In a move some view as racist, all of Mississippi’s Black state senators walked out of the Senate chambers in protest of a bill, which Sen. Michael McLendon (R) claims, prohibits educators from teaching that “one child is superior or inferior to another.”
McLendon’s bill is designed to prohibit critical race theory (CRT) from being taught in schools.
The mass walk-out drips with irony — Democrats deny CRT is being taught in schools, then walk out and refuse to vote on a bill prohibiting CRT from being taught in schools.
The bill 13 Black Mississippi Senators are protesting reads:
“No public institution of higher learning… or public…[ or] charter school shall… make a distinction or classification of students based on account of race….”
The bill carries with it the threat of defunding schools and districts that choose not to comply:
“No funds shall be expended by the state department of education, any entity under the department of education’s jurisdiction or purview, a school district, public charter school, community/junior college, the Mississippi Community College Board, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or a public institution of higher learning for any purpose that would violate the provisions of this section.”
Unconvincingly, Democrats have argued such laws are unnecessary because CRT is not taught in schools.
In July, Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo reported that 30 public school districts in 15 states are teaching from a book title, “Not My Idea,” which reads: “Whiteness” drives white people to embrace criminal and oppressive behavior, including “stealing land… riches,” and providing inequitable “special favors.”
The book adds: White people are allowed a free pass to “mess endlessly with the lives of your friends, neighbors, loved ones, and all fellow humans of color for the purpose of profit.”
Adherents of CRT argue that teachers must be empowered to properly teach history in the classroom. Critics argue that injecting opinion, bias, and divisive comments into the classroom undermines the quest for unity and puts children at risk.
Watch:
In a recent speech on the United States Senate floor, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) referred to CRT as “unamerican,” “dangerous,” and “divisive.”
Not all agree. In an interview with WLBT-TV, Sen. John Horhn (D-Mich.) said, “I think this bill is going to put a chilling effect on that journey, I think it’s going to slow us down on coming together, and I think it’s going to drive a wedge between us that doesn’t need to be driven.”
The CRT issue has grown from being a Loudoun County, Virginia issue, to becoming a national issue. Justice Department actions designed to intimidate parents opposed to introducing CRT curriculum into schools have backfired and proved embarrassing to the Biden administration.
Republicans like McLendon believe educators should teach children what happened in the past, but the teaching focus needs to be on how to work well together in the future. Further, children should be taught, as Martin Luther King, Jr. preached, that people should be judged on the “content of their character,” not the “color of their skin.”
Sen. Chris McDaniel was puzzled by senators who walked off the floor today.
“I’m trying to find the mischief in this bill and I don’t see it,” he said. “Our kids need objective facts and not subjective notions of theory.”
The bill passed 32-2.
Last year, Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz introduced legislation (the End CRT Act), which would eliminate federal funding for schools that teach CRT.
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