Critical Race Theory has been a point of contention for several months, and Republicans and Democrats have been on opposing ends of the argument. With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signing legislation that would defund Critical Race Theory from being taught in schools, the Governor has also vowed to go after school board candidates who support teaching it in schools. As a result, First Lady Jill Biden (D) joined American Federation of Teachers Union President Randi Weingarten for a conference, voicing her support for Critical Race Theory and pushing back against Florida’s opposition.
During the conference, Weingarten argued that “Critical Race Theory is not taught in elementary schools or middle schools or high schools.” Calling detractors “culture warriors,” Weingarten added that they are “bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching accurate history.”
But contrary to what Weingarten said about Critical Race Theory not being taught in K-12, there is clear and ample evidence that it is being taught to children across the country.
In reference to Florida leadership that has opposed Critical Race Theory, Weingarten affirmed that the union will be defending any teachers that proceed to move forward with teaching Critical Race Theory.
“Mark my words: Our union will defend any member who gets in trouble for teaching honest history,” she expressed, adding that “teaching the truth is not radical or wrong.” Instead, Weingarten feels that “distorting history and threatening educators for teaching the truth is what is truly radical and wrong.”
The Broward County School Board has included Critical Race Theory resources on its website, sharing that it is "in the courage of our young people to seek truth and justice in our country and take on our most pressing duties such as reforming our criminal justice system and changing the mindsets of bias, racism, and oppression." The site concludes that "change is never easy, but always necessary.”
The embattled school board, which is currently embroiled in controversy after Superintendant Robert Runcie was arrested for allegedly lying to a grand jury, is openly pushing the CRT to students and as we mentioned, has dedicated space on its website so that students can access resources relating to CRT.
The Floridian previously made an in-depth assessment of the Broward School Board's CRT support:
But while the Broward County school board publishes several Critica race theory-related overview pages, under the website’s “Anti-Racism resources,” a treasure-trove of pro-Black, and seemingly anti-White video articles, “books to read,” and “videos to watch,” are listed.
One of those videos posted for children grades 4th or higher is a video titled “Black Lives Matters Protests.” This and other resources can be found on the “Free Resources for Supporting Antiracist Education” page.
The video could be perceived as disingenuous because it appears to defend the controversial and divisive movement, and only outlines alleged racism against Black people.
According to the video, Malcolm X, the militant and separatist civil rights activist, is referred to as “a brave leader,” but does not mention the violence that he called for and committed.
There is another free-standing video about Malcolm X on the website. But while it does mention his criminal past, it only mentions his affiliation with the Nation of Islam and doesn’t mention the group’s promotion of antisemitism.
“Structural racism a built-in system of bias that makes life easier for White People and more difficult for black people and other people of color.”
The video also promotes the Black Lives Matter narrative that “Black men are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white men,” and that the movement is simply a “rallying cry” for past “demonstrations.”
In addition, the video mentions several moments in history when black individuals died at the hands of police. One of those individuals was Michael Brown, the “unarmed” young black man that was killed by police, and the “officer wasn’t charged.”
The video doesn’t point out that according to the police officer who shot him and eyewitness testimony, Brown entered the police vehicle and attacked the officer in question. It was also later learned that Brown robbed a local store.
