Thread by @SurfCityWriter

1/ Reminder that the #OCBoardofEducation removed a Martin Luther King book in 1971 because MLK was a "conscious support of communism."

Yes, the same board that today pushes anti CRT & anti ethnic studies as "communist" or "marxist."
#MartinLutherKingDay #OrangeCounty #California

2/ By 1971, there was a John Birch Society member on the #OCBoardofEducation & their members were targeting local school districts. In Anaheim, it was a textbook that discussed how to review media with a critical eye & recognize propaganda. Ironic.

3/ May 1971: .@latimes called attention to the board's book banning of the Martin Luther King biography, "the #OCBoardofEducation is at it again."

The OCBE had previously banned Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey's book "Hiroshima" and was banning a book by Joan Baez.

4/ June 1971: #OCBoardofEducation reversed its decision after public outcry. @latimes noted it in the Opinion pages, hoping OCBE "learned a lesson following two misguided attempts at censorship."

John Birch Society exists today (& in other forms in OC, by other names). #MLKDay

5/ Important line from @latimes OpEd:
"Freedom of thought, that can seek and explore all sides of any issue, must be guarded carefully. This vigilance, and resistances to any efforts that erode our freedoms, is the price we must be willing to pay to protect our basic beliefs."

6/ The anti CRT, anti ethnic studies movement has roots in the 1960s-1970s John Birch Society, w/ the same fear mongering of marxism, communism, socialism, anti Americanism.

On #MLKDay, a reminder these groups still exist. Show up, speak up, write letters, pay attention, vote.