The North Carolina General Assembly is considering legislation that ostensibly bans discrimination in the state’s classrooms. But the real purpose of the statute is to ban discussions of racism. Among other things, it prohibits teaching anything that might cause students to feel “discomfort,” and it prohibits diversity training.
The bill begins:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO DEMONSTRATE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S INTENT THAT STUDENTS,
TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND OTHER SCHOOL EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZE THE EQUALITY AND RIGHTS OF ALL PERSONS AND TO PROHIBIT PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS FROM PROMOTING CERTAIN CONCEPTS THAT ARE CONTRARY TO THAT INTENT.
Public school units shall not promote that:
(1) One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.
(2) An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist,
sexist, or oppressive.
(3) An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment
solely or partly because of his or her race or sex.
(4) An individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or
sex.
(5) An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility
for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
(6) Any individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, should feel
discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.
(7) A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist.
H324-CSBE-35
(8) The United States was created by members of a particular race or sex for the purpose of oppressing members of another race or sex.
(9) The United States government should be violently overthrown.
(10) Particular character traits, values, moral or ethical codes, privileges, or beliefs should be ascribed to a race or sex, or to an individual because of the
individual’s race or sex.
(11) The rule of law does not exist, but instead is a series of power relationships
and struggles among racial or other groups.
(12) All Americans are not created equal and are not endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (13) Governments should deny to any person within the government’s jurisdiction
the equal protection of the law.
Public school units shall (i) notify the De
Justin Parmenter was curious about the hundreds of letters that parents wrote to the Lieutenant Governor about the need for this legislation, and he filed an open records request to gain access to them. Many were avowedly racist.
Many of the 506 complaints to Robinson’s task force come from North Carolinians who appear deeply concerned about what they perceive as a move away from a white Christian-centered system of public education.
These submissions include recommendations to cancel Black History Month, pleas to stop making white students feel guilty by teaching so much about slavery–which one individual remarked “is getting old”–and suggestions to end hiring practices aimed at increasing diversity of school staff.
They provide a helpful lens to understand the real motivation behind moves across the country to restrict classroom discussions on race and various types of oppression under the false pretense of fighting the boogeyman “critical race theory.”
While the outward tactics and messaging of this movement may be a bit more subtle than in years past, its underlying sentiment feels very familiar.
“Same old slave hold”
Talk of slavery’s getting old
It’s tiresome and trite
The Africans are getting bold
Encouraging a fight
I really miss the days of yore
When people got along
“Equality through separate door”
Was worthy of a song
Great SomeDAM. Thank you.
So, if kids learn about British oppression of colonists in the pre-revolution period or Japanese brutality in territories they occupied during WWII does that imply collective guilt of present day English or Japanese kids sitting in US classrooms? How is teaching about racism in US any different? And, then there is the should be obvious point that NOT teaching about systemic racism makes some kids “uncomfortable” and in inherently racist.
And, then there is the should be obvious point that NOT teaching about systemic racism makes some kids “uncomfortable” and is inherently racist.
yes, yes, yes
Does this mean that you can’t teach about the struggles of Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks? How do you teach about the civil rights movement without mentioning race at some point?
The Grand Kleagle pretends to be an Abolitionist
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe’s still pickin’ cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows.
–Leonard Cohen
Cohen was one of the great poets of our day.
Good stuff! Our brilliant host, Diane, is also a fan.
This kind of thing is nothing knew, ofc. It’s par for the course among White Supremacists. Remember that George Wallace claimed that he was “a great friend to the black man.” Well, he didn’t always use the term black.
Well, at least they got one thing right…
An ACT to demonstrate the generals’ luvvies intent
to conflate THE EQUALITY AND RIGHTS OF ALL PERSONS
into a demand of capitulation.
CRT be damned, don’t display a gesture that breaches
the ordained demeanor of prostrate obedience.
You either follow “our” script, or you’re gone.
What is made by the state can be broken by the state.
There was nothing inherently racist about Jim Crow Voting Laws . After all a literacy test or a poll tax affected white voters as well. Nothing to see here folks. The fact that it may have affected 3 or 10 times more Blacks doesn’t mean a thing .
That’s the beating heart of racism, right there.
Yup
On paper it looks kind of harmless, but in practice it’s a nightmare. More SEL for the schools (because Grit and Growth Mindset didn’t work!). Teach history!….the whole awful truth of it, but get this other garbage out of schools. It is creating problems rather than solving problems.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/07/22/critical-race-theory-defined/8045511002/
I hear you. My mantra is let teachers teach.
