Just weeks after the U.S. Department of Education supported by President Joe Biden introduced a proposed rule that uses the anti-American 1619 Project and hatemonger Ibram X. Kendi to guide its federal grant criteria for American history and civics education, opposition to the racist indoctrination curriculum is growing.
In addition to alleging that the United States is filled with “systemic racism” that can only be cured by “anti-racist” training that singles out white people as problems, the proposed curriculum would use taxpayer funds to push a muddled version of American history that hides behind promotions of “diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students.”
Parents and teachers in schools around the nation are facing off with progressives dead set on implementing critical race theory in schools, but Biden’s federal involvement adds a whole new layer of issues for some organizations and states that would be eligible for the education grants.
Shortly after the rule opened up for public comment, more than 30 GOP senators sent a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona asking him to withdraw the proposal and invest in American history programs that will empower future generations to continue making our nation the greatest force for good in human history.
“This is a time to strengthen the teaching of civics and American history in our schools. Instead, your Proposed Priorities double down on divisive, radical, and historically-dubious buzzwords and propaganda,” the letter states.
A similar letter calling on Biden to promote critical thinking and agenda-free education originated from Republicans in the House of Representatives.
“America is not a racist country and our tax dollars should not be spent to indoctrinate our children to believe that falsehood,” said Rep. Ken Calvert, one of the signees. “Students should be taught history in a fact-based manner, which of course includes slavery and the civil rights struggle of minorities. These appalling chapters in our history underscore the imperfect nature of our country. Our path to becoming a more perfect republic must ensure that no American is ever defined solely by the color of his or her skin. We should allow our local schools to teach our students how to think objectively and critically, not have a federal agency in Washington, D.C. tell them what to think.”
The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal in North Carolina is another group speaking out against the Biden administration’s “nearly exclusive focus on race in the supporting narrative” and failure to define broad, sweeping terms.
“The failure to provide equity or to track President Biden’s Executive Order, the use of discredited and divisive works in the supporting narrative, the failure to provide guardrails for research quality, and the failures to define terms and to account for student developmental levels all fatally poison this priority. It has become an embarrassment and a distraction to the Biden Administration. I urge you to withdraw it,” the letter to Cardona states.
Already, states are taking action to ensure that the increasingly progressive Biden administration won’t force its identity politics into schools.
In Montana, Attorney General Austin Knudsen “is looking closely at how the Biden administration’s proposed rule could create a race-based ‘hostile environment’ in Montana schools in violation of state and federal law.” Knudsen’s main concern is that critical race theory is “a racist ideology that directly contradicts the founding principles of our nation.”
“Montana will not stand for anti-American indoctrination that turns our schools into training grounds for fringe political activism and violence,” Knudsen concluded.
Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen is also taking action to ensure that racist curriculum is not implemented in the state’s classrooms and that parents are aware of the dangers Biden’s federal proposal poses.
“Our schools should not be teaching debunked theories that twist and distort our history, and fringe philosophies that Americans have consistently rejected,” Arntzen wrote. “I have heard from countless families statewide in recent weeks specifically about what one of those fringe ideologies — critical race theory — would mean for Montana, and what it would mean for their children. They are rightfully concerned that this kind of thinking could be coming to their schools’ classrooms, and they want their voices to be heard.”
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is also “evaluating the proposed priorities and their implications” but has yet to promise any action.
Source: The Federalist
