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California High Schools are Adding Hundreds of Ethnic Studies Classes. Are Teachers Prepared?

Published

4 years ago

April 13, 2023

By Megan Tagami
CalMatters

California high school students will be required to pass an ethnic studies class to graduate, starting with the class of 2030. That means the state needs lots of new ethnic studies teachers. But do educators need a special credential to teach ethnic studies? Some ethnic studies advocates say allowing any social science teacher to instruct the subject will lead to watered down and ineffective courses, while school districts argue that flexibility is important if they’re going to fill the roles.

On a rainy Friday afternoon at Santa Monica High School, ethnic studies teacher Marisa Silvestri introduced her class to the rap song “Kenji.” As singer Mike Shinoda narrated his family’s experiences in the Japanese American incarceration camps of World War II, Silvestri’s class fell silent. After the last bars of music filled the room, the class set to work analyzing the song’s lyrics, agreeing that Shinoda humanized a historical event some students previously knew little about.

Now in her second year of teaching ethnic studies, Silvestri said she has gone through several iterations of her curriculum – and she expects more changes to come in the future. She has studied California’s ethnic studies model curriculum, attended workshops at local universities and sought the advice of ethnic studies teachers from other school districts.

But Silvestri has never received a teaching credential in ethnic studies. Whether that’s important or not is a question California officials are weighing now that the state has become the first in the nation to require that high school students take at least one semester of ethnic studies before graduation.

California needs more ethnic studies teachers, quickly. Under the new law, passed in 2021, high schools must begin offering ethnic studies courses in the 2025-26 school year, and students in the class of 2030 will be the first ones subject to the graduation requirement. As many high schools expand their course offerings ahead of schedule, universities are grappling with how to best prepare the next generation of teachers.

Some advocates and educators have called for the creation of a specific ethnic studies credential authorizing educators to teach the relatively new and politically fraught subject in middle and high schools. They say that without such a credential, the state risks having low-quality classes that can do more harm than good. But others worry that an additional requirement may make it even harder for the schools to find teachers for the subject.

State regulations allow teachers with a social science credential to teach ethnic studies, said Jonathon Howard, government relations manager for California’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing. However, when ethnic studies is combined with other subjects, such as reading or art, teachers from other subject areas are also eligible.

“We have all these teachers who have great hearts, who are really social justice minded, who really want to do ethnic studies because they’re thinking about themselves as, ‘I’m a culturally responsive teacher,’” said Theresa Montano, a professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at Cal State Northridge. “But that isn’t enough to give you the knowledge you need.”

Ideally, Montano said, teachers should have an undergraduate degree in ethnic studies, plus an ethnic studies credential that would show them how to translate their expertise into classroom curriculum.

Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo agrees. In February, she introduced legislation requiring the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to begin creating an ethnic studies credential by 2025.

“The social science credential program does not cover ethnic studies sufficiently,” Carrillo, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said by email. “We maintain that at the present time there is no existing credential that sufficiently covers the depth and breadth of the multidisciplinary nature of Ethnic Studies.”

The commission would need authorization from the Legislature to begin developing a new credential, Howard said.

However, some school districts say the current flexibility around teacher requirements has worked to their benefit, allowing them to expand their ethnic studies course offerings ahead of schedule.

Santa Rosa City Schools has been offering ethnic studies courses since 2020 and currently requires students to take a full year of the subject before graduation. Because several classes, from English to dance, incorporate ethnic studies into the course material, all teachers are eligible to teach the subject, said Tim Zalunardo, the executive director of educational services. He added that this approach makes it easier for the school to recruit teachers who are excited and willing to teach ethnic studies.

“It provides flexibility on both the students and on the school’s course offerings,” Zalunardo said.

A controversial subject

Debates around ethnic studies are nothing new.

Ethnic studies began at San Francisco State University in the late 1960s as students pushed for the creation of classes dedicated to studying the histories and cultures of people of color. As the subject gained momentum – and criticism – across the nation, advocates began to push for its inclusion in K-12 schools.

In 2021, after two years of drafting and heated debate, the State Board of Education adopted an ethnic studies model curriculum that primarily focuses on the untold “histories, cultures, struggles, and contributions” of Black, Latino, Native American and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Although districts are not required to use the curriculum, it provides schools with guidance on how to implement the subject and offers sample lessons.

Later that year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new graduation requirement into law, even as parents and school board members denounced ethnic studies in Orange County and other areas of the state. Future teachers still remain divided on the necessity of the subject.

