{"id":1441408,"date":"2022-04-16T09:59:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-16T13:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1441408"},"modified":"2022-04-16T09:59:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-16T13:59:44","slug":"critical-race-yoga-wisconsin-library-defends-meditative-dance-class-intended-for-senior-racial-minorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/critical-race-yoga-wisconsin-library-defends-meditative-dance-class-intended-for-senior-racial-minorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Race Yoga? Wisconsin Library Defends Meditative Dance Class Intended For Senior Racial Minorities"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcritical-race-yoga-wisconsin-library-defends-meditative-dance-class-intended-for-senior-racial-minorities%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1441408&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/04\/Madison-Wisconsin.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Officials with the public library system in Madison, Wisconsin, are defending an upcoming \u201cmovement and mediation class\u201d that the library says is \u201cintended\u201d for elder racial minorities in the community. Critics of the class say that the program runs afoul of Wisconsin\u2019s public accommodation law by making it clear the program is meant for residents who identify as \u201cblack, indigenous or people of color.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Starting Friday, May 6, Goodman South Library and South Madison Library in the Badger State\u2019s capital city will begin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.madisonpubliclibrary.org\/new\/movement-meditation-classes-seniors\">holding<\/a> a \u201cMovement and Meditation Class for Seniors\u201d each Friday during the month of May. It will be hosted by KLJ Movement, a \u201cprofessional performance and dance company that embraces the influence of black and brown people in the world of dance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the library admitted to The Daily Wire that while the class is open to all, it is specifically designed for non-white individuals over the age of 55.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe intent is not to be racist or anti-white, but to make people of color, particularly seniors in the neighborhoods those two libraries serve, feel comfortable in coming to those programs, knowing that they\u2019ll be in a place where others who look like them will be moving and meditating with them,\u201d Tana Elias, digital services and marketing manager for Madison Public Libraries, said in an email sent to The Daily Wire when asked for her response to critics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhite people are not excluded from the event, but they are the majority of our total program audience,\u201d she added. \u201cThis program is an intentional effort with a community partner to include a segment of Madison\u2019s population that we know we\u2019re not serving as regularly, and who are more likely to suffer from poor health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not everybody sees it that way.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Dan Lennington, an attorney with the Wisconsin Institute for Law &#038; Liberty, flagged the upcoming class on Twitter, comparing it to \u201ccritical race yoga.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Critical Race Yoga? Madison, WI Public Library hosting \u201cmovement &#038; meditation\u201d classes \u201cintended for BIPOC seniors 55+.\u201d Notebooks and writing materials will be provided so you can reflect on your racial identity. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HHu4q7ONPX\">pic.twitter.com\/HHu4q7ONPX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dan Lennington (@DanLennington) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanLennington\/status\/1514597727845367810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lennington told The Daily Wire that there is a clear double-standard going on here.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they said, \u2018This program is intended for White seniors 55+,\u2019 everyone would immediately denounce the program as racist,\u201d Lennington explained. \u201cI\u2019m not sure why the same standard would not apply to the current description of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn other words, the library is clear that the program is \u2018not intended\u2019 for White seniors. Wisconsin\u2019s public-accommodation law prohibits \u2018unequal treatment,\u2019 and creating a program \u2018intended\u2019 for one race and not another would violate that principle,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n<p>Yet Elias claimed that the event is no different than any other sort of programming the library does with an intended audience in mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of our programs have intended audiences \u2013 seniors, preschoolers, etc.,\u201d Elias said. \u201cWe are working with the Madison Senior Center to help them explore a new program for older adults, particularly older adults of color, because they experience higher levels of social isolation according to local and national statistics, which leads to poorer health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile anyone can come to the program, these neighborhood libraries serve areas with a higher percentage of people of color\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe language is intended to make our neighborhood seniors, particularly seniors of color, feel welcome at the program,\u201d she reiterated.<\/p>\n<p>Lennington claimed that the language used to market the event was not clear that it was open to all Madison residents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Constitution prohibits government institutions, like libraries, from discriminating based on race,\u201d he said. \u201cIn fact, public-accommodation laws, which have been on the books for decades, require public spaces to be colorblind in how they service the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMadison should follow the Constitution and nondiscrimination laws and make clear that this program is open to all, regardless of race,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Lennington also pointed out that this is not the first time that the government in Madison has tried programs that feature racial segregation \u2014 even if only intended and not enforced.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a report from the Wisconsin Institute for Liberty and Law recently <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/equity\/\">noted<\/a> that in August 2021, \u201cMadison Metropolitan School District partnered with the City of Madison to offer a program only for \u2018Black\/brown girls in the Madison area entering 9th grade.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhite girls were not allowed. In a grant application to expand their program, the \u2018Dear Diary\u2019 organizers explained that their program is \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityofmadison.com\/dpced\/communitydevelopment\/funding\/documents\/CharlesHamiltonHoustonInstituteYouthEmploymentApp.pdf\">rooted in equity\u2019<\/a> because everything that Black people \u2018have learned is acceptable has been rooted in white supremacy,&#8217;\u201d WILL explained.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Elias maintained that this event was not discriminatory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLibraries do a lot of targeted programming \u2013 girl scout\/boy scout troop tours, bilingual computer classes, Hmong story times, literacy classes, Donuts with Dads, homeless services outreach, tax assistance, etc. \u2013 where the audience is more narrowly defined, either by a partnership with another community group, or an intent to have audience participants feel comfortable,\u201d she claimed in an email to The Daily Wire.<\/p>\n<p>A sample of KLJ\u2019s past performances can be seen here:<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies for breaking news, investigative reporting, sports, podcasts, in-depth analysis, books, and entertainment for a reason: because we believe in what we do. We believe in our country, in the value of truth and the freedom to speak it, and in the right to challenge tyranny wherever we see it. Believe the same? <a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Become a member now and join our mission.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Officials with the public library system in Madison, Wisconsin, are defending an upcoming \u201cmovement and mediation class\u201d that the library says is \u201cintended\u201d for elder racial minorities in the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":1443682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1441408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1441408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1443682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1441408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1441408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1441408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}