'You earned or inherited your money through oppressing people of color': Affluent Dallas residents receive BLM letter urging them not to send their kids to Ivy League schools so black students can get a spot instead

A social justice group has said it sent a letter to white Democrats in two wealthy Texas neighborhoods calling on them to pledge their children will not apply to Ivy League schools so that black students can get a spot instead.

Dallas Justice Now , which appears to have been set up recently, is asking white supporters of Black Lives Matter to commit to 'making sacrifices to correct centuries of injustice.' 

The group is specifically calling on white people to sign its 'college pledge' not to send their children to Ivy League or US News & World Report Top 50 schools 'and instead leave those spots open for students from Black, LatinX, and other marginalized backgrounds who were denied access to these institutions for hundreds of years.'  

Ethnic minorities have long been underrepresented in Ivy League schools. At Harvard and Princeton, only around 6 percent of the total student body are black, according to Data USA. At Columbia and Cornell this figure stood at around 5 percent, while Brown around 7 percent.  

DJN said in a press release it has sent the pledge out to the '95 percent white Highland Park and University Park neighborhoods'.

Data from the US Census Bureau shows 88 percent of residents in University Park are white, with just 1.5 percent of people being black or African American. In Highland Park, 91 percent are white and less than 1 percent black or African American. 

Both areas are among the richest in the state, with residents enjoying a median household income above $200,000 and Highland Park ranking in the 10 wealthiest communities in America back in 2018. 

The average house price stood at $1.3 million in University Park and $1.5 million in Highland Park between 2015 and 2019, with some mansions along the iconic Beverly Drive currently on the market for $10 million. 

A social justice group has sent a letter to white Democrats in two wealthy Texas neighborhoods calling on them to pledge their children will not apply to Ivy League schools so that black students can get a spot instead. The letter above

Highland Park and University Park are among the richest areas in the state. The average house price stood at $1.3 million in University Park and $1.5 million in Highland Park between 2015 and 2019. Pictured a villa in Highland Park 

The pledge letter, seen by Dallas City Wire, tells rich, white people they 'earned or inherited your money through oppressing people of color'. 

'We are writing to you because we understand you are white and live within the Highland Park Independent School District and thus benefit from enormous privileges taken at the expense of communities of color,' the letter reads.

'You live in the whitest and wealthiest neighborhood in Dallas, whether you know it or not, you earned or inherited your money through oppressing people of color.' 

It goes on to call out the white Democrats who stand with the Black Lives Matter movement, saying now is the time for them to 'step up' and make the area 'more just.'

'However, it is also our understanding that you are a Democrat and supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, which makes you one of our white allies and puts you in a position to help correct these cruel injustices,' it reads.

'We need you to step up and back up your words with action and truly sacrifice to make our segregated city more just.' 

A woman called Jamila posted a video on the group's Facebook page this month describing it as a 'nonprofit advocacy group'

The pledge asks the recipient to check one of two boxes: 'I am a racist hypocrite' or 'I agree' to the pledge.

The group warned on its website it will publicly announce the names of people who have and have not signed the pledge. 

It is not clear how the group has identified the group of 'white Democrats' it sent the letter to or how many people have received it. 

Spokesperson and founder of DJN Michele Washington hit out at white BLM supporters in the wealthy areas who put up signs but have failed to 'make any sacrifices' to drive real change. 

'White abolitionists died in the Civil War so that we could live as free men and women. 

'White freedom riders risked their lives at the hands of the KKK to end the racist Jim Crow Laws,' she told DailyMail.com in a statement. 

'Now, wealthy white liberals in 95 percent white enclaves like the Park Cities in Dallas profit by professing support for Black Lives Matter on social media, displaying us like animals at their charity galas, and taking Instagram pictures of themselves at our rallies all the while failing to make any sacrifices themselves to cure the problems that they and their ancestors created and profited from.'

Washington said college education at an Ivy League or Top 50 school is a social mobility tool and argued that sacrificing the place of a white student is 'a minor sacrifice for privileged families.'

Dallas Justice Now , which appears to have been set up recently in Dallas, is asking white allies to commit to 'making sacrifices to correct centuries of injustice'. The group's website above

The group said it was hosting a meet and greet earlier this month and posted images of a handwritten sign and people signing a document 

'Imagine the progress we could make ending the multi trillion dollar wealth gap if those hundred thousand spots at top colleges went to Black and LatinX students,' she said.

'We understand that this is a minor sacrifice for privileged families but we think it is the least they can do if they truly are allies of our community.'   

Washington told Dallas City Wire people posting support on social media but not taking action 'are the problem.' 

'If whites want to be our allies, they must make sacrifices,' she said.

'Many people think they can get by just posting on social media - it's hurtful to those of us who have dedicated our lives to social justice when they think that is enough to remedy hundreds of years of oppression.' 

The letter has sparked some disagreement in the local community, with the group clashing with a white woman over its call to action.   

Casie Tomlin claimed she received the pledge letter and could not believe it was real.

'There's no way an organization would send this,' Tomlin told Dallas City Wire.

Washington responded by branding Tomlin a 'racist Karen' and accused her of reporting the group to the police over the pledges. 

Tomlin has denied the allegations, telling Dallas City Wire: 'I wholeheartedly dispute and deny all accusations made by Michele Washington and Dallas Justice Now. 

Dallas Country Club in Highland Park. Data from the US Census Bureau shows 91 percent of residents in the wealthy suburb are white and less than 1 percent black or African American

'I am now and have always been an active advocate for social justice.' 

DJN appears to have been set up toward the end of last year with a Facebook page for the group posting its first photo in October. 

In a post on June 25, the group announced it was nearing completion of its website.

A woman who said she is called Jamila posted a video on the Facebook page this month describing the group as a 'nonprofit advocacy group.' 

'I'm Jamila with Dallas Justice Now,' she said.

'We are a nonprofit advocacy group in Dallas and we are fighting for change, we are fighting for equality.

'We are wanting to bridge gaps and we just want to catch up.'

Jamila said she is a parent and wants to send her children to college - something she said would create 'generational wealth' and have a 'trickle down effect' on other generations in the community.

The group said it was hosting a meet and greet earlier this month and posted images of a handwritten sign and people signing a document on the Facebook page.

Washington told Dallas City Wire that DJN is planning to launch an Advisory Council which will include Professor Troy Harden, director of the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute at Texas A&M University. 

Harden denied any involvement with the group when reached for comment by DailyMail.com, saying 'it's not true.'

Harvard University above. Harvard announced a more diverse class of 2025 in April with 18 percent identifying as African American or black

Calls for more diversity in Ivy League schools have mounted over the last year in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and BLM protests calling for and end to racism

A BLM protest in Dallas, Texas, last year as people demanded racial justice in the wake of George Floyd's murder

Calls for more diversity in Ivy League schools have mounted over the last year in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and BLM protests demanding an end to racism across America.  

Harvard announced a more diverse class of 2025 in April with 18 percent of students identifying as African American or black, 27.2 percent Asian American, 13.3 percent as Latinx, 1.2 percent as Native American, and 0.6 percent as Native Hawaiian. 

Meanwhile, the university is being sued by a group that claims it imposes a 'racial penalty' on Asian American applicants by systematically scoring them lower in some categories than other applicants and awarding 'massive preferences' to black and Hispanic applicants. 

Harvard denies that it discriminates against Asian American applicants and says its consideration of race is limited.

Lower courts sided with the university but the plaintiffs, a group called Students for Fair Admissions and anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, appealed the decision.

Last month, the Supreme Court asked the Biden administration to give its views on whether the justices should hear the challenge.