MLK Book banning due to CRT

So…due to the hysetria around “Critical Race Theory”, a group of moms in Tennessee are trying to get a book banned about MLK’s life and work for civil rights. From the group that wants to ban numerous books about the Civil Rights era:

“The classroom books and teacher manuals reveal both explicit and implicit Anti-American, Anti-White, and Anti-Mexican teaching.”

So- should we stop teaching about the Civil Rights era as well as slavery- because it makes white kids feel “traumatized” and bad about themselves?

https://www.salon.com/2021/11/30/right-wing-moms-group-wants-to-use-tennessees-critical-race-theory-law-to-ban-mlk-jr-book/

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From the complaint “The classroom books and teacher manuals reveal both explicit and implicit Anti-American, Anti-White, and Anti-Mexican teaching,” the complaint said. “Additionally, it implies to second grade children that people of color continue to be oppressed by an oppressive ‘angry, vicious, scary, mean, loud, violent, [rude], and [hateful]’ white population and teaches that the racial injustice of the 1960s exists today.”

I can see that 2nd grade might be too young. But the truth is not pretty. What grades do they want to start teaching this topic?

Have you read their complaint? They are literally just complaining about history being taught.

An excerpt.

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I loved this little tidbit …

Steenman is also personally ineligible to file the complaint, since her child attends private school to avoid COVID mask mandates, according to Reuters.

Neat story. Not banned nor likely to be banned. Other than that…neat story.

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Apparently they are appealing due to the Tennessee anti -CRT law.

"The law the curriculum is claimed to have violated prohibits teachers from teaching lessons that teach “an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual’s race or sex”.

Discomfort?

Oh this is also the same organization that offered a $500 bounty for a teacher teaching “CRT”

CRT is a really big scary concept. Are you surprised that its getting interpreted to mean literally anything connected to historical racial discrimination?

Not surprised. Particularly since many are trying to deny any application of it or vague it up.
Some making exaggerated complaints doesn’t mean it isn’t a thing.

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That’s the goal. They want a sanitized version of history taught to students.

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Its so vague that it could mean literally anything. What does it mean to you?

It’s too bad that this CRT thingy was secretly being rammed through the back door of schools, while those ramming it were lying in denial…cuz now his is the result. The mothers’ are now obviously gun shy and who could possibly blame them?

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Many on that side do want a sanitized version of history taught, of course many on the other side want today’s white kids to feel guilty and shame for what other white people long ago did.

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Do you mean the teaching about the history of black people in this country? Do you think that should not be taught anymore?

Conflating racist history with the current conditions in order to divide us into racial groups of victims and oppressors.

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I don’t like lies or liars and when Thomas Jefferson is removed…I don’t want to hear their revised version of history that’s behind this sentiment.

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Still pretty vague. From what I am seeing- most of the “anti-CRT” groups that target schools don’t want general history about slavery, the civil rights movement and the long history of oppression of blacks to be taught- or to be a very small footnote.

All history should be taught in the context of history. If the way it’s taught causes a young black kid to look at his white classmate and them blame that white class mate for his lot in life then that’s what is wrong. Also, how many teenagers in today’s history classes know how slaves ended up in chains on white slaves ships? Or is that part of history omitted for some reason?

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Excellent synopsis!

OK I think this is at the core of it. Teaching about history (some of it very recent) is somehow bad because it makes white kids feel bad about themselves. And the antidote is what? Say it nicer? Avoid teaching most if it? Im not sure what the aim is…specifically.

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