Commentary

On March 2, Eli Steele, an independent filmmaker, showcased his latest documentary “Killing America: Can the Nation’s Schools Be Saved?” in a special “sneak preview” screening in downtown Menlo Park in the San Francisco Bay Area.

With a poignant story that uncovers the interlocking relationship of California’s critical ethnic studies movement, the war on academic excellence, and rising anti-Semitism, the film had a successful kickoff at the pre-release screening, for which all 200 seats were sold out.

Focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area as the place where three illiberal trends are converging to indoctrinate, discriminate, and dumb down our youth, “Killing America” is a must-watch, especially for those who want to understand the deep entrenchment of the woke ideology in public schools.

The film explores in detail how various forces and influences within the educational system permitted “woke racism”—which first targeted whites and Asians—to erupt with impunity in an allegedly “tolerant” place. By featuring real conversations with local parents, students, and community members, Mr. Steele’s film tells a captivating and harrowing story of virulent anti-Semitism, attacks on meritocracy, cancel culture, and concurrently, the advent of radical curriculums. It shines a light on the devastating trilogy of eliminating advanced classes and merit-based admissions, promoting the dogma of racial equity, and teaching ethnic studies through the lens of critical race theory.

Bay Area parents and residents, including several mayors from nearby cities, lined up in the rain to watch the 38-minute documentary. Positive responses from the audience have been pouring in, with many inquiring about a national tour for such a timely exposé and indictment of identity tribalism, the cultural obsession with race and intolerance.

Mr. Steele is an award-winning filmmaker and writer with a keen interest in investigating the thorny issue of race in American society. His work in recent years, including documentaries “How Jack Became Black” (2018) and “What Killed Michael Brown?” (2020), was met with unfair criticisms and censure from the legacy media and the progressive establishment. “What Killed Michael Brown?” for instance, critically examines the narrative of systemic racism and oppression through the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Amazon Prime had banned the film due to its unapologetic skepticism of the victimhood narrative and only reinstated it after public scrutiny.

This time, “Killing America” has also struck a nerve. Karl Losekoot, the principal of Menlo-Atherton High School, a school featured in the documentary, dismissed it as a work of “sensational propaganda at its worst,” according to Mr. Steele. Mr. Losekoot, who was invited to the screening but declined to show up, accused the documentary of being “disturbing” and “completely ridiculous.”

In response to Mr. Losekoot who apparently has not watched the short film, Mr. Steele commented: “While many people have embraced the documented reality, as shown in Killing America, of how Leftist ideologies are dividing students into the oppressors and the oppressed, there is still strong resistance from many Americans who refuse to believe this is happening.”

“Some of these people are true believers and others are more concerned with their image in the community. What they don’t realize is things have gradually gotten worse, not better, over the decades,” he added. “They think this will pass and things will get better. It won’t and that is why Killing America is that much needed reality check for most Americans. To ignore its reality is to live in fantasy land.”

Mr. Steele is absolutely right. We can no longer pull the wool over our eyes and pretend that the wokeism cult is just a seasonal trend, or buy into the orthodoxy that dividing Americans by race is actually a good thing for our nation. More importantly, the insidious trifecta of indoctrination, war on merit, and anti-Semitism has been a widespread, if not national, phenomenon. That is why “Killing America” needs to reach a broader audience. As the film gets scheduled for upcoming screenings in San Francisco, New York, Florida, and other places, let’s hope the important message gets delivered to more Americans.