NBC reporter compares 'anti-racism work' unpopularity to Martin Luther King

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NBC reporter compares critical race theory's unpopularity to MLK

NBC's Yamiche Alcindor likens the unpopularity of critical race theory to the unpopularity Martin Luther King Jr faced when he was leading the civil rights movement.

Yamiche Alcindor, an NBC News contributor, compared the unpopularity of "anti-racism work" to Martin Luther King during a Sunday discussion about the ousting of three San Francisco school board members. 

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"There is this central issue of parents having lived through the pandemic, having also seen what their children are learning, really having a front row seat to the challenges of all the that, rebelling against, sort of what the school boards are focused on," Alcindor said on "Meet The Press."

Multi-ethnic group of children coloring at a table while wearing protective face masks to avoid the transfer of germs.  (iStock)

"I was looking at, sort of, Martin Luther King's favorability," she said, noting that it was Black History Month. "Looking at the fact that a majority of the country did not support his work, that he was an unfavorable figure. I think anti-racism work in America has been unpopular in this country historically." The clip was first reported by NewsBusters. 

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Getty Images)

The ousted school board members were heavily criticized in part for focusing on issues like renaming schools after figures they deemed problematic, including Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Alcindor said that it was "complicated" but she believed there was a problem in this country about whether people are comfortable talking about slavery and its consequences. "There was this inflection point after the murder of George Floyd, and I think there has been a big backlash to that," she said.

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan said the school board was devoted to "issues they thought were progressive."

"The school board was not opening the schools ," Noonan said. "They seemed to have a muted interest in what parents thought was the essential question, will you open the schools?" 

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She said she thought what happened with the school board was part of a "parental revolt" but also a "cultural war" within the Democratic Party. 

Host Chuck Todd said it felt like the result was about "not plowing the snow during the snowstorm." 

Washington Post White House correspondent Ashley Parker said it was "its own version of a pocketbook issue," noting many parents may have seen their kids struggling with mental health issues. 

San Francisco Mayor London Breed appeared earlier in the show and said the board members "failed our children."

Todd noted that she would be tasked with replacing the three members that were voted out. Breed said that parents want someone who will focus on the "basic fundamental responsibility of members of the school board."

San Francisco Mayor London Breed talks about the first confirmed case of the omicron variant during a COVID-19 briefing outside City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021.  (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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