Christine Soliva, a graduate student in UC Riverside’s teacher education program, said some of her peers critiqued an ethnic studies class they took in the fall, challenging the importance of incorporating an ethnic studies framework into their math or science courses. She added that while she would pursue an ethnic studies credential if it were available, she is unsure if other teacher candidates would be equally receptive.

“It really is just like, are educators willing to take that next step to be able to think outside the box and challenge themselves and their ideals to look at curriculum and content through an ethnic studies lens?” Soliva said.

Former Assemblymember Jose Medina, who authored the legislation requiring ethnic studies in high schools, said he does not believe the controversy around the subject will prevent state leaders from having necessary conversations about how to best prepare teachers.

“I think, despite the controversy, the state will be well prepared to have teachers in place by the time of the requirement,” he said.

But not everyone shares Medina’s optimism.

As hundreds of high schools begin rolling out new courses in the coming years, the state may face a shortage of ethnic studies teachers, said Lange Luntao, the director of external relations at The Education Trust-West, a nonprofit that advocates for educational equity. Ethnic studies graduation requirements are already in effect at some of the state’s large school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, San Diego Unified and Fresno Unified.

“I think one fear is that we’re going to open up enrollment for ethnic studies classes, and not have enough educators who have experience with this content,” he said.

Preparing future teachers

In the absence of an ethnic studies credential, California’s universities have developed a range of programs preparing students for teaching the subject. Some offer classes on ethnic studies teaching methods and curriculum development, while others place students in ethnic studies classrooms to gain firsthand experience.

At UC Riverside, students earning their teaching credential can pursue an ethnic studies pathway made up of elective courses dedicated to ethnic studies teaching methods and curriculum.

Karl Molina, a UC Riverside master’s student earning his social sciences credential through the program, works as a student teacher of high school economics, sociology and government in the Riverside Unified School District. Earlier in the school year, Molina introduced a sociology lesson named after rapper Tupac Shakur’s poem, The Rose That Grew from Concrete. He instructed his students to analyze Shakur’s poem and reflect on how the concepts of social and familial capital applied to their own lives. In discussions, students decided that capital was more than monetary wealth – it included the languages, cultures and aspirations that shaped their lives, Molina said.

“They were really, really into it,” Molina said. “I was really excited to get going and move forward.”

But as a student teacher, Molina has limited control over the course curriculum and had to cut his lesson short. If he were teaching in an ethnic studies classroom as part of a formal ethnic studies credentialing program, he said, he might have had more freedom to pursue it.

“We’re not indoctrinating these students,” Molina said. “We’re just telling them, ‘You have so much wealth. Here’s where your wealth is, and here’s what it does for you.’”

At San Jose State University, some students already have the opportunity to see ethnic studies taught in real time through an Ethnic Studies Residency Program that places students into an ethnic studies classroom for a full academic year.

In his residency at Evergreen Valley High School, Eduardo Zamora instructs his students to partner up, facing one another in concentric circles. He first asks students to answer a silly icebreaker – example: “Would you rather be in the history books or gossip magazines?” – before moving onto questions about recent lessons. In one instance, he asked students to share one-minute reflections on the documentary Immigration Nation and how it relates to their discussion on Central American migration and racism in the United States. The circles rotate so students talk to a new partner each time.

“They’re moving, they’re talking and it’s educational,” said Zamora, a student in San Jose State University’s teacher education program who is pursuing a social sciences credential.

He said he hopes to bring the same activity into his own ethnic studies classroom one day, adding that his residency has shown him the importance of building community and trust among his students.

Yet, while Zamora believes his residency program is preparing him well, he said an ethnic studies credential may be necessary for a widespread rollout of ethnic studies courses. Currently, San Jose State University’s residency program only takes three to four students a year.

“One of the students came up to us saying that our class was very diverse, bringing in perspectives of people of color. And then she mentioned that her history teacher … said it’s easier to teach history just through ‘the normal way,’ I guess the Eurocentric way,” Zamora said. “So I think a specific ethnic studies credential is probably needed.”

Training the current workforce

As universities shape the next generation of ethnic studies teachers, districts are left with the challenge of preparing their current workforce to teach the subject.

In Elk Grove Unified School District, high schools have offered ethnic studies courses since 2020. But Robyn Rodriguez, a parent in the district and former Asian American Studies professor at UC Davis, said she’s concerned that Sacramento-area schools may be placing social studies teachers in ethnic studies classrooms without adequate preparation for the subject.

