Maurice Brewton, who teaches US history at a Clayton County high school, says the legislation betrays a fear among white conservatives about a reckoning with America’s brutal history of slavery and racism.
“It’s about time we can have these uncomfortable conversations openly,” he said. “We don’t want to push the conversation further back and make the next generation have to deal with it.”
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Kemp said during his January State of the State address that he would work with lawmakers to stop the “divisive ideology” of critical race theory in schools.
Academic theory is taught in college courses to study the impact of racism on institutions and society. Georgia school districts say it is not taught in K-12 classrooms.
Despite this, Republicans have reportedly embarked on a crusade in dozens of states by passing legislation or taking other steps.
Many of the bills, such as HB 1084, target nine concepts that are considered controversial. They were copied almost line for line from a September 2020 executive order by then-President Donald Trump, which banned them from training federal employees.
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The forbidden concepts include generalizations, such as saying that a race is inherently superior, moral character is racial, a person is responsible for past actions of others of the same race, or America is fundamentally racist.
“This legislation is an attack on Georgian students and teachers and government censorship of the worst kind,” Max Flugrath, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia, said in a press release.
HB 1084 was sponsored by Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville, formerly a member of the Dawson County School Board and President of the Georgia School Boards Association. His legislation would establish a process allowing parents to have their complaints heard.
Wade has high hopes for his bill. It’s about “creating unity” and shielding students from the political fringes, he said at a hearing on Monday. “I believe there is a way for us to end racism in America.”
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So far, the legislation has met with more protest than unity.
Debates in legislative hearings and in chambers have sparked partisan resentments, followed by votes mostly falling along party lines. Students and teachers have traveled to the Capitol for rallies and protest marches.
Decatur teacher Amelia Copp gave lawmakers copies of a petition opposing the legislation. More than 1,300 have signed it.
“I’ve personally spoken to several teachers who have said that if these bills pass, they will either move or quit,” she said after handing in the petitions two weeks ago.