The Merced City School District in central California is facing sharp criticism after signing a $270,000 contract with Fresno-based company School Yard Rap to bring a rap-based "edutainment" curriculum into its schools, even as only 13% of the district's students meet math proficiency benchmarks.
The contract, first reported by the New York Post on March 20, includes a summer "Rap Camp" and an "African American Affinity Group" designed for up to 100 African American students.
The program offers hands-on training in DJing, dance, and hip-hop songwriting, along with recording sessions in a professional studio setting. Students also explore identity and community through personal storytelling and lessons on African American history and culture, according to Fox News.
The district, which serves roughly 11,400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade, has paid School Yard Rap a total of $610,000 over roughly the past year across three contracts.
Its student body is 69% Hispanic and just under 5% African American, and 83% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, according to Niche.com. Reading proficiency stands at 33% and math proficiency at 20%, both below state averages.
The U.S. Department of Justice has weighed in. Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, told Fox News Digital that race-based programming raises legal concerns, the New York Post reported.
"It is illegal for the government to offer benefits solely on the basis of race. We have not had the opportunity to investigate these allegations, but if true, they are troubling," Dhillon said. Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act prohibits race-exclusive programming in public schools.
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School Yard Rap founder Brandon Brown, a former teacher who goes by "Griot B," pushed back on the criticism. He told the Post that the African American Affinity Camp "is open to every single student grades 3rd to 8th, focusing on African American history and the diaspora." Brown called the scrutiny politically motivated and added that teaching children about diverse cultures "helps eradicate a lot of hate and ignorance in the country."
Founded in 2016, School Yard Rap operates in 28 states and describes its mission as transforming "history lessons into relatable characters presented through songs and storytelling."
One signature program, "Moor than a Month," features lyrics addressing racial themes, including the lines: "History books have a white male skew, but believe me I ain't blaming you."
Education advocacy group Defending Education also criticized the spending. Representative Erika Sanzi said, "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," as per The College Fix.
The DOJ has launched similar probes recently, including a 2025 investigation into Chicago Public Schools' Black Student Success Plan over race-based benefits. Merced district officials did not respond to requests for comment.
