Proposed priorities for a small group of federal history and civics grants had received more than 15,000 by a Wednesday deadline and reflect the divisive national debate over how schools should discuss race, racism, and the nation鈥檚 history.
Thousands of those comments appear to have been generated by a form created by an organization that has taken aim at what it calls 鈥渨oke鈥� classroom curricula.
The April U.S. Department of 91制片厂视频 proposal, outlining discretionary priorities for recipients of American History and Civics 91制片厂视频 grants, said it would prioritize instruction that discusses bias, discrimination, and diverse perspectives. It cited scholar and anti-racism activist Ibram X. Kendi, and the 1619 Project, a New York Times Magazine project that highlights the legacy of slavery as a central element in America鈥檚 story.
The proposal has been criticized by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as 鈥渄ivisive nonsense,鈥� and some members of Congress have even filed legislation in opposition to it.
The wave of public comments comes as Republican state lawmakers around the country seek to restrict how schools discuss race and 鈥渄ivisive issues.鈥� They also follow a year of demonstrations and a public reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
History cannot teach us anything if it is destroyed or buried beneath denial.
Comments in support of the proposed priorities said they reflect a necessary focus for school history discussions that teach students to think critically about the nation鈥檚 past.
鈥淗istory cannot teach us anything if it is destroyed or buried beneath denial,鈥� a teacher from North Carolina wrote.
But thousands of comments in opposition included duplicate statements, apparently submitted through calls to action from advocacy groups and news organizations. Those statements attacked the proposal as 鈥淢arxism,鈥� and overly divisive. Many questioned the reality of systemic racism in American society.
鈥淚 do not want my tax dollars used in public schools to teach critical race theory, which pits individuals against each other and encourages students to judge each other on the color of their skin,鈥� said one comment, submitted over 700 times by various people.
Controversial federal grant proposal comes as nation debates race, history
Although the grant proposal does not mention 鈥渃ritical race theory,鈥� the term appeared in more than 4,600 submitted comments. As 91制片厂视频 Week鈥檚 Stephen Sawchuk writes, critical race theory is a term dating back to the 1970s that suggests 鈥渞acism is a social construct, and that it is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.鈥�
For some, it has become shorthand for any discussion of race or equality. Some GOP lawmakers have used the term as a cable news talking point in recent months.
The federal proposal does, however, quote Kendi as saying, 鈥淎ntiracist ideas argue that racist policies are the cause of racial inequities.鈥�
The goes on to say: 鈥淚t is critical that the teaching of American history and civics creates learning experiences that validate and reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students.鈥�
The grant priorities are not a mandate for what all public schools should teach. Rather, they are stated preferences for recipients of a small amount of federal grants administered by the U.S. Department of 91制片厂视频. The American History and Civics grants received $5.3 million in federal funding this fiscal year, out of a roughly $74 billion budget for the agency.
Proposal draws opposition
It鈥檚 not uncommon for Federal Register documents to attract duplicate public comments, which are often a sign that organizations have launched a 鈥渃all to action,鈥� asking interested members or readers to submit prewritten text via an online form or by copying and pasting from their website.
An abundance of such comments can help demonstrate the level of outside interest a federal proposal has generated, sometimes from political or advocacy groups. In this case, it appears one group, Parents Defending 91制片厂视频, drew thousands of repetitive comments through its website.
The organization opposes what it calls 鈥渨oke鈥� curricula and efforts to divide students and others into 鈥渙ppressor鈥� and 鈥渙ppressed鈥� groups. It has recently filed federal civil rights complaints against school districts, arguing that they committed discrimination when they flagged concerns about systemic racism in their schools. Critics called those complaints 鈥渕alicious.鈥�
Searching through comments in opposition to the proposal, 91制片厂视频 Week identified at least seven different comments for which versions were submitted at least 700 times each. Those comments all appear to have been generated by users on a , which displays new comment text each time the web page is refreshed. That form was repeatedly linked in conservative media and shared on Twitter.
I disapprove that the U.S. Department of 91制片厂视频 is promoting a harmful agenda that is driven by racial identity and division.
