A black Minnesota mother voiced disapproval of legislation Tuesday that would require students to learn about ethnic studies in schools.
Kofi Montzka, an attorney and mother of three boys, spoke against House File 1269 in a Minnesota House Education Finance Committee. (RELATED: Parents Chant ‘Racist’ While Asian Mother Shares Anti-CRT Book During Fairfax County School Board Meeting)
The legislation would require an ethnic studies curriculum to be taught in schools, and it would require the commissioner of education to “embed ethnic studies” into the state’s academic standards. The Minnesota House of Representatives has packaged this with other education-related measures in the so-named Omnibus Education Policy Bill.
Black mother denounces ethnic studies curriculum in Minnesota: “I see why you white proponents of this bill might support it. It’s not your kids being told they can’t succeed and you get to shed some of your white guilt in the process.”pic.twitter.com/Ktkc7RFMes
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 25, 2023
“You might ask: why in the world would a black person speak against ethnic studies? Because not everything that sounds good is good,” she said. “The definition of Ethnic Studies right there in the statute says that there’s a connection between a person’s race and their stratification. The bill tells kids of color that they are stuck in a caste system based on their race.”
Motzka said that she was “sick of everyone denying the enormous progress” that has been made and accused lawmakers for trying to bring back a race system.
Minnesota resident Hillary Swanson also told the committee that the legislation’s definition of ethnic studies would divide and stereotype by race.
“No one is better than me because of the color of my skin. I am what it means to be black in America. I’ve been black my whole life and I will not allow anyone to tell me that they have privilege over me because of my skin,” she said.