House Republicans in North Carolina have once again forwarded a once-vetoed proposal that prohibits teachers from certain racial discussions in the classroom.
The bill seeks to ban public schools from forcing certain beliefs on children, including that they should inherently feel guilty over immutable characteristics such as ethnicity or gender.
Another provision mandates schools that hope to put on diversity training sessions or speakers who promote similar beliefs to inform the state’s Department of Public Instruction of the plan as well as detail it online.
Former President Donald Trump fittingly attacked the toxic ideology at a rally in North Carolina last year. A clip of his remarks was posted to Twitter in April 2022 by Newsmax.
At the time, Trump touted the world’s first-ever signed ban on critical race theory, noting that the order was rescinded by the Biden administration.
"The irreversible harm that Democrat politicians did to our young people is unforgiveable."
Donald Trump slams COVID mandates, Critical Race Theory and Gender theory in schools during the #SaveAmerica rally in Selma, North Carolina.
MORE: https://t.co/QPN0TfPBE7#TrumpRally pic.twitter.com/0WHjzUTzxx
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) April 10, 2022
The bill was sponsored by Gaston County Republican and education committee chair Rep. John Torbett, who claimed it will stop discriminatory concepts from being taught as fact. He pointed to a section that forbids educators from suggesting that one race or gender is superior to another.
“Who knows what group will rise to a prominent position to try to come and indoctrinate our children?” Torbett hypothetically asked. “This bill protects whatever group that is from soiling the minds of our kids with thoughts that don’t collectively bring us together.”
Previously, the proposal was vetoed in 2021 by Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who alleged it would bring “calculated, conspiracy-laden politics into public education.” The Washington Times reported that Republicans revived it after the midterm election results granted them within one seat of a veto-proof supermajority.
The bill additionally rejects the idea that the government is “inherently racist.”
Associated Press happily peddled propaganda in a report on the proposed bill, as seen in an ABC News post of the piece that read, “While many K-12 public schools teach about the effects of slavery and racism throughout U.S. history, there is little to no evidence that critical race theory, as it’s defined, is being taught.” It additionally charged that conservatives have “co-opted the phrase as a catchall for racial topics they find unpalatable, using it as a political tool to limit lessons about systemic inequality, white privilege, and racial justice efforts.”
