Potential Racial Bias in ONDCP‑Backed Chesschild Program Highlighted in House Oversight Document

Moreover, McCaffrey’ s proposal smacks of subliminal racism. Social psychologist Walli Leff tells me, “I think most of the movement to involve young people in chess is directed toward the African-American community, and the assumption Is, if the kids are black they’ re going to be drug users. | think white middle-class suburban parents would have a fit if their kids had to take drug tests for their extracurricular activities. Or am | out of it and am _| missing a new, white middle-class suburban submissiveness?” McCaffrey had been influenced by Chesschild, a group sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Chesschild is a substance abuse prevention program conducted in libraries and schools, promoting a combination of drug-free lifestyles and chess. “Policy recommendations like this one from ONDCP,” said St. Pierre, “demonstrate a deep and disturbing pathology that goes well beyond opposing drug-law reform efforts.” Maybe the drug-law reformers should follow the example of gay- rights activists by having celebrities come out of the pot-smoking closet. Already, veteran stand-up comic George Carlin—in an interview by 7he Daily Show’ s Jon Stewart following Carlin’ s HBO special—admitted that HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015299