Brooklyn elementary school gives kids Black Lives Matter coloring books teaching them 'queer affirming', 'trans affirming' and 'restorative justice' for Black History Month

Parents of kids at a Brooklyn elementary school have expressed concern after their children were given 'politicized' Black Lives Matter coloring books for Black History Month which contained 'no black history'.

The workbooks given to all PS 321 William Penn Elementary students use drawings to promote 13 principles of Black Lives Movement at School, under titles including 'Queer Affirming,' 'Transgender Affirming,' and 'Restorative Justice'.

The title 'Empathy', is explained as 'engaging comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts'.

The phrase sparked concern from at least one parent of a fourth grader, whose grandparents fled Communist China before settling in the US, the Free Press reports.

 'Using the word comrades comes from Communist times,' said the 'shocked' parent told the outlet. 'They are using words that I don't think are appropriate for elementary school.'

Parents of kids at a Brooklyn elementary school have expressed concern after their children were given 'politicized' Black Lives Matter coloring books for Black History Month

The workbooks were given to students at  PS 321 William Penn Elementary students use drawings to promote 13 principles of Black Lives Movement at School, under titles including 'Queer Affirming,' ' Transgender Affirming,' and 'Restorative Justice'

The use of the workbook only came to light when students of the Kindergarten to fifth grade school were learning at home due to a snow day last week.

'This is classwork, not homework,' the parent said. 'If it weren't for the snow, we wouldn't have known.' 

Another parent who fled the Soviet Union stated the book reminds her,' of the songs we were made to sing as elementary school children. "Dismantling" and "comrade" and everything—it really reminds me of the word salad that was a part of those songs.'

The workbook lists BLM's national demands for schools, which include mandating black and ethnic studies, hiring and retaining black teachers, hiring counselors not cops and restorative justice.

It asks students to reflect on the 13 principles of BLM at School, which include lessons on the importance of diversity and the importance of treating others fairly.

But the tenets also promote 'radical' ideas about family structures and  'freeing ourselves from the tight grip of cis-heteropatriarchal assumptions'.

Under the principle 'Black Villages', the guidance states: 'We disrupt the narrow Western prescribed nuclear family structure expectation. 

'We support each other as extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, especially 'our' children. We believe that radical care belongs in the public sphere.'

But parents criticized the 'ideological' content of the workbooks and said it contained very little black history

The curriculum is based on 13 Guiding Principles which contain controversial statements which 'demonize' the nuclear family according to critics

Parents with familial links to communist states took exception to the use of the word 'comrade' throughout the curriculum

Under the heading of 'Trans Affirming', students were directed to read the book When Aidan Became a Brother about a girl transitioning and answer questions.

Several parents expressed concern that the materials contained very little black history and claimed they were the only lesson being offered for black history, other than a schoolwide quilt-making project featuring historic black figures.

One mother with two children at the school told the Free Press it doesn't 'into enough detail and there is no mention of specific people. It just feels very vague.'

She claimed her children could not name any civil rights activists or prominent black figures even after the school's Week of Action. 

The mom also took exception to the what she saw as an over-generalization in the book, adding: 'It's not like every black person believes in these principles.'

Brandy Shufutinksy, the director of education at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, who is black, agreed.

'There is nothing in these principles that talks about honoring greats in black American history. There is nothing in here that is actual scholarship. It doesn't speak to education. It speaks to ideology,' she told the Free Press.

She also said she was 'offended' the materials 'demonizes the nuclear family' by presenting it as white supremacy.

Under the heading of 'Trans Affirming', students were directed to read the book When Aidan Became a Brother about a girl transitioning and answer questions

The use of the workbook only came to light when students were learning at home due to a snow day last week

The curriculum was designed by Black Lives Matter at School, a network of Seattle teachers formed in 2017 with the aim of translating BLM principles into the education setting

The school states it is a 'vibrant and diverse' educational institution, 'practicing antiracism'. The school's demographic is majority white, with 33 percent minority enrollment, less than one percent of which is black according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

The curriculum was designed by Black Lives Matter at School, a network of Seattle teachers formed in 2017 with the aim of translating BLM principles into the education setting.

According to its website, the curriculum is now taught at a total of 50 schools across 21 states and six countries.

'National Black Lives Matter at School is an organization struggling for liberation and racial justice in education for Black youth, educators, and all youth of color.,' the group's website states.

'We work to address racial justice in education by promoting restorative justice, advocating for mental health support, increasing Black teaching staff, ending police presence in schools, and mandating Black history and ethnic studies.'

'Anytime parents have a concern about resources used in school, we encourage them to share their concerns to the school principal or district superintendent,' NYC's Department of Education told the Free Press.

DailyMail.com has contacted William Penn Elementary School and BLM at School for comment.