Thread by @NBCNews

SPECIAL REPORT: How critical race theory moved from Fox News to school boards.
Reporting by @tylerkingkade, @BrandyZadrozny, @oneunderscore__

nbcnews.to/35DsXdz

(1/8) #NBCNewsThreads

@tylerkingkade @BrandyZadrozny @oneunderscore__ Conflicts are playing out in cities and towns across the country, amid the rise of at least 165 local and national groups that aim to disrupt lessons on race and gender, according to an NBC News analysis of media reports and organizations’ promotional materials. (2/8)

@tylerkingkade @BrandyZadrozny @oneunderscore__ Reinforced by conservative think tanks, law firms and activist parents, these groups have found allies in families frustrated over Covid-19 restrictions in schools and have weaponized the right’s opposition to critical race theory, turning it into a political rallying point (3/8)

@tylerkingkade @BrandyZadrozny @oneunderscore__ Virtually all school districts insist they are not teaching critical race theory, but many activists and parents have begun using it as a catch-all term to refer to what schools often call equity programs, teaching about racism or LGBTQ-inclusive policies. (4/8)

@tylerkingkade @BrandyZadrozny @oneunderscore__ Now, 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 critical race theory as akin to the tea party wave from a decade ago. (5/8)

@tylerkingkade @BrandyZadrozny @oneunderscore__ Florida Gov. DeSantis 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 critical race theory.”

Political action committees have been set up dedicated to the cause. (6/8)

@tylerkingkade @BrandyZadrozny @oneunderscore__ The conservative focus on critical race theory is pervading right-wing news publications, like Fox News and Breitbart, which covered the issue in as many as 750 articles per week in May, according to Dominik Stecuła, a political science professor at Colorado State Univ.
(7/8)

@tylerkingkade @BrandyZadrozny @oneunderscore__ Activists and parents have launched 50 recall efforts this year aimed at unseating 126 school board members, per Ballotpedia.

Most recalls started as objections to Covid restrictions, but 5 of the most recently launched campaigns include concerns about critical race theory (8/8)