defeats the purpose of what bias awareness training should be.' 

DOE spokesperson Will Mantell said, 'Anti-bias and equity trainings are about creating high expectations and improving outcomes for all of our students. These trainings are used across the country because they help kids, and out-of-context quotes and anonymous allegations just distract from this important work.' 

Other parent leaders like Shino Tanikawa, a parent in Manhattan’s District 2 and member of Mayor de Blasio’s School Diversity Advisory Group, support the campaign began by Carranza.  

'We agree with the chancellor that those who do not see the value in this work are the ones who must look inward harder,' Tanikawa said.

'This work requires everyone, including people of color, to look inward and confront prejudices we all harbor. For some of us, this work also requires us to acknowledge the privilege bestowed upon us by the power structure. It creates a great deal of discomfort but that is the nature of the work. Disrupting the system is difficult and sometimes painful.' 

Dr. Amanta, who is a lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and CEO of The Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP), has previously said her organization 'works together to change mindsets around equity and dismantling systemic oppression and racism.'

DEEP has a $175,000 contract with the DOE's Office of Equity and Access. A separate $775,00 contract has been awarded to Glenn Singleton, another anti-bias consultant who is the author of 'Courageous Conversations.' Part of Singelton's program includes a critique of the 'white supremacy culture.'

Dr. Amanta (pictured), who is a lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and CEO of The Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP), has previously said her organization 'works together to change mindsets around equity and dismantling systemic oppression and racism.' DEEP has a $175,000 contract with the DOE's Office of Equity and Access

The training has reportedly been confusing for some, particularly white people, who feel they can't participate, the Post reported.

During a training meeting in Spring of last year, a Jewish superintendent said she was 'traumatized' after sharing a story about her grandparents talking about surviving the Holocaust in response to the question, 'What lived experience inspires you as a leader to fight for equity?'  

The woman said her grandmother told her of packing up her four children and hiding in the forest from Nazis as bombs fell in Lodz, Poland, and her grandfather witnessed the brutal killing of his mother and sister while spending close to six years in a labor and concentration camp.

'My grandparents taught me to understand the dangers of "targeted racism" or the exclusion of any group, and the importance of equity for all people. This is my core value as an educator,' she said at the meeting.

'At the break, I stood up and, to my surprise, I was verbally attacked by a black superintendent in front of my colleagues. She said "This is not about being Jewish! It’s about black and brown boys of color only. You better check yourself."'

'I was traumatized,' the Jewish superintendent said. 'It was like 1939 all over again. I couldn’t believe this could happen to me in NYC!'

A middle school teacher with children in the Manhattan school system called the program 'a catalyst for hate and division.'

'I have colleagues who won’t participate during "Courageous Conversations" workshops because they don’t feel safe,' she said. 

'My ancestors were enslaved and murdered because of their religion, I am now being forced to become "liberated" from my whiteness. I am being persecuted because of the circumstances of my birth. I was not aware that I needed to be liberated from how God created me.'

She added: 'I will never be brainwashed by Richard Carranza and his minions. I cannot support a schools chancellor who is implicitly biased against me and my children.' 

Since Carranza was hired in April of 2018, four white female executives have been reassigned to lesser positions or stripped of duties and have now said they plan to sue the city because Carranza has created 'an environment which is hostile toward whites,' the Post reported on May 18.

In a February training session, Dr. Amante addressed job security under Carranza's program. 

'You are going to have to acknowledge that you will have to step back. You might fear losing your job,' she said.

'When we get to true racial equity you will have to define new institutional policies. This might feel dangerous because you are going to have to talk about race daily.'

During his time working as deputy superintendent and later superintendent of San Francisco's Unified School District, Carranza was sued for allegedly creating a hostile work environment towards women, the New York Times reported.

That lawsuit reached a settlement outside of court.

DOE spokesperson Will Mantell said, 'Anti-bias and equity trainings are about creating high expectations and improving outcomes for all of our students. These trainings are used across the country because they help kids, and out-of-context quotes and anonymous allegations just distract from this important work.' Public School 33 in Chelsea, Manhattan is pictured