“You either see very watered down versions of ethnic studies, or ethnic studies being very nominally implemented,” she said.

Rodriguez’s son is only in second grade, but she said she is already supplementing his language arts curriculum with other reading because the texts assigned were not from diverse authors. As for what ethnic studies might look like by the time her son reaches high school, Rodriguez said, “I’m absolutely worried.”

Silvestri, the Santa Monica High School teacher, said she is torn about the necessity of an ethnic studies credential, adding that she would not want it to prevent interested and passionate teachers from teaching the subject. However, she said, the credential could help streamline the professional development opportunities she has needed to seek out independently over the past few years.

The University of California’s California History-Social Science Project works to support people like Silvestri who are teaching ethnic studies for the first time. Dominique Williams, the project’s ethnic studies coordinator, offers workshops educating teachers about the history of ethnic studies instruction and shows them how they can teach historical narratives from new perspectives.

Williams draws on her own experience transitioning from teaching English and social studies to ethnic studies in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

“In hindsight, I think that there is more training that I could have had, that I’m now trying to make sure that teachers are getting as they start their own journeys,” Williams said.

As the debate surrounding ethnic studies teacher preparation continues, Jayla Johnson-Lake, a sophomore at Santa Monica High School, said a passion for teaching is just as important as any credential. Johnson-Lake said Silvestri’s ethnic studies class has surpassed her expectations, introducing her to new facts, such as the details of Japanese internment and how the Black Codes worked to restrict Black people’s rights in the post-Civil War era.

“I believe it’s important to have a teacher who wants to teach the class,” Johnson-Lake said.

The post California High Schools are Adding Hundreds of Ethnic Studies Classes. Are Teachers Prepared? first appeared on Post News Group. This article originally appeared in Post News Group.

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Together Building Back Better

AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEWS AND ISSUES – DALLAS — For more than 57 years, the SHAPE Community Center has served as a cornerstone of Houston’s Third Ward, providing essential programs based on principles of unity and collective responsibility. Known as “The United Nations of The ‘Hood,” the center recently faced its most difficult challenge following a devastating electrical fire at the Nia Becnel Family Center.

Published

14 hours ago

October 27, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Image Credit: Kalimah Muhammad — Credit: Kalimah Muhammad

I’m going through the most challenging experience of my life with SHAPE,” said Deloyd Parker. He has served as the executive director of the historic SHAPE Community Center for over 57 years and is still energetic and driven by the love of serving the people. Known as “The United Nations of The ‘Hood,” SHAPE is a precious cornerstone of Houston’s Third Ward, serving generations of families through programs and activities, with emphasis on Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work & Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith.

January 2027 will mark two years since a devastating electrical fire took place at SHAPE’s Nia Becnel Family Center, located at 3815 Live Oak. The building and priceless historical items were significantly damaged and lost. That included the “Wall of Fame” photo collection that adorned the interior walls. Nedzra Ward, President of the Board of Directors, shared how the fi rst few days aft er the fire were very trying for everyone who loved SHAPE and those who visited the sacred grounds were in shock and silence. “We knew we had to start working to get things back up,” said Ms. Ward who has been apart of SHAPE’s staff and board for decades. In the aftermath, Ms. Ward called the insurance company and then reached out to Charles Cave to be the lead project manager. They also reached out to engineers Brian Smith, Barbara Smith and Frank Brown, and other experts to formulate the group known as Together Building Back Better (TBBB).

The team met weekly at the Harambee Admin Building located at 3903 Almeda Rd. And to continue serving the people, Mr. Parker and team worked to get that building certified and operational, especially for the children. “Deloyd never stopped. He was the driving force for everything. He made sure that someone was taking care of licenses and that this place was being refigured. His whole goal was to have these kids back and in a safe environment,” said Ms. Ward. “We have served the people for 57 years and as a result of serving the people, the people are coming through,” said Mr. Parker. “It’s going to take more than a fi re to put us out.

Volunteers from the community stepped up to help at Harambee Admin Building. Many programs, events and activities have resumed including the weekly Elders Institute of Wisdom and enrollment is now open for the 2026-2027 After School Enrichment Program. Soft opening scheduled for November The desire was to reopen the gutted Live Oak location within a year but Ms. Ward and Mr. Cave described the many challenges SHAPE has faced in this rebuilding effort. The insurance did not cover everything that’s needed and tariffs

The post TOGETHER BUILDING BACK BETTER appeared first on African American News and Issues.

