See below for a statement from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus regarding this (Appalling: Youngkin Administration Moves to Eliminate “Inherently Divisive Concepts” From Public Education; Dems Rip His “inherently divisive” “racist agenda,” “whitewashed history and fake news”):
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Statement on Governor Youngkin’s Interim VDOE Report
Richmond, VA—The members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) have reviewed Governor Youngkin’s Interim Report and condemn his constant attempts to further revise, rewrite, and erase history. It is clear that the governor is centering the voices of a few while silencing the voices of many.
“This is certainly not a promise kept,” said VLBC Chairman Lamont Bagby (D-74th, Henrico). “Governor Youngkin stood on the steps of the Capitol and declared that our shared history must be taught. He immediately went behind closed doors and began his war on Black History starting with Executive Order 1. This report is further evidence that he believes he can trick us with his words while acting counter.”
The governor and others across the nation have crafted a nonexistent and false “CRT/divisive concepts” crisis in order to remove Black History from classrooms. Virginia’s students have a right to an honest and accurate education without the censorship of information and ideas.
“As I said on the floor of the House of Delegates during Black History Month, there isn’t a tip line set up for Black parents to report when their children are facing discrimination and harassment,” said Delegate Jeion Ward (D-92nd, Hampton). “Nor is there an interim report from the Governor on all of the history that was actively erased and rewritten in textbooks over the years. We can’t go back and change history just because it didn’t turn out the way they wanted it to and makes a few people uncomfortable. We must tell the true history. We cannot and will not stand for whitewashing our history and our stories.”
“When a patron of the Governor’s Day One Game Plan ‘inherently divisive concept’ legislation was asked what it meant—she was clueless. So was his staff,” said Senator Mamie Locke (D-2nd, Hampton). “But this report tells us what it means. It is the erasure of truth and the history of Black and Brown people from public school curricula for the comfort of a few. I say to the Governor, not on my watch.”
“The centuries-long legacy of slavery and Jim Crow did not magically disappear with a magic wand when Jim Crow legally ended,” said VLBC Vice Chair Jennifer McClellan (D-9th, Richmond). “We must educate all Virginians about the good, the bad, and the ugly in our history and the intentional effort to undo the inequities caused by the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. Governor Youngkin’s attempts are dangerous because they unravel our efforts to redress inequity in education while at the same time making it more difficult to teach that history and its impacts. Covering our eyes to the reality of history will only serve to worsen education and inequities in Virginia.”
“Just because they rescinded equity efforts and information does not negate the fact that inequities exist,” said Delegate Delores McQuinn (D-70th, Henrico). “The foundation of this nation and this Commonwealth was rooted in inequities and racism. If people in leadership are not willing to take a bold stance to tell the truth about our history, and not make it about something that does not exist in this Commonwealth or in this country for that matter, future generations will still live in a Commonwealth that does not provide a common good for all people. We have an obligation to tell the truth. If that is divisive then let it be because the truth shall set us free.”
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The VLBC is committed to improving the economic, educational, political, and social conditions of African Americans and underrepresented groups in Virginia. A vital part of VLBC’s mission is to raise the consciousness of other groups to the contributions made by African Americans to the Commonwealth and the Nation.
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