What Are Republicans Doing About Critical Race Theory?

             The Biden administration and numerous progressives are pushing the critical race theory (CRT). Now, Republicans are pushing back with legislation that opposes Biden’s rule to teach American children to make judgments according to skin color. Three Republican representatives introduced legislation: Rep. Burgess Owens (Utah), Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), and Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina).

            According to Fred Lucas, Owens introduced two measures to respond to Biden’s proposal to fund critical race theory in the schools. “One of the proposals by Owens … is a bill that would prohibit teaching of critical race theory within federal institutions…. The other is a resolution highlighting the dangers of teaching critical race theory in U.S. schools and decrying the ‘damaging philosophy within this prejudicial ideological tool.’” 

            Burgess has strong feelings about CRT because he “grew up attending segregated schools in the Jim Crow South … when people were treated differently based on the color of their skin.” He added the following in his public statement:

Critical race theory preserves this way of thinking and undermines civil rights, constitutionally guaranteed equal protection before the law, and U.S. institutions at large. This is the United States of America, and no one should ever be subjected to the discrimination that our laws so clearly prohibit.

            Roy’s legislation – titled Combating Racist Teaching in Schools Act (CRT Act) – proposes the blocking of “federal tax dollars from going to schools that teach critical race theory.” The bill includes “any elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education.”

Critical race theory, like all its racist derivations, is a direct affront to our core values as Americans….

No one in America – be they students, servicemen and women, government employees, or anyone – should be indoctrinated to hate our country, its founding, or our fellow citizens. Worse yet is its pernicious demands to “divvy us up by race” and perpetuate the lie that we should be treated differently by virtue of our skin color. There is no room for state-sanctioned racism anywhere in our society, and we must oppose it with all our might….

As Americans we believe that all are created equal by God Almighty, regardless of their skin color. That self-evident truth, and the American promise that comes with it, are worth fighting for.

            The first legislation proposed by Bishop – titled Stop CRT Act – would “prevent federal funds from paying for teaching critical race theory.” Roy’s second bill – titled Combatting Racist Training in the Military Act – would “block teaching critical race theory to the nation’s armed forces.” He explained the following in a public statement:

Critical race theory is a poison to the psyche of our nation. This destructive ideology has no place in America’s institutions, and the bills I’m introducing will help ensure that our government isn’t spending resources on promoting it.

            There is need for such legislation because the teaching of critical race theory is widespread in our nation. Anyone who opposes CRT can be punished, such as Lt. Col Matthew Lohmeier, who was the commander of 11^th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base Colorado. He was relieved of duty because he criticized military training in critical race theory. In fact, “the entire Defense Department, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s approval, promoted a similar reading list, supposedly to combat suspected extremism in the ranks.”

            Bishop stated that Biden and the radical left are “pushing this neo-Marxist propaganda into our classrooms, places of work, and even the military.” He stated that “Legislators on every level must fight back against this insidious effort to undermine the truths about our nation’s founding with everything we’ve got.”

            Lucas wrote that local school districts across the nation are implementing the teaching of CRT in their schools and gave the following examples.

·         Public schools in Evanston, Illinois, promoted the book “Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness,” with one school asking parents to discuss the book with their children at home. Among other things, the book argues that “whiteness is a bad deal” and “always was,” and that “you can be white without signing onto whiteness.” …

·         In Cupertino, California, educators required third graders to deconstruct their racial identities and then rank themselves according to their “power and privilege.”

·         An advisory board in Loudoun County, Virginia, called for teachers to be dismissed if they opposed the school district’s “equity training” inspired by critical race theory.

·         In Buffalo, New York, the school district applied critical race theory to an “emancipation curriculum” telling students that “all white people play a part in perpetuating systemic racism.” The district eliminated the line after it stirred controversy. 

·         In Louisiana, the Orleans Parish Board of Education adopted a resolution that says “our country’s racist history” is “still pervasive in today’s systems.” The resolution also calls the nation “an unjust systemic racist America.”