A PAC that launched Monday called the “1776 Project” will aid school board candidates across the country who reject the introduction of Critical Race Theory (CRT) at public schools, making it the first of its kind, Axios reported.
The PAC, started by political consultant Ryan Girdusky, aims to “reform our public education system by promoting patriotism and pride in American history” by “abolishing” CRT and “The 1619 Project” from public school curriculum, the PAC’s website says.
Critical race theory and the 1619 Project have made their way through our public education system and now it’s time to fight back.
That’s why I’ve created the national super pac ever focusing on school board elections. The 1776 Project PAChttps://t.co/T7r4oz77dR
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) May 25, 2021
CRT holds that America is fundamentally racist, yet teaches individuals to view every social interaction and person in terms of race. Its adherents pursue “antiracism” through the end of merit, objective truth and the adoption of race-based policies.
The “1619 Project” is made up of multiple stories and poems about racism and slavery. It suggests America’s “true founding” was when the first slaves arrived in 1619 and “aims to reframe the country’s history.”
According to the website, “The 1619 Project” is being taught in 3,500 classrooms in the U.S. The PAC was officially formed in December but was open for donations Monday, Axios reported.
“Help us overturn any teaching of the 1619 project or critical race theory,” the website says. “Let’s bring back Patriotism and Pride in our American History.”
Girdusky said he plans to focus on school board elections in North Carolina and Florida, according to Axios. Numerous states across the country have made moves toward banning the teaching of CRT in public institutions like schools and universities, while others have already passed legislation that effectively bans such instruction.
Idaho became the first state to prevent teachers or CRT facilitators from forcing students or other school staff to adopt the ideas in CRT. The bill prohibits schools from forcing students to adhere to the belief that “any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior,” or that “individuals should be adversely treated” because of these characteristics. (RELATED: Idaho Becomes First State To Ban Public Schools From Compelling Students To Adopt Critical Race Theory Discrimination)
It also prohibits schools from compelling students to adopt the belief that people with certain racial, religious, or sexual characteristics are “inherently responsible for actions committed in the past” by other members of those same groups, a common feature of CRT training, reports have shown.
Multiple other states followed Idaho’s lead. In May, Oklahoma passed a bill similar to Idaho’s. The legislation drew condemnation from the Oklahoma City Board of Education, which denounced the law. One member said the law was intended to “protect white fragility” and another member called it “racist.”
It looks like Texas is about to join Idaho, Tennessee, and Oklahoma in banning critical race theory. That’s a great start, but we need to be more aggressive with pushing back against the cancer moving through our education system and reforming curriculum.
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) May 23, 2021
School districts and school boards across the nation have implemented CRT instruction for teachers and students, which is often the backbone of “antiracist” or “equity” initiatives schools have undertaken.
In early May, Virginia’s largest public school system asked parents and other community members about their thoughts on how the school should approach teaching “anti-racism” as part of its new “Anti-Racism, Anti-Bias Education Curriculum Policy.”
“Antiracism” training sessions often instruct students and teachers on how they benefit from white privilege or are oppressed by it, and educators have reportedly been told to teach CRT in their classrooms, although parents may not be informed that they’re doing so. The programs are sometimes called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” trainings.
At Seattle Public Schools, teachers were told to explain how they would promulgate racial justice in the classroom, and white teachers were told to “bankrupt their privilege,” a report showed. (RELATED: REPORT: Public School District Holds Training Instructing White Teachers On How To ‘Bankrupt’ Their ‘Privilege’)
(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
At North Carolina’s largest school district, administrators reportedly told teachers at a conference to “disrupt” whiteness and not let parents stand in the way of social justice instruction in the classroom.
Parents in many districts have fought back after learning of school efforts to introduce CRT into the curriculum. The School District of Palm Beach County said it would reconsider its “equity statement,” which calls for “dismantling structures rooted in white advantage” after parents criticized it in May as divisive and racist.
Parents opposed to CRT instruction in Virginia’s Loudoun County Public Schools launched an advertisement supporting a recall campaign that targeted six members of the school board.