It's been revealed that Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a swing-district Democrat who was elected in the 2018 blue wave, has a troubling connection to a diversity council in her district promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT).
As the Washington Free Beacon reported on Monday, Rep. Slotkin's "eyes and ears" local liaison for the district, Mona Shand, is listed as a "Board Member at Large" for the Livingston Diversity Council.
According to reporting from the Livingston Post in February 2019, when Shand was given the position:
Mona Shand of Brighton has joined the staff of U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) as the congresswoman’s representative (or “eyes and ears”) in Livingston County. Shand will also represent Slotkin at various community events.
Shand, who ran unsuccessfully for the 42nd District state House seat, knows that being elected isn’t the only way to serve, and she’s looking forward to working on behalf of constituents in Livingston County. “I am so excited to be part of a new way of looking at and doing government,” she said.
Slotkin and Shand want to hear from residents about federal agencies with which Slotkin can provide assistance, such as with Social Security, the IRS, and immigration, as well as about all the good things happening that merit celebration.
On Monday, when Anderson's article was published, the website had Shand listed as "Livingston County Representative for Representative Elissa Slotkin," with the congresswoman's official logo, made available from a cached website. The website quickly changed that, as noted in an update to Anderson's article, with Shand's identifying information being scrubbed so that it reads nothing more than "Civic Leader."
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The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), which describes itself as "The super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the House of Representatives," considers the district as one of the "Key Races" they're following. "Elissa Slotkin won't stand up to stop the far-left from dividing our classrooms with Critical Race Theory because her top advisors are too busy forcing their extremist ideology on Michigan students," Calvin Moore, the CLF Communications Director, told Townhall.
The Livingston County Democratic Party is still listed as being part of the council's "Business Members," however.
That's not the only way in which the website has been updated. Anderson points to the scrubbing of CRT information as well, specifically, when it comes to a section of "What Can We Do?" for "here in Livingston County."
The call to action was a piece by Nicole Cardoza for Anti-Racism Daily, "Advocate for critical race theory education." Still remaining on the website, however, is "What IS CRT?" which is just as equally enthusiastic in its promotion:
Have you been hearing about Critical Race Theory locally? The articles below are easy to understand and link to more references, if you'd like more information.
What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack? by Stephen Sawchuk. Education Week, May 18, 2021
Decolonize Your Curriculum has a facebook post with a fantastic infographic on CRT. Extensive notes linked here.
The Livingston Diversity Council is problematic in several other ways, with Slotkin herself at times participating in such projects. As Anderson noted:
Slotkin has partnered with the Livingston Diversity Council, appearing in a February video to read I Am Jazz, a children's book that exposes elementary school kids to transgender ideology. A Livingston County parent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution from the school district, told the Washington Free Beacon the council's push to teach critical race theory in schools—as well as Slotkin's ties to the group—will "get people real fired up, real fast."
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The Livingston Diversity Council promotes the work of prominent critical race theorist Richard Delgado and diversity gurus Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo. While top Democrats have argued that critical race theory is not taught in K-12 schools, the council's website shares resources acknowledging "some district officials have included mission statements, resolutions, or spoken about changes in their policy using some of the discourse of CRT." The site also links to articles urging members to oppose "anti-CRT legislation"—state senator Lana Theis (R.), who represents Livingston, proposed such a bill in May.
The council faced criticism from Republicans in July over a "Drag Queen Bingo" fundraiser slated to take place at a local melon festival, which local GOP officials deemed a "family-friendly event and not one that should be sexualized." A county radio station later defended the event without noting that its news director also serves on the Livingston Diversity Council board.
Another part of the Livingston Diversity Council website includes a section on "Why is Diversity important?" which focuses on "unconscious bias" and how to combat that, as well as "interrupting bias." It also provides an "Action Plan" and links to a February 1, 2021, Business Insider article by Marguerite Ward, "An anti-racist's dictionary: 19 words on race, gender, and diversity you should know."
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