Fighting critical race theory: The law is a parent's best weapon

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Fighting critical race theory in schools requires parents to be on offense: Kimberly Hermann

General counsel at the Southeastern Legal Foundation details how parents can fight woke education and critical race theory.

Teach kids to hate America so that they destroy it. That is the unmistakable goal of those putting critical race theory into our nation’s public schools. 

Too many parents are failing to use the sharpest arrow in their quiver—the law. And it’s not their fault. The law is understandably confusing and even intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be. 

The law can be a powerful weapon, offering hope for a lasting victory that can’t easily be undone by the next election. We are on the front lines every day, leading the constitutional battle in the courtroom with the nation’s first comprehensive lawsuits against CRT in the classroom and teacher training. But in our experience parents need more than lawsuits; they need answers to their questions right now, before their child’s school has an opportunity to treat people differently because of the color of their skin, discriminate because of viewpoint, cause individuals to self-censor, or force individuals to accept beliefs with which they do not agree. 

For decades those who would remake our country have tried to tear down America and replace it with a collectivist fantasy. The stark reality is while we fought on Capitol Hill, in our state legislatures and in the courts, they were using a new weapon to cultivate a new army tasked with hating America. The weapon: critical race theory. The new army: America’s children. 

WHAT IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY? 

When schools implement critical race theory, they teach children that America is a nation founded on White supremacy and that racism is embedded in America’s legal system, government policy and the Constitution. When they lie and insist that CRT is "real history," the message is clear: "End the American Republic."

Again, teach kids to hate America so they will destroy it. It’s quite genius in its brutal use of the power of ideas. To fight a war, you need soldiers. But in a constitutional war, you can’t draft soldiers. If kids are taught from the beginning that America is irredeemably racist, then they fall right into the progressive army and join the fight to undo our constitutional republic.

But parents are done. I know because I am one of them. We refuse to let the progressive left take our children from us. We refuse to continue framing the fight to stop woke education as nothing more than a cultural battle: a fight concocted by right-wing parents—alleged book burners, racists and even domestic terrorists—relegated to school board meetings, cable talk shows, and state legislatures. We refuse to be silenced or intimidated. 

TEACHING RACE DOESN'T MEAN TEACHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, ACTIVISTS SAY

The army of parent advocates have mobilized. The impact on local and state executive officials and legislative representatives is undeniable. In the first half of 2021 alone, 26 states introduced—and 12 passed—laws aimed at increasing transparency in education and stopping discriminatory curriculum. And they made education a top concern of the recent 2021 Virginia elections. This is an informed citizenry in action. It is evidence of a healthy system. It is also an inconvenient truth for the progressive left that no longer tolerates any questioning of its orthodoxy. 

Over the last year, I have had the privilege of speaking with thousands of parents across the country. They have shared their families’ personal stories with me—their awakening to critical race theory, their concerns, their fights and their fears. They all spoke of the toll this hateful ideology has had on their children, family, and community. As a mom of two school-age children who has dedicated my career to defending freedom, I applaud and stand with them as I too fight for my children’s innocence. 

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But we cannot win the most important battle to save our American republic (and our kids’ future) if we always find ourselves playing defense. It is time to go on offense—to make a strategic plan and execute it so that when we rid our nation’s classrooms of unconstitutional and illegal woke education, it remains gone forever.

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In direct response to the thousands of parents who have shared their stories with our organization, we recently launched a legal guidebook to give parents a basic understanding of the law and provide the tools to stand up for their children in this fight for freedom. Before parents can successfully reclaim their children’s school, they first need to understand their rights as parents and their children’s rights as students. Our new guidebook provides many of those answers. In it, parents will find an overview of what to look for in their children’s schools, their rights as parents, their children’s rights as students, and hypotheticals to help them navigate problems they may encounter. 

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It has been inspiring to watch my fellow parent advocates activate and mobilize over the past two years. They recognize that this is not only a culture war; it is a constitutional war. It is the fight of our generation for the next generation. There is no silver bullet, but one thing is for sure, we will not win if we only play defense. The parent guidebook will be an important tool for parents as they continue to fight to save America’s public schools.