Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves calls for elimination of critical race theory in budget proposal
Reeves says critical race theory is 'destructive to young children'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves released his Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal on Monday, recommending that the teaching of critical race theory be eliminated from taxpayer-funded schools.
Under a section in the budget proposal titled "Improving Education," Reeves headlined a section "Eliminate Critical Race Theory" and outlined how he believed the teaching to be a "vicious lie."
Reeves speaks during a daily coronavirus update for media in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There has been a push from radical leftists across the nation to teach children a vicious lie: that this country is fundamentally racist and that your skin color makes you inherently racist," Reeves wrote in the proposal. "Those two core principles form the foundation of a philosophy known as Critical Race Theory. It is destructive to young children. It runs contrary to basic history."
Gov. Tate Reeves waves to the audience after delivering his State of the State address before a joint session of the Legislature, outside the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Reeves said critical race theory is "purely propaganda for a group that wants to accumulate power by dividing American children into victims and oppressors."
"Elite power-seekers want to be seen as saviors, so they attempt to divide, humiliate, and indoctrinate our children," Reeves stated in the proposal. "There is nothing wrong with teaching the truth about America’s successes and our sins. We must not, however, allow the creeping influence of Critical Race Theory to undermine our children’s educations."
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Reeves called on the state legislature to pass legislation to "prevent these destructive lies from being taught in any classroom funded by the taxpayers" and said that parents must "educate our children on the exceptional good that our great country is responsible for."
Reeves speaks during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House on Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
"No nation in history has ever done more to advance freedom, prosperity, and fairness," Reeves noted. "That should not be swept under the rug, it should be celebrated. For that reason, I am once again proposing a $3 million investment in a Patriotic Education Fund from capital expense funds."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News did not receive an immediate response from Reeves' office.