This past week was a very busy one for Critical Race Theory (CRT), particularly as its fiercest supporters defended it in ways that amounted to gaslighting those who would dare criticize it. Arizona, though, will be protected from such curriculum, after Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) signed multiple bills on Friday, according to Fox News' Dom Calicchio.
My thanks go out to @michudall, Representative Hoffman and @LivingstonLD22 for their leadership on this important legislation. Here in Arizona, we’re going to continue to be leaders on civics education and teach important lessons about our nation’s history. 2/2
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 9, 2021
This includes HB 2906, which prevents schools and government entities from requiring employees to undergo training that would suggest that they are "inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously." Another bill, just as important for parental rights and involvement in their children's education, is HB 2035.
As explained in a statement from Gov. Ducey:
House Bill 2035 codifies into law the curriculum transparency and parental notification measures included in Executive Order 2021-11, which Governor Ducey issued on April 20. The legislation provides parents with an opportunity to participate in, review, and provide input on any proposed sex education course of study before it is adopted. This legislation also prohibits sex education from occurring in kindergarten through fourth grades.
Supporters of CRT, meanwhile, were getting more emboldened last week.
Ibram X. Kendi, the author of "How to Be an Antiracist," participated in the American Federation of Teacher's TEACH conference on Wednesday. Dr. Susan Berry provided a helpful write up here for Breitbart.
Kendi, as has AFT's President Randi Weingarten, claims students are not being taught CRT in school, with their focus being on what the problematic curriculum is being called. On Thursday, Katie warned of how "The Language Shift on Critical Race Theory Is Officially Here."
In his discussion with AFT's Fedrick Ingram, Xendi's remarks in part mentioned:
The only thing that I can compare this recent wave of what is happening in our school districts, what’s happening in our schools, what’s happening in our communities, is it really reminds me of the reaction and the response to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. When, when there was widespread fear in certain schools and certain communities that “those desegregated schools … those black children would, were going to be harmful to white children,” and, and it’s similarly being cast or framed as if, you know, teaching about history, teaching about racism, you know, even teaching about slavery is going to somehow harm white children.
Such remarks are being used to gaslight parents and other critics of CRT.
While the National Education Association (NEA) went through a back and forth as to if it was public or not, due to posting and then scrubbing such support from its website, it's safe to say NEA embraces such curriculum.
In last Tuesday's POLITICO's Morning Education newsletter, both Weingarten and NEA President Becky Pringle vowed to protect and defend their teachers who would embrace such curriculum. Pringle even claimed it was a matter of "a fight for justice" and "a fight for honesty in education."