The Biden administration is seeking to prioritize funding for educational programs that incorporate the New York Times’ 1619 Project and the ideas of critical race theorist Ibram Kendi into their American history and civics education. But these programs have been controversial.
On his first day in the White House, Biden disbanded the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission, throwing out its first and last report. The report called for a return to “patriotic education,” focusing on how generations of Americans overcame racism to achieve the founding ideals of America’s founding fathers.
In a proposed new rule released Monday, April 19, the U.S. Department of Education outlined new priority criteria for $5.3 million in U.S. history and civics education grants, as well as exemplary materials for use by K-12 (elementary-high school) educators.
Specifically, the Department cites the 1619 Project, the National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit, and Kendi’s “Anti-Racism” as leading examples of what it hopes to promote with taxpayer dollars in history and civics education classrooms across the country.
None of these three teaching models is free from controversy. 1619 is “built around the idea that the United States is inherently racist and consists of a series of essays that, among many other controversial claims, argue that the primary reason for the American Revolution was to protect slavery. The historical accuracy of the project has been questioned by various historical scholars and experts, including the project’s own fact-checkers, who have questioned the authenticity of the project.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the taxpayer-funded Smithsonian Institute, also came under fire last year for an exhibit on “white culture. The Washington, D.C.-based museum suggested that the emphasis on things like “nuclear families,” “self-reliance,” “objective, rational linear thinking” and “rigorous scheduling” was a good idea. The Washington, D.C.-based museum suggests that the emphasis on things like “nuclear family,” “self-reliance,” “objective, rational linear thinking” and “strict scheduling” is a sign of the supposed importance of “white culture.
Kendi is best known as a vocal advocate of critical race theory. Through this theory, people see racial oppression everywhere in society and believe that those who disagree with it are supporters of the so-called oppression. In his new book, “Anti-Racist Babies,” Kendi uses rhyming verse to explain to preschoolers how they can reflect on and purge their internalized racism and how their parents can help raise future “anti-racist” activists.
According to the Department of Education, its choice of examples was justified by President Biden’s executive order to advance “racial equity” and to better support “underserved communities.
The document reads, “The Department of Education recognizes that COVID-19 (the Chinese Communist virus) has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color. And the ongoing national rethinking of systemic racism underscores the urgency of improving racial equity throughout our society, including in our education system.”
The proposed rule marks the Biden administration’s latest move to educate American students that historical racism remains deeply rooted in today’s America.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Biden-appointed U.N. ambassador, echoes the view that the United States is fundamentally racist. She recently said that America’s founding documents were “woven” with white supremacy.
But she has been criticized by former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for this statement. Pompeo argued that someone who believes that someone who does not love America cannot represent America. And this statement is a “weapon to hurt America” for Xi Jinping, the Communist Party leader.
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