White South Africans given conservative PragerU books on reverse racism and American flags when they arrive in US

White South Africans given conservative PragerU books on reverse racism and American flags when they arrive in US Welcome kits could include books suggesting post-apartheid government ‘made race relations even worse’ - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments When they arrive in the U.S., white South Africans admitted as refugees could get a whitewashed history lesson about slavery, racism and civil rights. Donald Trump’s administration has frozen refugee admissions from virtually every other country but has admitted nearly 6,000 white South Africans, throwing the nation’s refugee program into chaos while abruptly stranding thousands of people fleeing war and persecution who have been waiting for years to safely resettle in the U.S. Newly arriving South Africans and their families could soon receive welcome kits from the Trump administration containing an Android device, American flag and copies of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, according to a proposal first reported by The New York Times. The kits could also include a children’s book that suggests post-apartheid efforts to transition to a multi-racial democracy “made race relations even worse” and accuses South Africa’s government of “favoring the Black population.” Lwazi’s Hard Lesson from the Prager University Foundation, or PragerU, which produces right-wing educational materials, describes South Africa’s first post-apartheid president Nelson Mandela as a “South African lawyer and activist who sought to end apartheid with acts of sabotage.” “Over the last few decades, government policies favoring the black population over everyone else have made race relations even worse,” according to the book. “Corruption, unemployment and violence targeting the white minority threaten the Rainbow Nation’s hard-won achievements.” The book also suggests Black South Africans are “promoted because of their race and NOT because of their competence” due to “reverse discrimination” against white people. Trump and administration officials as well as Elon Musk have repeatedly claimed white South Africans are victims of “unjust racial discrimination” and “white genocide” enabled by the country’s government, which officials and prominent Afrikaners have vehemently denied. Lwazi’s Hard Lesson, which PragerU says is intended for middle- and high school students, specifically mentions the world’s wealthiest man, who is described as a “worldwide business icon.” The book says figures like Musk have labeled the situation in South Africa a “potential genocide against white people.” PragerU has sought a foothold in schools across the country, and its materials supplement education in at least eight states. “The legal immigrants welcomed through our civics education initiative deserve to understand the founding values that make America the freest and most prosperous nation on earth,” PragerU chief executive Marissa Streit said in a statement to The Independent. “We are proud to offer content that honors their intelligence and treats them as capable adults ready to embrace the American story,” she added. Orientation materials previously provided to new South African refugees “were, to put it plainly, beneath them,” she said. “These are educated, skilled people, and the materials offered failed to reflect that,” Streit added. “We commend the administration for taking steps to ensure that the civic onboarding process for all new Americans is substantive, dignified, and worthy of this country’s founding ideals.” The refugee welcome package also could include a copy of the first Trump administration’s 1776 Commission report, a revisionist rebuke of the 1619 Project, the Pulitzer-winning New York Times effort that recognizes the legacy of slavery in U.S. history. That widely derided 2021 report — created by an 18-member group of right-wing political activists and conservative academics, none of whom is a historian — condemns what it calls “historical revisionism” that “shames Americans by highlighting only the sins of their ancestors” while denying or downplaying how discrimination has persisted in the decades that followed the nation’s founding. The report suggests an honest understanding of America’s complicated history is destructive to “our civic unity and social fabric” while describing slave-owning Founding Fathers as figures who “set the stage for abolition.” The Independent has requested comment from the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, which is coordinating the packages. The Trump administration has already lowered the ceiling for annual admissions of refugees from 125,000 people to a record-low 7,500 — shutting off resettlement to thousands of already-vetted refugees who were preparing to start their life in the U.S. — and then limiting those remaining admissions to mostly white South Africans. U.S. officials are now considering a plan to increase that cap by another 10,000 to specifically resettle more white South Africans. Andrew Veprek, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, defended those admissions at an even with the anti-immigration Center for Immigration Studies think tank in April. “South Africa is kind of the DEI regime par excellence, and so there is an important kind of signaling function in why we want to bring people from South Africa here,” said Veprek, referencing the president’s crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and a chief architect of the president’s anti-immigration campaign, told reporters last year that “what’s happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created.” “This is persecution based on a protected characteristic, in this case, race,” he said. Expanding resettlement explicitly for white South Africans “is a slap in the face to the more than 120,000 conditionally approved refugees currently trapped in the U.S. refugee processing pipeline,” according to Sharif Aly, president of the International Refugee Assistance Project. “It is disgraceful to continue excluding refugees whom the United States has an obligation to process and admit to safety, including refugees waiting to reunite with their families and religious minorities,” Aly said in a statement shared with The Independent last month. “Doubling down on discrimination further degrades the integrity of the U.S. refugee program and underscores this administration’s refusal to honor the law.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments