Governor, state superintendent, lawmakers, strongly oppose critical race theory in SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS)- A few days before the formal end of the legislative term, Republican state lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban the “tenets of critical race theory” from being taught in South Carolina public institutions.

The legislation, H. 4325, has 19 sponsors and defines Critical Race Theory as tenets teaching, “any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.”

The bill goes on to define it as teachings saying that, “individuals, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin.”

Governor McMaster, State Superintendent Molly Spearman, state lawmakers, and South Carolina members of Congress have all spoken out against critical race theory since the legislation was introduced in early May.

In a Facebook post Spearman wrote, “The Critical Race Theory (CRT) ideology has no place in South Carolina schools and classrooms. The South Carolina Department of Education has no current or proposed standards that include CRT concepts and will not be adopting any CRT standards nor applying for or accepting any funding that requires or incentivizes the adoption of these concepts in our classrooms,” Spearman goes on to write, “We will not provide professional development opportunities or training that seeks to promote CRT amongst South Carolina educators.”

When asked about Critical Race Theory after a news conference Monday, McMaster told reporters it has no place in South Carolina.

“It’s certainly not necessary for the education of young people 4-years-old all the way up through high school. When you get to college you get to take a course on almost anything you want and that’s up to you, but I don’t think it has a place in South Carolina and I don’t think it’s helpful and could be harmful,” said McMaster.

Lowcountry U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Mace also opposes the curriculum and wrote on Facebook, “Indoctrinating our kids with a curriculum based in Marxist ideology has no place in American institutions. Not a single taxpayer dime should support Critical Race Theory.”

According to an article posted by the American Bar Association , was introduced in the legal world in the 1970s and then grew in the following decades.

“CRT transcends a Black/white racial binary and recognizes that racism has impacted the experiences of various people of color, including Latinx, Native Americans, and Asian Americans,” writes the ABA author Janel George. “CRT challenges white privilege and exposes deficit-informed research that ignores, and often omits, the scholarship of people of color.”

A few states including Idaho and Florida already passed or are considering laws banning Critical Race Theory from being taught.

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