Based on reporting by African-American News and Issues – Dallas.

Black Press

Homecoming Ends in Gunfire Outside FAMU: 12 Hurt, Six of Them Children

SAN FRANCISCO SUN REPORTER — Twelve people were injured, including six children, after gunfire erupted near Florida A&M University’s Bragg Memorial Stadium following a homecoming celebration on Saturday night. Authorities report that the shooting stemmed from a dispute between individuals who knew each other, leaving eleven victims with gunshot wounds and one with an ankle injury.

Published

14 hours ago

October 27, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Tallahassee, FL - September 2, 2024: Florida A&M University football, Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium — Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA.

Twelve people were hurt, six of them children, when gunfire broke out near Florida A&M’s stadium as homecoming crowds headed home Saturday night. A 15-year-old has been charged.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Homecoming is supposed to be the one weekend everybody comes back. Grandmothers in orange and green. Alumni who haven’t seen each other in twenty years. Kids on shoulders watching the band.

Saturday night, it ended in gunfire.

Twelve people were hurt in a shooting near Perry and Manatee streets, behind Florida A&M University’s Bragg Memorial Stadium, around 8 p.m. as crowds left the homecoming celebration, according to News4JAX. Eleven were shot. A twelfth hurt an ankle running from the gunfire. Six of the injured are children, including an 11-year-old.

By Sunday, five had been released from the hospital and six were still being treated, one in critical condition, CBS News reported. No one was killed.

What police say

A fight broke out first, police said, among people who knew each other. Then somebody started shooting. None of the people hit appear to have been the intended targets.

A 15-year-old was arrested and charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent, according to CBS News. Police said more arrests are possible. The Sun-Reporter does not name minors charged with crimes.

“What should have been a weekend of celebration in our community instead became a night of fear and violence,” Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said.

FAMU President Marva Johnson said she shares in the “outrage and profound sadness at the senseless and despicable shooting.” The university said the shooting happened near campus and that the campus remained safe.

Rattlers head football coach Quinn Gray put it plainest.

“No one should leave our celebration in an ambulance,” he wrote, “and no child should ever be caught in gunfire.”

Why it lands here

Homecoming at a historically Black college is a family reunion for the whole Black diaspora, and the Bay Area sends its share. Alumni, parents of students, kids who’ve already got their acceptance letters in mind. When something like this happens in Tallahassee, it happens to people we know.

Police are asking anyone with information or video to contact the Tallahassee Police Department.

Sources: CBS News and News4JAX. Photo: Bragg Memorial Stadium at Florida A&M University. Photo by Michael Rivera via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Based on reporting by San Francisco Sun Reporter.

Black History

COMMENTARY: Bring on the Positive Calvary

SEATTLE MEDIUM — Dr. E. Faye Williams addresses the exhaustion many Americans feel following two years of political hostility, corruption, and systemic bigotry.

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14 hours ago

October 27, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

(Trice Edney Wire)—Like Amy Acton, candidate for Governor in Ohio and Dr. Abdul El-sayed for U.S. Senate in Michigan, the Positive Calvary really is coming soon! Aren’t we all tired of the negative past two years we’ve experienced in the U.S.? Aren’t we tired of the atrocious accusations being thrown around, the filthy language, lies, unending corruption, hatred, racism, sexism, Islamophobia, and bigotry of all kinds. This election season has been worse than ever! I’m sick and tired of women’s names being dragged through the mud—as mine, and others have been out of hate and jealousy. I’m tired of so many people being reluctant to support women. Let’s be the ones to stop this

I’m ready to hear in detail what candidates are ready to do to win the upcoming elections and give help to the people in need—and there are a lot of things from which to choose!

My prayer is that candidates will stop bickering and just tell us what they’re planning to do to help to bring us out of this abysmal situation we’re in now. Instead of spending so much time being shocked by what the highest elected man in the land is saying and doing, let’s concentrate on how to put up guard rails for him when we vote We already know more than enough about what he has said and done. Let’s pledge to elect leaders who’ve shown they care about the people they campaign to represent. There are a lot of good candidates out there who are being overshadowed by the bickering

Let’s not leave everything to elected leaders. As community activists, Get Out the Vote workers, religious leaders and all the good people around us. Show the way to a better nation to all around us. Let’s concentrate on what we are going to do to help people in need. Let’s work on plans to make their lives better. Let’s pledge to get along with our neighbors at home, and our neighbors in Canada, our friends in Ukraine and stop being led by someone who hangs out with those set on disrupting our system of democracy. Ignore the wrecking balls who are more interested in tearing down monuments and praising themselves, supporting evil with lies and unbelievable positions on good people, those who are destroying our military and using government and our taxes on evil things.