Ten of the twelve parts of the bill are acceptable and even correct. Discrimination should definitely be illegal. Two parts of the bill are wrong:
An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility
for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex. I say let’s take the complicated issue of reparations out of picture for a while to cool off, but we bear a responsibility to admit that actions of the past were racist so that we can learn from our mistakes and stop repeating them. Otherwise, people will keep harming their neighbors, waving Confederate flags, worshiping statues of Robert E Lee, and terrorizing Rep Ocasio-Cortez. We have to bear responsibility by being honest and neighborly.
A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist. We do not have a meritocracy in this country. We have a kleptocracy. Those with wealth and power receive a great many benefits that working people do not, and since genocide, slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, and other forms of discrimination and oppression have existed for so long, most people with wealth and power were born on third base. The playing field has never been level, going back to the British Empire of aristocrats, commoners, and people the English called “savages”. It’s not a meritocracy unless your wealth is based on your actual merits, not based on who your great grandfather was.
Even in an ideal meritocracy, everyone has basic rights to a decent heathy life.
We don’t have a meritocracy.
We have a parrotocracy. Those who parrot the official mantra move ahead. Those who don’t don’t.
It has infected much of academia and it is especially true in journalism.
And of course, Twitter is the best example.
Submission pursuant to an application for the position of speechwriter for Donald Trump, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott, or Ron DeSantis
Patriotic Noise 1 | Bob Shepherd
Murika, land of the
tis of thee,
by jingo
by golly by
jingoism,
by the dawn’s eerie
night from above,
by crackie,
another village saved from
a tear in the eye as the flag goes by
by the bell,
well, mission accomplished,
O land
that beats true for that ole
black ‘n’ blue,
for you and me and all
true merkins
ole black Joe
stuck a feather in his
tweedle dumb, tweedle dee,
while these savings last,
until they stole the
erection
by Christmas,
cause there’s a war on that
indoctrinating our kids with their
critical race card
am I rite?
they dont want you to have
Socialism!
for the business of America is
all the livelong
gem of the
dancing with the [you there with the]
stars in your eyes,
in the sweet bye and
[call now] bye,
bye blackbird,
buy now, for these deals won’t last for ever,
by golly, by gee, by
Jim Dandy
doodle dandy,
Onward!
Where our fathers fruited plain.
Everybody sing!
NB: This could also double as the new Kansas, Texas, Ohio, Utah, Flor-uh-duh, or 1776 Project K-12 History certified CRT-free curriculum! You’re welcome, Republicans. Don’t mention it.
Copyright 2021, Robert D. Shepherd. All rights reserved. This post may be distributed as long as it is unedited and this copyright notice is included.
For more ruminations on Donnie Dumbo, loser, go here: https://bobshepherdonline.wordpress.com/category/trump-don-the-con/
The NH Attorney General issued vague guidance this week. It leaves many questions unanswered. The guidance and the NEA-NH response statement are here.
Click to access faq-educational-programs.pdf
https://neanh.org/2021/07/22/nea-nh-divisive-concepts-guidance-falls-short/
The Center for Media and Democracy posted “ALEC Politicians Belong to Neo-Confederate Organizations”, 7-8-2021. The article identifies the politicians and it lists those who fund the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Money is raised for the organization at Amazon Smiles and PayPal. Peter Thiel who founded PayPal said women voting in a capitalistic democracy is an oxymoron.
In one of the final paragraphs of the article, three “Neo-Confederate academics ” are listed. Two are Donald Livingston who Wikipedia describes as a “convert to an orthodox church” and Marshall DeRosa. Both men signed a letter, “Over 50 Scholars Announce Endorsement of DonaldTrump”, which Daily Caller posted in Oct., 2016. Of the 50 names on the letter, it appears that fewer than 5 are women. The third man is Thomas Di Lorenzo (Loyola University of Maryland). The CMD article describes the three as having “links to
Charles Koch-funded academic programs.”
Maybe Republicans should change their name to the Confederate Party.
It would have the added advantage that people might think they were actually the Considerate Party (kinder and gentler and all that)
when ‘links’ stands in for ‘puppet strings’
Incorrect. It prohibits “promot[ing] that . . . . Any individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.”
It’s actually very easy not to teach students that they should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or other distress solely because of their race or sex.
What’s to stop a student of color from filing a lawsuit saying they feel discomfort because there is not enough representation from alternative perspectives?
Good idea.