Texas passes a bill to counter critical race theory in schools Critics say Texas is declaring a war on history by promoting white supremacy But wait… is that true? Welcome to America Uncovered. I’m Chris Chappell. Be warned, YouTube is secretly unsubscribing people and might not be telling you about new episodes. So make sure you’re still subscribed, and check back every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday for new episodes, even if you don’t get a notification. So, according to CNN, Texas has declared war on history! That’s what you get for messing with Texas, history! According to multiple news reports, a new bill introduced by Republican lawmakers in the Texas Senate will radically alter what gets taught in Texas schools. No more Civil Rights rights movement. No more Martin Luther King Jr. And the KKK is no longer morally wrong. This article in The Nation says the Texas Senate bill “raises the prospect that Texas students could finish K-12 education with scant knowledge of the civil rights movement.” Which is alarming, since Texas students already finish their education with scant knowledge that cowboy hats don’t make them look as cool as they think they do. The Huffington Post calls the new bill “a new political low.” Although I think the lowest political point I’ve seen involving a politician from Texas is still this. “Please clap.” Yes, I know Jeb Bush was governor of Florida, but he grew up in Texas, and frankly this level of political cringe transcends state lines. Back to the Texas Senate bill. Texas Democrats are up in arms. State Representative James Talarico says the Republican bill is, “a frightening dystopian future that [is starting] to come into focus.” Which is almost as terrifying as an out of focus dystopian future. Other Texas Democrats said Republican Governor Greg Abbott doesn’t want kids to learn that white supremacy is morally wrong. That he’s trying to recast the KKK as the good guys. I don’t know if I’d go that far. This pandemic has shown Greg Abbott isn't a fan of establishments that make people wear masks And get this—Texas isn’t alone. Many other states are doing the exact same thing. “But Texas is now one of at least 26 states that have proposed or have passed laws restricting or banning classroom discussions of concepts relating to race and racism that Republican lawmakers say are divisive.” Leah Wright Rigueur: “When you look at these states that have banned the Critical Race Theory, they’re banning the study of race and racism in America and they are banning anything that essentially upsets this idea that America is this perfect united place.” Whoa whoa whoa, hold the phone. Banning Critical Race Theory is the same thing as banning the study of race and racism?! Are we sure we’re all talking about the same thing? Looks like it’s time for another segment of Wait, is that True?! More after the break. Welcome back. Though if you didn’t see an ad, it’s because YouTube demonetized us for talking about controversial topics like Critical Race Theory. So if you like getting your news outside the mainstream media, please support our work with as little as a $1 per episode on the crowdfunding website Patreon. Visit pateron.com/AmericaUncovered for more. So you know, when you hear sensationalist news stories like, Texas stops teaching that the Ku Klux Klan is morally wrong, it’s kind of like when a suspiciously hot woman with a new Facebook account messages you saying she wants to “make the kissing” but needs your social security number. Before you get too excited about it, you might want to take a moment and ask yourself, Wait, is that True? So a lot of states have started banning Critical RaceTheory in K-12 schools. Now obviously, all of us learned in school that slavery was bad and what happened to the Native Americans was horrible. And this was all possible in the days before Critical Race Theory was taught in schools. So then this raises the question, what is Critical Race Theory? What is actually being taught to children? Well, to quote one of the leading pro-Critical Race Theory voices, Ibram X. Kendi , “The most threatening racist movement is not the alt right’s unlikely drive for a White ethnostate but the regular American’s drive for a ‘race-neutral’ one.” Now some people talk about judging people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Remember, it doesn’t matter what someone looks like. All that matters is that they’re not a ventriloquist. But the new message is, being race-neutral is actually bad. “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” That sounds like he wants to create an endless cycle of discrimination. And this is why Critical Race Theory is so controversial, and why Republican lawmakers in Texas want to ban it. It’s essentially a way to look at the history we all learned about, but through the Marxist lens of class struggle— that there must always be opposing groups bent on destroying each other. For a more indepth look at Critical Race Theory, check out our previous episode, “Is Marxism Invading our Schools” Still one of our best thumbnails. Across the country, more and more parents are saying Critical Race Theory has no place in schools. “What kept me down? What oppressed me? I worked myself from off the streets to where I am right now. You’re going to sit here and tell me this lie of Critical Race Theory, of this is the reason why black folks can’t get ahead because of white folks? Are you kidding me?” Of course please don’t listen to what that man says. It’s all a part of the GOP’s strategy! Letting parents share their opinions? Diabolical! So what was actually in the bill that has led to claims Texas is stripping the KKK and Civil Rights teachings from school curriculum? Well, Texas House Republicans wanted a bill to ban Critical Race Theory. “Texas Republicans wanted to be sure teachers aren’t telling your kids that white people are inherently racist. So, this last session, they made