Let’s call out corruption, but don’t participate in it. Let us ignore lies about good candidates at all levels. Let’s support the left out. Jamie Davis, a Black man in Louisiana, is a leading candidate for the U.S. Senate. We don’t have to live in Louisiana or be a Democrat or a farmer to support him when you see how much trouble the person running against him is dealing with something people don’t want.

We can vote across party lines when that candidate has expressed the good things she/he will work for when elected. Never mind that in this case she has an R after her name. I know Monique Appeaning in Louisiana who worked in my campaign for Congress when she was a very young woman. I missed winning by a few votes to become the first Black woman to represent my home state in Congress. Forty years later, there has still been no Black woman in the Louisiana delegation. Monique has chosen to pick up the challenge and give my hope life so that other young Black women can have hope in refusing to allow any good thing to be beyond their reach

You know right from wrong, so don’t be afraid to vote for what’s right in a few days. Always promote good. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Amy Acton deserve your vote if you are in Ohio or Michigan. Yes, you know right from wrong, so do what’s right wherever you are.

Based on reporting by Seattle Medium.

Black History

Retirement Triggers Doctor to Pen Book for Young Audience

THE CHAMPION NEWSPAPER — After more than 35 years as a pediatric surgeon, Dr. Deborah Burton has transitioned from the operating room to the world of young adult literature. Writing under the pen name MD Burton, the retired Marietta physician recently released her debut sci-fi fantasy mystery novel, Invisible Cages: The Alynthia Quest.

Published

14 hours ago

October 27, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Retirement Triggers Doctor to Pen Book for Young Audience

After more than 35 years as a pediatric surgeon, Deborah Burton retired but didn’t give up one of the most rewarding aspects of her career—connecting with young people.

Burton used writing and her imagination to create a young adult sci-fi fantasy mystery novel, Invisible Cages: The Alynthia Quest, under the pen name MD Burton. Her debut novel launched in early October, and Burton said she’s been delighted with the responses so far.

The novel follows Jade Babington who leads a team of resourceful friends as they join an elite organization to crack a spy network and embark on a high-tech adventure to find answers. Her quest is complicated by powers that surge through her body, and to be successful, she needs to understand her family roots, embrace her emerging talents, and step into her legacy, according to a press release.

Through the book, readers are introduced to a range of characters who work in STEM and healthcare careers which Burton hopes will inspire readers to consider pursuing careers in some of those areas.

Burton moved to Dunwoody in 1995 and ran a successful pediatric ear, nose, and throat practice in Marietta. She retired in 2021 but missed the educational moments she shared with her young patients.

“I talk to kids all the time,” said Burton, adding that she likes to share insight into the many career paths in healthcare. “I love to educate and empower.”

She said she worked on the book for five years, researching coding, microchips, and satellites.

“It was a learning journey,” she remarked.

The book explores themes of self-acceptance, girl empowerment through strong female characters, the importance of family, and STEM exposure, states the press release. Set on a fictional health complex, the novel introduces readers to healthcare careers, as well as engineering and computer science.

The author also had to delve into unique aspects of her main character.

“Jade has powers and sees auras,” she explained. “So I spent a good amount of time learning about auras, telepathy and magical realism.”

In addition, to providing insight to STEM and healthcare careers, Burton hopes the books help her teen female readers dealing with insecurities to better understand and appreciate what makes them unique and the power they possess. She also hopes it will build self-confidence.

“You have to accept who you are,” she said. “Whatever your differences are, everybody’s got them, embrace them.”

Burton said she originally planned the book to be a seven-part series but on the advice of her edit changed it to four parts.

“I know what my end goal is,” said Burton noting that she’s included Easter eggs in the first book to entice readers throughout the reading process and has a completed outline for the other books in the series. After completing an audiobook of Invisible Cages: The Alynthia Quest by the end of the year, Burton plans to start writing the next book in 2027.

On Nov. 15, a book signing is scheduled at the Politan Row food hall in Dunwoody.

The self-published book is available in eBook, paperback, and hardback formats, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.

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Based on reporting by The Champion Newspaper.

