Lawmakers could address CRT in 2022 session.
Governor Tate Reeves says he is adamantly opposed to critical race theory “sneaking into our curriculums in the state of Mississippi,” and he is prepared to sign legislation to prevent it, should that become necessary.
Reeves appeared on SuperTalk’s Gallo Show on Thursday morning where the host, Paul Gallo, asked the Governor his thoughts on the national topic.
“I am not aware of any school district that currently allows for it. Should that become an issue, I believe we ought to pass legislation, pass a law to make these school districts unable to teach CRT in our classrooms,” Governor Reeves said. “We’ve seen that in other states. I’m willing to do it. We don’t have to do it if no districts are currently operating. But if that becomes apparent, I am prepared to support any legislation that eliminates the ability for CRT to be taught in Mississippi’s classrooms, much like many, many, many states around the country.”
Conservatives of all races across the country are raising the red flag on the curriculum that claims the U.S. has a legacy of systemic racial inequities and that America is overdue for a racial reckoning. The left-leaning propaganda is viewed by many as anti-American and dangerous.
Lawmakers and state leaders in over 20 states have undertaken efforts to stop CRT as well as the teachings of the 1619 Project from entering their classrooms – and it is not just in Southern states like Florida and South Carolina. For example, a bill in Michigan would exclude race theory education from public school curriculum and names the 1619 Project, describing it as “anti-American.” In Maine, a bill would prohibit school teachers from “engaging in political ideological or religious advocacy in the classroom.” Over in Utah, the “House Resolution on Critical Race Theory in Public Education” was introduced and awaits action.
Here in Mississippi, state Senator Angela Hill took to Facebook on Wednesday to relay that the Ocean Springs School Board cancelled the use of BrainPOP, what she termed as leftist indoctrination. Hill asked, “Who will follow their lead?? Parents that don’t want this in your schools.. you need to get engaged with your school boards. Find out if your child’s school uses Brainpop. Many in MS do.”
It is unclear as to how many school districts in the state are using BrainPOP or learning aids such as this.
BrainPOP is a group of educational websites that has sections for most all academic areas, such as math, science and social studies. They claim to be used in more than 25% of U.S. schools and also offers subscriptions for families and homeschoolers.
A section is dedicated to “Black History.” There, children on the site can watch videos and take quizzes on a variety of topics, including the Black Lives Matter protests. Among other things, the video discusses the death of George Floyd, depicting Floyd with family and in glowing scenes without giving context of why officers were called in the first place or what he had done in the past.
“A lot of us were taught that racism ended with the Civil Rights era,” the video says, adding, “It seems like forever ago… So we’ve changed since then right?”
The answer, according to BrainPOP’s video, is no. It goes on to say that today’s call to action is not like that of the Civil Rights Era, but rather a “built in system of bias that makes life easier to white people and more difficult for black people and other people of color.”
Later in the video, the narrator says, “Protests should be peaceful as non-violent, not necessarily peaceful as in calm or soothing,” as if to justify the actions at BLM activists during the summer of 2020. Children are told it is OK to make leaders “uneasy.”
A number of lawmakers Y’all Politics spoke with say they are willing to consider legislation in the 2022 session that would ban the possibility of critical race theory being taught in Mississippi schools.
Frank Corder
