Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) is calling on the U.S. Air Force Academy to take swift action after one of its instructor’s penned an op-ed admitting that she teaches critical race theory in her classroom.
The professor in question, Lynne Chandler García, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post titled “I’m a professor at a U.S. military academy. Here’s why I teach critical race theory.”
In a statement released Thursday, Green said, “García’s comments on Critical Race Theory are utterly unacceptable and incompatible with the mission of our United States Military Service Academies.” He added:
Disparaging the United States as a racist country should disqualify anyone from teaching at one of our country’s most prestigious institutions. Our service academies prepare young men and women to fight for our country. How can we expect anyone to fight for a country they are taught is racist?
According to García, as written in the op-ed, critical race theory “helps students identify the structural racism and inequality” in American society:
In my classes, cadets learn about the ideals embedded in this founding document. We explore the liberalist theories that promoted these ideals, and we embrace our democratic system of government. But we also acknowledge that the United States was founded on a duality: liberalism and equal rights on the one hand; inequality, in-egalitarianism and second-class citizenship on the other.
Critical race theory provides an academic framework to understand these nuances and contradictions. It helps students identify the structural racism and inequality that has been endemic in American society. And it provides methods for deconstructing oppressive beliefs, policies and practices to find solutions that will lead to justice.
Green, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an army veteran for more than 20 years, says he knows firsthand that what is being taught at military institutions “leaves a lasting impact.” He said:
It was at West Point where I first raised my right hand and took the oath to defend our Constitution. If we want service members who are proud to defend this country, we must not denigrate the very principles upon which it was founded. Making them ashamed of their country only decreases morale, retention, and unit cohesion.
In concluding his statement, Green — who served as the special operations flight surgeon during Operation Red Dawn, the operation that captured Saddam Hussein — likened critical race theory to a “Marxist ideology.”
“Critical Race Theory is a Marxist ideology that teaches the only way to right previous racial discrimination is to implement racial discrimination today,” Green said. “This goes against our Founding principles–not to mention illegal.”
“If we allow this destructive ideology to be taught in our Military Service Academies, we will be responsible for this nation’s demise,” Green concluded. “Professor García must be removed from her teaching position.”
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