Black Press

Fatigue, Bloating, and Inflammation: Spotting the Subtle Signs of MASLD

THE BLACK CHRONICLE — Many individuals mistakenly believe that liver disease is exclusively the result of heavy alcohol consumption, causing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease to frequently go undiagnosed. This condition occurs when excess fat accumulates in the liver, leading to unchecked inflammation and potential long-term damage.

Published

14 hours ago

October 27, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Fatigue, Bloating, and Inflammation: Spotting the Subtle Signs of MASLD

Because many people falsely assume liver disease is strictly caused by heavy alcohol use, life-threatening conditions like MASLD frequently go undiagnosed until major damage occurs. When excess fat builds up in the liver, unchecked inflammation […]

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The post Fatigue, Bloating, And Inflammation: Spotting The Subtle Signs Of MASLD appeared first on The Black Chronicle.

Based on reporting by The Black Chronicle.

Black History

Metro Detroit Faith Leaders Call out Islamophobia in Michigan Senate Race

MICHIGAN CHRONICLE — Faith leaders from diverse religious backgrounds gathered Thursday at the downtown Detroit United Methodist Church to denounce the rise of Islamophobic rhetoric in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. Clergy members, including representatives from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions, expressed concern over religious identity being used as a weapon in the final weeks before the general election.

Published

14 hours ago

October 27, 2026

BlackPressUSA Newswire

Metro Detroit faith leaders stand behind Rev. Paul Perez of the United Methodist Church downtown Detroit. Photo Samuel Robinson — Photo Samuel Robinson

Faith leaders of different religions came together Thursday afternoon inside the downtown Detroit United Methodist Church to oppose Islamophobic rhetoric that’s ramped up ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

“In the final weeks of Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, we have watched religious identity used as a weapon,” said Rev. Paul Perez, who leads the downtown Detroit church.

Perez and other faith leaders said at the press conference they weren’t endorsing a candidate, but compassion and understanding as Michigan voters decide who to send to the U.S. Senate.

Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed would be the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Senate. His identity is being used by supporters of Rogers’ campaign to cast doubt on his loyalty to the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this month, El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers agreed with a social media post calling El-Sayed a terrorist.

“The charge of dual loyalty has been thrown at Jews for generations,” says Rabbi Alana Alpert, of Ferndale’s Congregation T’chiyah. “When we hear it aimed at our Muslim neighbors we recognize it. And we will not let it be used against anyone.”

At an El-Sayed event Thursday at the Wayne State Fieldhouse, an ant-Muslim activist Cam Higby interrupted his rally as El-Sayed began his remarks.

“Why do you take money from members of the Muslim Brotherhood?” Higby shouted before being escorted out of the gymnasium.

TV and digital ads echo the charge against El-Sayed that he is connected to designated terrorist organizations, which he has denied. He has disavowed and condemned Hamas, the military group controlling Gaza, and the Muslim Brotherhood, a decentralized movement with a long history in Egypt.

While tweets from his half-sister suggest she and her mother had sympathetic attitudes toward the organization, no evidence has been produced that points to El-Sayed being affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

In an interview with Michigan Chronicle, Higby said he doesn’t believe Muslims belong in America. That sentiment is often found in online replies and comments from accounts run by conservative Christians.

sd Democratic voters have also expressed skepticism about El-Sayed’s faith.

Ahead of the primary election, Farmington Hills School Board member Angie Smith caused an uproar online after she told Michigan Chronicle she wasn’t sure whether El-Sayed could represent everybody.

“Don’t come out speaking only Arabic; don’t come out with your Arabic music on; represent everyone,” Smith said.

She later apologized for the comments.

At Thursday’s press conference, Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk of Warren’s Islamic Organization of North America, shared a story about how he eventually earned the trust of new neighbors who feared his congregation was bringing Sharia law when they arrived.

“When a person’s faith is treated as evidence for disloyalty, every Muslim family hears that message. Our children hear it. They come home from school and ask, ‘Are we really American?,’” Elturk said. I want to answer them today from this pulpit surrounded by our Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters, yes, we are Americans. Yes, we are Americans. Our faith is protected by the same Constitution that protects every other faith.”

Pastor Louis Forsythe II of Detroit’s Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, said that liberation of Christians, Jewish and Muslims are tied together.

“The Black church knows what it means to have our loyalty questioned,” Forsythe said. “We know what it means to be told we are less than full citizens. We are called un-American for demanding the rights of the Constitution promised us.

“Our faith carried us through that, and it was the faith of others standing beside us that helped bend this nation toward justice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from a Birmingham jail that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Based on reporting by Michigan Chronicle.