a list of concepts public schoolers should and should not learn.” Sadly, how dorky they look in cowboy hats didn’t make that list. Now Texas House Democrats were not happy. They were operating under the premise that banning Critical Race Theory means banning all conversation about slavery and the civil rights movement. So a compromise was reached. “To get that bill through the House, the Republican authors allowed Democrats to tack on a whole host of other issues that the Democrats wanted to talk about.” Democrats included requirements for what had to be taught in public schools. These include lessons on things like Martin Luther King, Jr., the Emancipation Proclamation, Native American history, women's suffrage, the History of the KKK, and the ways in which white supremacy is morally wrong. All great lessons to learn. If only certain Democrats also learned this doesn’t make you seem as woke as you think it does. State Representative Talarico , who I mentioned earlier, is a major opponent to the bill, he says “the amendments the House added were essential to ensure that we were teaching students all of American history — the good, the bad, and the ugly,” Talarico also said these amendments “were put in place to ensure that teachers wouldn’t be punished for telling their students the truth.” In June, Texas Governor Greg Abott signed the bill into law. It was set to go into effect in September. But then the twist! This month, Republicans in the Texas Senate passed another bill that took out most of what the House Democrats added. Which is why you have headlines saying the Texas GOP wants to dump MLK and whitewash the KKK. Of course, whitewashing is the KKK’s favorite type of washing. So, is the Texas GOP really trying to ban teaching about Martin Luther King Jr. in schools? Let’s put this story to rest after this final commercial break. Welcome back. So it is true the Texas Senate passed a bill that removes the requirement to teach that the KKK is morally wrong. But headlines like these are misleading. Cutting out a provision citing the KKK doesn’t mean that Texas is banning teaching about the KKK. It just means it isn’t required. Kinda like how it isn’t required to teach atomic wedgies in school, either, but I still learned about them. The hard way. In fact, none of the things taken out from the House bill will be banned from classrooms. That’s because those things are already included in the Texas Administrative Code, which covers Texan education policies. The Texas Administrative Code says it is essential for schools to teach about how Jim Crow laws and the KKK created obstacles to civil rights. The roles of political organizations and leaders who supported various rights movements. The impact of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s writings. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And how Whataburger is superior to In-N-Out. The list goes on. So why did this new Republican Senate bill cut all that stuff? Well, according to the author, Senator Bryan Hughes, that’s because legislation isn’t supposed to be a detailed curriculum. He’s saying a “specific reading list doesn’t belong in statute.” And instead, these requirements should be developed by the State Board of Education. “Each school would be responsible for deciding whether or not to teach” the topics omitted from the Senate bill. Makes sense. It’s probably a good idea that politicians don’t decide what books kids are forced to read. To make it even clearer, an amendment to the bill against Critical Race Theory later clarified the bill would not prevent teachers from discussing things already included in the required curriculum. And again, teaching about MLK and civil rights and the KKK are already included in the required curriculum. So no topics are actually being banned by the Senate bill. Not even atomic wedgies. The bill just puts the decision on what topics to cover in the hands of the State Board of Education. And again, the topics that Democrats were worried about are already in the curriculum. But that hasn’t satisfied critics of the Senate bill. Critics say removing the topics from the list of requirements means teachers “may come under scrutiny due to the vague, anti-critical race theory language.” Republicans, after all, have made it clear this bill is meant to oppose critical race theory, including the 1619 Project. Lucky for Critical Race Theory proponents, the Senate Bill is like a 46 year-old DJ taking his G.E.D. for the third time: He probably won’t pass. To become law, the bill must pass the state’s House of Representatives. The problem is, 51 Democrats left the state to D.C. earlier this month to block a voting bill. The Senate can’t hold a vote otherwise. We can also thank Governor Abbott for threatening to arrest Texas Democrats earlier this month. “As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capital until they get their job done.” Nothing like threatening to imprison your political opponents. That’ll get them to pass a bill they already don’t like. As I said before, the left and right seem to have a very hard time finding ways to talk to each other in a meaningful way. Wherever you are in the political spectrum, I don’t think any normal American would say they’re opposed to learning from our past mistakes about slavery and racism. What we disagree on is how we interpret and frame our history. Are we a country that’s getting better? Or getting worse? And the fact we can’t even communicate with each other about it, that’s the biggest political low since— “Please clap.” So what do you think about the Texan Senate bill? Let me know in the comments below. Also, remember that we need your support to keep America Uncovered going. We’re covering history without whitewashing it. All it takes is $1 per episode on the crowd funding website Patreon. Visit Patreon.com/AmericaUncovered to learn more. Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching America Uncovered.