One of California’s most underperforming school districts is spending nearly $300,000 teaching kids to rap, raising the alarm among DEI watchdogs.
The Merced City School District in the Central Valley — one of the state’s lower-performing school districts based on test performances — has signed a $270,000 agreement with Fresno-based School Yard Rap, which describes its approach to learning as “edutainment.”
The contracts include a summer “Rap Camp” and an “African American Affinity Group,” which is only for 100 African American students, raising questions about whether the program complies with federal law.
One of California’s most underperforming school districts is spending nearly $300,000 teaching kids to rap, raising the alarm among DEI watchdogs. Youtube/School Yard RapThe Department of Justice said the allegations of race-based programming in Merced public schools were “troubling’’ when contacted by the Post.
“It is illegal for the government to offer benefits solely on the basis of race,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said.
“We have not had the opportunity to investigate these allegations, but if true, they are troubling.”
In a little over a year, Merced has handed out three contracts worth $610,000 to School Yard Rap, which also operates across 28 states, including New York, New Jersey and Texas.
Programming includes history lessons, songwriting, DJ-ing and performances.
A screenshot of the contract states a camp for public school students is specifically for African American students.
District officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment by phone and email.
However, Brandon Brown, a former school teacher and founder of School Yard Rap, claimed the programming wasn’t exclusionary.
“This camp specifically — the African American Affinity Camp — is open to every single student grades 3rd to 8th, focusing on African American history and the diaspora,” Brown told The Post.
“I think this is politically driven and the reason this is being called out.”
Erika Sanzi from Defending Education, an advocacy group that tracks equity-focused programming in schools, said school students excluded from programs or activities because of their race was against law.
They also took issue with Merced school district’s priorities given it is below average compared with state averages.
“If equity was my goal, I’d start with reading and math scores and income level to identify the students most in need of extra support,” Sanzi said.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, has led investigations into schools and universities that make decisions on race-based criteria. MediaNews Group via Getty ImagesStudents in Merced’s school district, which serves about 11,000 students between kindergarten and eighth grade, have historically struggled with a student-teacher ratio of 25 to 1, according to Niche, a website that compiles data to rank and review schools.
Only about 13% of students meet math-proficiency benchmarks, with other ratings for schools in the district below California averages.
School Yard Rap’s website also shows the organization once hosted a concert in which a performer championed the legacy of farmworker organizer César Chávez, who this week was outed as an alleged sexual predator who groomed and raped under age girls.
In one of its signature programs titled “Moor than a Month,” song lyrics mimicking those by hip-hop group Migos take direct aim at white patriarchy.
School Yard Rap’s programming includes live performances that focus on history that is not often taught in schools. Youtube/School Yard Rap“I’mma be Black every day that I’m here, no cap, for more than a month, just like every Black kid in class,” the song says.
“So this album for them, but this track’s for you — every teacher and parent, you need this truth.
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“History books have a white male skew, but believe me I ain’t blaming you. That’s who wrote it on paper — it’s a cycle by nature.
“We give what we got, but I’m here to break it and bring education on what is not taught, trust it’s a lot.”
Brown said School Yard Rap’s view is that giving children more information about the culture of others “helps eradicate a lot of hate and ignorance in the country.”
In April 2025, feds launched an investigation into Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Plan over alleged race-based benefits, and a September 2025 probe into Des Moines Public Schools for race-based hiring practices.
