Georgia Gov. Urges Educators Not to Teach Critical Race Theory’s ‘Dangerous Ideology’

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp holds a news conference in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 24, 2020. Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Thursday wrote a letter to the state Board of Education opposing the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and its “dangerous ideology” in public schools.

“This divisive, anti-American agenda has no place in Georgia classrooms,” the Republican governor said in a statement on Twitter.

He urged educators in his letter “to take immediate steps to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards or curriculum.”

Kemp said that parents, students, administrators, and educators in Georgia have come to him in recent weeks with concerns about the teaching of CRT in state schools.

“Like me, they are alarmed this divisive and anti-American curriculum is gaining favor in Washington D.C. and in some states across the country.”

CRT has gradually proliferated in recent decades through academia, government structures, school systems, and the corporate world. It redefines human history as a struggle between the “oppressors”—white people—and the “oppressed”—everybody else—similar to Marxism’s reduction of history to a struggle between the “bourgeois” and the “proletariat.” It labels institutions that emerged in majority-white societies as racist and “white supremacist.”

Like Marxism, CRT advocates for the destruction of institutions, such as the Western justice system, free-market economy, and orthodox religions, while demanding that they be replaced with institutions compliant with the theory’s ideology.

Proponents of CRT have argued that the theory is merely “demonstrating how pervasive systemic racism truly is.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in March denounced critical race theory as hateful, while Republican lawmakers in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, New Hampshire, and West Virginia have said that they aim to ban the teaching of critical race theory in schools, workplaces, and government agencies.

Earlier this month, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a bill mandating the teaching of CRT in schools, while Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill banning its teaching in the state’s public and charter schools.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education has proposed a grant priority that seeks to promote controversial racial concepts in the classroom. The proposal, known as the “Proposed Priorities: American History and Civics Education,” would incentivize schools to teach the quasi-Marxist critical race theory to its students.

One of the priorities encourages schools to “incorporate culturally and linguistically responsive” teaching approaches that would contribute toward what the department calls an “identity-safe” learning environment.

Referring to the proposal, Kemp said in his letter that it is “ridiculous” that the Biden administration is considering using taxpayer funds to push a “blatantly partisan agenda” in Georgia classrooms.

The state must instead focus on its goal of providing the highest quality education to every child in Georgia “without partisan bias or political influence.”

“Education in Georgia should reflect our fundamental values as a state and nation—freedom, equality, and the God-given potential of each individual,” the governor wrote.

The State Board of Education didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

Richard Woods, Georgia’s elected Republican state superintendent, said in a May 11 Facebook post for his campaign that the Georgia Department of Education has no current or proposed standards that include “CRT concepts.”

“We will not be adopting any CRT standards nor applying for or accept any funding that requires the adoption of these concepts by our state, schools, or classrooms. We will not provide trainings that seek to promote these teachings to educators and support staff,” he said.

Petr Svab contributed to this report.