Apparently the guilt of American history is just too much for white people to handle so the push to erase America’s greatest sin from school books continues as a reworked version of an earlier bill heads to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for signature.
“After a 81-43 vote Thursday afternoon in the Texas House, the bill went to the Senate, where lawmakers quickly accepted the House’s changes. The bill heads to Abbott with significant changes from what the Senate originally approved in early August,” the Texas Tribune reports.
A Critical Race Theory bill had already been signed during a regular session, but Abbott noted that there needed to be more done to the bill to “abolish” (his words because he’s every bit of an asshole) Critical Race Theory in Texas classrooms.
House Bill 3979, the current law, already declares how current history events can be taught in Texas schools, but does include a caveat from Democrats that will allow teachers to point out that white supremacy is morally wrong. Oh, and teachers can assign books from people of color in American history. Something tells me that means books like Candace Owens’ Jigaboo Say What? A Retelling of Blacks in the GOP and Tiger Woods’ magnum opus: CauBLACKAFSikeaBooBoo.
If Abbott signs Senate Bill 3, it would replace current law.
From the Tribune:
The new legislation would require at least one teacher and one campus administrator at each school to undergo a civics training program. Teachers could not be forced to discuss current controversial topics in the classroom, but if they do, they must not show any political bias.
The advent of slavery in America could not be taught as representing the true founding of the United States, but rather a “deviation” from American principles, according to the bill. Students also couldn’t be required to learn about the New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, which aims to put “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”
The bill would prohibit students from receiving credit for interning at political campaigns or interning for companies or organizations where they will be lobbying or a part of the lobbying shop.
Any school district that uses an online portal to assign learning material would be required to give parents access.
This is to ensure that teachers aren’t infusing their students with any of that “America is racist” gobbledygook. While neither bill mentions CRT, let’s be perfectly clear: this is absolutely a Critical Race Theory bill.
Critical Race Theory argues that racism as a record label and crew are fundamental in everything America. Basically, Nikole Hannah-Jones came through and shook America all the way up and the 1619 Project had white folks like, “Not tuhday.” The Texas Legislature seized the moment to rewrite the history books and ban critical thinking about race.
“Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick declared that critical race theory teaches that ‘one race is better than another and that someone, by virtue of their race or sex, is innately racist, oppressive or sexist,’” the Texas Tribune reports.
The funny thing is Critical Race Theory as Republicans frame it was never being taught in schools anyway (nor is actual Critical Race Theory). But you can’t tell Civil War reenactors anything about doing shit for no reason; this isn’t even about that as much as it is white guilt and feeling bad about slavery—which to them, is worse than slavery itself.
“Erasing an uncomfortable reality of our past does not benefit our students with the knowledge they need to understand the present to work towards a better future,” Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City) told the Texas Tribune. He added that this is a “blatant attempt to censor valuable education in our classrooms and whitewash our history.”