Critical Race Theory (CRT) opponents in Guilford, Connecticut, won out last week after Republicans voted to place five candidates the group endorsed on the board of education ballot.
The five candidates, endorsed by local organization Truth in Education, were selected from eight nominees and defeated three incumbent board of education members, reported the Connecticut Examiner.
According to the report, several candidates backed by Truth in Education noted a lack of transparency from current board members and failure to hear the concerns of parents and community members.
The Examiner reported in late June a presentation by Truth in Education drew several hundred people in Guilford. The group discussed the dangers of CRT, a Marxist ideology that claims America is a systemically racist nation, and urged parents to resist the teaching of its concepts in local schools.
Truth in Education distributed a flyer during its presentation that read:
Guilford students must understand that America is exceptional, not because we are better than anybody else, but because of our God-given freedoms which are enumerated and codified in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Guilford students must study these documents, revere them and resolve to protect them from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
Fox 61 News also observed Guilford Superintendent Dr. Paul Freeman denied his district is teaching CRT concepts. The report noted:
Dr. Paul Freeman says it is inaccurate that this is being taught in schools. In a statement, he said in part:
“We are working in Guilford Schools to be more equitable in our practice, to embrace diverse texts in our classrooms, to diversify our teaching ranks, to address difficult historical events honestly and openly, and to ensure that all children feel heard in their schools.”
The Examiner reported that last year Guilford’s board of education voted to eliminate use of the image of a Native American as the mascot of the school district. Additionally, the district began a curriculum audit and prepared to hire an “equity liaison” who would coordinate an effort with other school districts to bring more teachers of color into the schools.
The National Education Association (NEA) moved to openly promote the teaching of CRT in K-12 schools and to oppose any bans on instruction in both CRT and the widely discredited New York Times’ “1619 Project.”
During its virtual representative assembly, held June 30-July 3, the nation’s largest teachers’ union agreed to “research the organizations attacking educators,” doing what it referred to as “anti-racist work,” as well as to “use the research already done and put together a list of resources and recommendations for state affiliates, locals, and individual educators to utilize when they are attacked.”
At least half of all states in the country are taking steps to prohibit the teaching of CRT and its concepts.
Parents are packing local school board meetings to fight against the teaching of CRT in their local schools and, as is the case in Guilford, moving to oust school board members who promote CRT.
Students themselves are speaking up at school board meetings, sharing their experiences of the introduction of CRT into their classrooms.
A fourth grade student in the Sartell-St. Stephen school district in Minnesota, recently informed the school board she and her classmates were required to complete an “equity survey,” and was told by teachers not to “repeat any of the questions to our parents.”
A Trafalgar Group survey released last week found 51.8 percent of American voters believe parents who oppose the teaching of CRT in schools should take action.
The survey, conducted in partnership with Convention of States Action, found 27.7 percent of voters said parents opposed to CRT should remove their children from public school if the race-based ideology is introduced in the curriculum, while 24.1 percent said parents should run their own candidates and work to take control of local school boards.
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