May 5, 2021, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Arizona legislature to adopt legislation that would prohibit critical race theory in public schools:
“The Arizona State House is properly exercising its powers to set curricula at the state level, which is protected under the Federal Constitution by the Tenth Amendment, in prohibiting any requirement to teach radical critical race theory that divides classrooms by not teaching equality, but instead white privilege and institutional racism in every facet of society. It does not create conditions for national reconciliation, but instead the civil strife we see today that endangers the very fabric of our nation. Every state should follow Arizona’s and others’ lead in reestablishing authority over its curricula, not just for the sake of our children — but for the preservation of the Union.”
***
National Association of Scholars President Dr. Peter Wood, PhD. issued the following statement commenting on the dangers of critical race theory in public education:
“Critical Race Theory (CRT), is more of a pedagogical weapon than a theory. It encourages division among people who have genuine common interests and common humanity by concluding that the color of one’s skin defines one’s identity by placing them in one of two categories: oppressed or oppressor. In the name of antiracism, it plays with the minds of vulnerable children who are in no position to assert their own intellectual independence. To teach this theory as fact in K-12 schools or forcing its usage in mandatory seminars in college violates both intellectual and political freedom.
“College education has long been subjected to this divisive ideology, but it has moved from campus to culture quickly. CRT is now being taught as the de facto answer to race relations in the United States at K-12 schools. This should shock parents nationwide. Proponents of CRT often stigmatize and shame some children while giving victim status to others, all on the basis of race. Such racial stereotyping in education and employment already violates federal law, yet this is unlikely to stop the push into K-12 education since ‘positive discrimination’ is the goal of some CRT proponents.
“Schools that welcome and endorse Critical Race Theory may believe they are advancing a noble goal. In fact, they are sowing the seeds of misery for a whole generation of Americans and causing irreversible damage to the way students understand their nation, their neighbors, and themselves. Arizona’s state legislature will act for the welfare of its citizens by enacting legislation to prevent the forced indoctrination of young children into Critical Race Theory. And while it should be banned in K-12 schools where students have no means of escape, it should still be subject to voluntary intellectual inquiry at colleges and universities.”
NAS contact: contact@nas.org (917) 551-6770
For media availability contact Catherine Mortensen at 703-478-4643 or media@limitgov.org.
###