鈥淚 disapprove that the U.S. Department of 91制片厂视频 is promoting a harmful agenda that is driven by racial identity and division,鈥� says one of those comments, submitted more than 750 times. Another criticizes priorities that 鈥渙bsess over bias and discriminatory policies in America.鈥�
Other comments generated through the page question the accuracy of the 1619 Project and call Kendi鈥檚 鈥渁nti-racist鈥� approach a form of discrimination in itself.
鈥淭he sweeping racial discrimination Kendi advocates violates federal anti-discrimination law, which should not be funded with federal resources,鈥� says a comment shared more than 750 times.
Hundreds of other comments appear to have been written by individuals on their own, but they share some common themes, like mentions of 鈥淢arxism,鈥� 鈥渂rainwashing,鈥� and 鈥渋ndoctrination.鈥�
One commenter, who identified himself as Adam Kissel鈥攁 former deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs in the Trump administration鈥� said the grant priorities use terms that may be inconsistently interpreted, which will make it difficult for reviewers to determine which applications are best suited to win grants.
鈥淚t is common that interpretations of bias are biased themselves,鈥� .
Twenty state attorneys general also wrote to U.S. Secretary of 91制片厂视频 Miguel Cardona, asking him to either not adopt the proposed priorities, or to spell out that the grants can鈥檛 support the teaching of critical race theory.
鈥淭he implementation of these priorities will, in practice, lead to racial and ethnic division and indeed more discrimination,鈥� the in their May 19 letter.
They also said that the proposal defied congressional intent for the grants.
Supporters call for 鈥榓n accurate account of American history鈥�
Commenters who wrote in support of the priorities included teachers and parents who said schools are overdue for teaching history in a more inclusive and critical way. Some organizations have criticized U.S. schools for using curriculum that omits or glosses over eras like Reconstruction.
鈥淲e believe the one who has power,鈥� wrote one mother from Michigan, quoting the book Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. 鈥淗e is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must ask yourself, Whose story am I missing?鈥�
Asking students to consider the lens through which history is written will help them to be more critical thinkers, the mother wrote.
We will not all still agree on certain issues, but when you can hear and listen to new perspectives, I believe you challenge yourself and become a more critical thinker.
鈥淲e will not all still agree on certain issues, but when you can hear and listen to new perspectives, I believe you challenge yourself and become a more critical thinker,鈥� the comment said.
Other commenters included teachers who said learning about history helps students to be more engaged.
鈥淗istory that is not taught is bound to be forgotten,鈥� wrote a teacher from Washington. 鈥淧eople without a voice will be left without power, without knowledge, without a stake in our future. That is not the America I want my kids growing up in. We must do better and we can do better.鈥�
One anonymous commenter said schools need to teach all American history, including events like the creation of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II and Jim Crow laws.
Still other commenters, including parents and educators, said students need more experience learning to talk about race and its effects.
鈥淩ace and racism have got to be 鈥榯alkable,鈥欌�� wrote one Indiana parent. 鈥淚f they are not, then we will never be able to move ahead as a country and community.鈥�
Politicians seek to seize momentum
Reactions to the grant the proposal spotlight a divide in the country and between the two major political parties. Former President Donald Trump highlighted 鈥渢eaching American exceptionalism鈥� as a priority. By contrast, President Joe Biden鈥檚 education secretary, Miguel Cardona, previously supported efforts in Connecticut to require high schools to offer Black and Latino studies courses and has been outspoken about inequality in the nation鈥檚 schools.
Republicans on Capitol Hill have channeled ongoing controversy about the grants and what students learn about racism and bias.
Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., May 12 that would prohibit federal funding from supporting the proposed grant priorities 鈥渙r any other priority or requirement related to the teaching of Critical Race Theory.鈥� The same day, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., to amend the Every Student Succeeds Act鈥攖he main federal K-12 law鈥攎aking a similar prohibition related to critical race theory.
And legislation from Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, , would restrict the teaching of critical race theory at federal institutions. Owens also introduced a resolution that 鈥渉ighlights the dangers of teaching CRT in U.S. schools.鈥�
All three GOP lawmakers are members of the House education committee.
Separately, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told Cardona in a May appropriations hearing that the proposed grant priorities and the uproar around them could undermine bipartisan legislation to bolster civics education backed by him and other lawmakers. , which Cole and others introduced in the last Congress, has subsequently grown, the Washington Post reported, due to fears that it will be used to push radical viewpoints related to critical race theory.
That bill, the , does not include any reference to critical race theory.
