Thread by @ExposingALEC

GOP Lawmakers Intensify Effort to Ban Critical Race Theory in Schools pew.org/3vermoH via @pewtrusts The Center for Renewing America created model #CriticalRaceTheory legislation for lawmakers to introduce

The Center for Renewing America is a right-leaning nonprofit organization created by Russel Vaught, director of the Office of Management and Budget under former President Donald Trump. influencewatch.org/non-profit/cen…

There is no evidence that #CriticalRaceTheory, as defined by its originators, has been taught in any public school. Nor has a school board in any state cited critical race theory as an element of its curriculum.

The #CriticalRaceTheory cited by Republican lawmakers and conservative pundits is often nebulous, comprising equity and diversity initiatives, workplace trainings, school curricula, reading lists and selectively edited quotations of critical race theorists.

The ACLU has noted that lawmakers do have the power to determine school curricula. “But this sort of targeted animus towards a particular set of ideas, and even a particular set of authors, is where it crosses the line, I think, into sort of animus and discrimination.”

1/ 'Held hostage': How critical race theory moved from Fox News to school boards nbcnews.com/news/us-news/c… In towns nationwide well-connected conservative activists-and Fox News-have weaponized the right’s opposition to #CriticalRaceTheory turning it into a political rallying point

2/ While the efforts vary they share strategies of disruption, publicity and mobilization.The groups swarm school board meetings, inundate districts with time-consuming public records requests and file lawsuits and federal complaints alleging discrimination against white students

3/ Conservative activists are setting their sights on ousting as many school board members as they can, and local Republican Parties have vowed to help, viewing the revolt against #CriticalRaceTheory as akin to the #teaparty wave from a decade ago.

4/ And, of course, #Florida Gov. Ron #DeSantis, polishing his Trumpist credentials, said this month that he will get the “political apparatus involved so we can make sure there’s not a single school board member who supports #CriticalRaceTheory.” miamiherald.com/news/politics-…

'RECIPE FOR SOCIAL UPHEAVAL AND MENTAL ILLNESS' Fox Has Mentioned #CriticalRaceTheory 1300 Times – Meet the Man Who Promised to Make It ‘Crazy’ and ‘Toxic’ thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2021/06/fox-ha… Making the term toxic as an area of study in local public schools, colleges and universities

Please read this thread to see what we're up against:

1/ #Alabama lawmaker wants to ban critical race theory, so I asked him what it is al.com/news/2021/06/w…

Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile wants to make it illegal to teach #CriticalRaceTheory in Alabama.

2/ Asked what #CriticalRaceTheory is, Pringle started off with

“It basically teaches that certain children are inherently bad people because of the color of their skin, period.”

3/ Asked for an example of #CriticalRaceTheory being put into practice, Pringle said:

“These people, when they were doing the training programs - and the government - if you didn’t buy into what they taught you a hundred percent, they sent you away to a reeducation camp”

4/ "it’s very difficult in this cancel society to have a frank discussion about racism in this country and this country’s history,” he said. “I mean, history is being rewritten and I’m not exactly sure of the accuracy of what’s there now and what they’re trying to change it into”

5/ “This is still the greatest country that’s ever, ever been in the history of the world,” he said. “And the radical left is trying to destroy that and tear us apart and divide this country based on race and class, which is exactly what they do in communist countries.”

6/ And that is why Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile wants to make it illegal to teach #CriticalRaceTheory in Alabama. al.com/news/2021/06/w…

1/ Not to be outdone by #Florida Gov. #DeSantis, #Texas Gov. Abbott signs ‘anti-critical race theory’ bill into law over objections from educators and civic groups dallasnews.com/news/education…

2/ The bill’s author, Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, told his Texas House colleagues that the legislation was necessary “at a time when racial tensions are at a boiling point” and that “we don’t need to burden our kids with guilt for racial crimes they had nothing to do with.”

1/ 'The Tea Party to the 10th power': Trumpworld bets big on critical race theory politi.co/35MFE5D Trump aides are confident that a backlash to the teaching of #CriticalRaceTheory will vault them back into power.

2/ Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser who has zeroed in on local school board fights over #CriticalRaceTheory, said in an interview. “This isn’t Q, this is mainstream suburban moms — and a lot of these people aren’t Trump voters.”

3/ Google searches for #CriticalRaceTheory” skyrocketed on March 18, for example, the same day that Republican Gov. Ron #DeSantis proposed banning it from Florida’s school curriculum.

https://twitter.com/ExposingALEC/status/1402225316626640896?s=20

4/ Fox News mentioned #CriticalRaceTheory nearly 1,300 times over a three-and-a-half-month span, according to an analysis done by the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America. Last week, #Texas became the fifth state that passed a law taking aim at critical race theory

5/ Earlier this month, Republicans at the #NorthCarolina GQP’s annual convention jumped to their feet with enthusiastic applause when Trump called for a ban on #CriticalRaceTheory from the local school level to the federal government.

6/ "I look at this and say, 'Hey, this is how we are going to win.' I see 50 [House Republican] seats in 2022..." Bannon said. "I think you're going to see a lot more emphasis from Trump and DeSantis on it. People who are serious in 2024 and beyond are going to focus on it.

7/ Heritage Action for America put out a pamphlet calling #CriticalRaceTheory a “destructive” ideology. It also urges voters to use Freedom of Information Act requests as a tactic to identify critical race theory-tied elements in #schools’ curricula. hafa.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/assets/REJECT-…

8/ The Loudoun County, Va. school system is facing an effort to recall six Democratic school board members. Heritage Action helped organize a rally there earlier this month after a High School teacher complained that white students “are being told to check their white privilege.”

9/ [pause] This brings to mind 2009 when the #Koch Brothers tried to take over the Wake County, NC public school system to divert funding from public schools to private schools realkochfacts.com/the-kochs-and-… [and now back to Critical Race Theory...]

10/ Many GOP Voters Hold Strong Views on Critical Race Theory. Democrats? Not So Much morningconsult.com/2021/06/23/cri… the bulk of the electorate is largely unsure whether #CriticalRaceTheory is a positive or negative thing for society, with a key exception among Republican voters.

#CriticalRaceTheory is the hottest topic on Fox News. And it’s only getting hotter. washingtonpost.com/media/2021/06/… Charlie Sykes: “This resonates with an audience that doesn’t want to confront racism but also thinks that the left is nuts...I do expect that this is going to be effective”

Pat Robertson Says #CriticalRaceTheory ‘Is a Monstrous Evil’ that is urging people of color to "rise up and overtake their oppressors" so that once they've "gotten the whip handle," they'll then "instruct their white neighbors how to behave." rightwingwatch.org/post/pat-rober…

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