Critical Race Theory was implemented in Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia, after backlash over a woke “underground railroad simulation” derived from Critical Race Theory, according to Fight for Schools, a political action committee combating the racist agenda transpiring in academia.
The event that triggered the Critical Race Theory debacle in Loudoun County, Virginia, was a so-called “runaway slave game” at Madison’s Trust Elementary School in 2019, according to a press release by Fight for Schools.
Physical education teachers at the elementary school had prepared an exercise known as the “Underground Railroad Simulation” — a 30-year-old program that’s actually derived from critical race theory studies, the PAC pointed out.
The simulation at Madison’s Trust was divided into seven learning stations, which included: moving quietly through obstacles, taking turns as an agent (like Harriet Tubman) to help other students through hurdles, navigating through the dark, and simulating the crossing of a river, among other activities.
A source told Fight for Schools that both the principal and the school’s dean said the lesson was “awesome.” But after the Loudoun NAACP complained, Loudoun County Public Schools changed its tune.
Madison Trust’s principal then reportedly apologized for the “insensitive physical education,” and sent an email to the entire school, stating, “Loudoun County Public Schools does not endorse the use of instructional strategies that place elementary students in role-playing situations depicting the institution of slavery.”
A few weeks later, six self-professed members of the Black Panther Party entered the school to protest and shout, “No justice, no peace,” according to a report by Loudoun Times-Mirror.
The school later invited the community to a town hall to talk about the underground railroad activity, but did not allow teachers to explain the lesson or answer questions, according to a source that spoke to Fight for Schools.
But the crowd of parents became very loud, and chanted for the “teachers to speak” so they finally relented. The PAC added that the lack of support from Loudoun County Public Schools had even caused one of those teachers to seek a career change.
That’s when the school district started “doling out taxpayer money,” Fight for Schools said, adding that the Loudoun Freedom Center — run by the head of the Loudoun NAACP — then received a long-term contract for “consultation in curriculum review.”
After that, “the Loudoun NAACP leveraged the Equity Collaborative assessment to trigger an AG investigation and settlement to require the implementation of critical race theory in Loudoun County Public Schools,” the PAC said.
The Equity Collaborative is a consulting firm in California that specializes in critical race theory.
Loudoun County Public Schools had also executed a no-bid contract with the Equity Collaborative, which ran focus groups, coached and trained teachers, and produced an equity assessment that was submitted to the school district.
Earlier this month, Fight for Schools launched a recall effort against six members of the Loudoun County School Board.
The recall effort comes after the school board members in question were found to be part of a private Facebook group, called, “Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County,” which created and shared a list of parents who opposed critical race theory, as well as parents who wanted to re-open schools in the district.
Critical race theory is an academic movement transpiring at schools across the country, teaching children that the United States is fundamentally racist, and they must view every social interaction and person in terms of race in order to be “antiracist.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.