GOP Efforts to Distort History
America’s youth is back to school! But, unfortunately, Republican and right-wing leaders are working overtime to interfere with K-12 curriculum. I’m sure you are aware of the current battle over including Critical Race Theory in the curriculum.
If you grew up in America and had an education like mine, you too wouldn’t have known half of the injustice and prejudice embedded in our Nation’s history until you arrived at college. We shouldn’t have to wait until university to learn about critical points in black and indigenous history. I was 22 years old when I learned about the history of the Tulsa massacre and racial biases existing today, and that is unacceptable!
Republicans are trying to distort history and cover up the evil and wrongdoings they are currently carrying out on society. Why are they so adamantly opposed to teaching our youth factual history? We know that understanding how racism has shaped our country couldn’t possibly have negative outcomes.
Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine has yet to comment on Critical Race Theory publicly, but his office has been letting his constituents know that he opposes CRT being taught in K-12. Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that bans educators from discussing Critical Race Theory that goes into effect December 2nd. This summer, Georgia education boards voted no on including CRT in their curriculum. Virginia and Louisiana have initiatives run by citizens and elected officials to ban Critical Race Theory in their curriculum as well.
School board meetings around the country are gathering to discuss whether our children should be given an unbiased lesson on colonization and slavery. Right-wing individuals and the media are essentially saying our children should be taught about slavery and segregation without explaining why it’s wrong and its negative impact on the world today. Keeping students ignorant of the past is the cynical GOP strategy for creating the right-wing lemmings of the future, falling in line with their ignorance-is-bliss stance on race relations in America.
It seems we are past the point of being able to reason with these people. It becomes clearer every day- we MUST vote these misguided racists out of office. Republican and conservative officials have made waiting until elections to act and organize impossible. This is a year-round battle, and we cannot let these individuals work overtime to misrepresent history and carry out the prejudiced legacy of the past.
This November, Rideshare2Vote will be running in Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Georgia, and Louisiana for local and municipal elections. We MUST make sure democrat and progressive officials are elected at the congressional level this fall to keep this man from destroying Ohio until we can vote him out in 2022. Please consider donating today so we can power the polls this November.
by Taryn Rayburn
