Legislation that opposes systematic racism teachings waits for Gov. Bill Lee’s signature
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- Legislation preventing educational materials that include systematic racism now waits for Governor Bill Lee’s signature.
Tennessee Senate Bill 623 pulls funding from school systems which use materials that promote the idea that America is a fundamentally racist country.
“All this legislation does is in a very backhanded way try to prevent teachers from using materials from the ‘1619 Project’.”
The project referenced by Hamilton County teacher Aaron Fowles, is a controversial initiative by the New York Times which re-frames the start of American history with the first arrival of African slaves.
The initiative’s introduction says “It… places the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”
“Now teachers should not push their beliefs on students, but legislatures should not push their beliefs on teachers. The legislation as it’s written does not prevent a discussion from occurring. It does not prevent a student from raising their voice on an issue.”
News 12 spoke with Representative Robin Smith. She approves of the legislation and believes that a student’s curriculum should not include topics like critical race theory and systematic racism.
“There is a very thoughtful way to discuss race, to discuss the fact that prejudice is wrong, discrimination is wrong. For me to be assigned as a privileged individual just simply because of the box I check on an application or how I’m identified in the census, those are the things that we have to move away from.”
Below is a direct link to Senate Bill 623:
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