Democrat Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland criticized Republican states during a Sunday appearance on MSNBC, arguing that they were harming children by banning critical race theory.
The Florida Department of Education rejected an Advanced Placement course on African American history in January, citing a section addressing “queer theory,” among other issues. The AP responded by altering the course.
“I continue to hear people making the argument that we’re doing it because we want to prevent students from having discomfort or guilt,” Moore said. “We don’t want out students to really wrestle with these really difficult things while they’re maturing as individuals, and difficult historical points. But the thing I realize and I wanna speak out about it, is that’s actually not true.”
“It’s not about making kids uncomfortable. It’s about telling other kids that they shouldn’t understand their own power. It’s castrating them.” (RELATED: The Kids Are All Right: Students Are Pushing Back Against Gender Ideology In Their Schools)
Md. Gov. Wes Moore (@iamwesmoore) on red states restricting age inappropriate books in school libraries: “It’s about telling other kids that they shouldn’t understand their own power. It’s castrating them.” pic.twitter.com/rUloprFNIr
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 19, 2023
Moore has criticized politicians who, as he puts it, “ban books and muzzle educators” in previous comments, accusing them of attempting to “rewrite history.”
“The reason I know that every single day I can stand in my own skin, and I can stand in my own power, is because I know my own history,” Moore continued. “I’m humbled by the fact that it come from a long line of visionaries and fighters and educators and activists, people who did not know me, but they fought for the hope of me. And by telling me that that history is not important, or by telling me that if you teach it to me that is gonna somehow put the person who taught it to me under investigation, you’re telling me that you don’t want me to understand my power. And that’s what this is all about.
Despite corporate media claims, black history is a required course of study in Florida schools. The state DOE initially rejected the course because readings from critical race theorists conflicted with a state law that prohibits teaching that someone can be “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”