Horry County school board vote to ban critical race theory was cowardly and dangerous
The Horry County school board might have thought it was taking care of business by banning critical race theory. It wasn’t.
All the board did in its 11 to 1 vote to ban critical race theory was show it was willing to waste time, be pushed around by a mob and press a dangerous political agenda. That’s not leadership. It’s cowardice and a dereliction of duty.
Read this quote by board chair Ken Richardson, as reported by The Suns News’ Caroline Williamson. Richardson was one of the 11.
“I’m four months away from not being the school board chairman anymore,” Richardson said during discussion of the ban. “So I don’t have to watch what I say anymore. I’m not running for office, it’s not political. I can say what I want, and I can do what I want. And you don’t have to like it. And you can murder me on Facebook and social media, anywhere you want to, because I don’t need to read it anymore.”
That is a board member who doesn’t give a yuck anymore.
So he’s apathetic, and through that apathy he’s casting a vote that sets a dangerous standard. And ten other board members were willing to go down this dangerous path, too.
He’s not just apathetic. He’s also showing his true stripes.
Richardson and other board members admit that critical race theory is not taught in their schools. So why are they wasting their time talking about it and voting on it?
One reason: They’re doing it because they’re surrendering to a vocal minority that’s annoying the board into submission.
The scenes of people foaming at the mouth over critical race theory — the latest boogie man for some conservatives — at school board meetings across the country was ubiquitous in the past six months.
Again, Richardson gives some insight into the truth about the board’s decision-making: “I can assure you, in the last six to eight months, I’ve been asked about (schools teaching critical race theory) about a thousand times,” he said. Richardson explained that he wanted to “put it to rest,” Williamson reported.
While they appease this vocal minority, the 11 Republicans who voted for this ban also get to virtue signal. While school boards are nonpartisan, the 11 are listed in candidate filings as Republicans. They get to say they’re good patriots defending American values, when they have done nothing of substance except establish a dangerous standard and hostile atmosphere.
Board member Janet Graham, the sole Democrat, was the only one to vote against the resolution.
Another reason the board banned the non-existent critical race theory in Horry schools: they want a reason to crush any teachings that don’t match the lies-and-half-truths vision that some conservatives have of the world.
Critical race theory is a mask for anything being taught that makes the 11 who voted against it uncomfortable. What word are those 11 Republicans on the board more focused on in “critical race theory” than any other? It’s probably “race.”
The resolution to ban critical race theory says “concepts of Critical Race Theory have been categorized as divisive,” which is part of the stated reason to justify the ban.
Well, World War II was pretty divisive. Will Horry County schools keep teaching that?
Don’t want kids learning about the civil rights movement? Well, it divisive. So it can be banned in Horry County.
Don’t want kids hearing about the realities of slavery? What a divisive issue. Banned.
The glossy Lost Cause myth — that the South was honorable in starting the country’s bloodiest war, which wasn’t about slavery — will be the only curriculum taught in Horry County classrooms if the hysteria behind the critical race theory vote continues to grow.
The history of the South and the United States is inextricably intertwined with divisive racial elements. You can’t teach history factually without divisive race issues being foundational parts of the lessons.
The people most terrified by this vote are the exact people the Horry County school board needs to be attracting — quality teachers.
South Carolina is dealing with an extreme shortage of teachers as many of them flee the profession for reasons reflected in the ban. Teachers fear an axe falling on their heads or being mobbed by the anti-theory gang if they say a wrong word. School governance has become frustrating to teachers because of conservative partisanship, making many teachers throw up their hands and say “I’m out of here.”
For all these reasons, the board members who voted for the ban should explain their intent. If critical race theory wasn’t being taught, why ban it? Did they consider that the vote might scare teachers away? Explain what you think “divisive” means.
The board members who voted for the ban are:
- Ken Richardson
- Neil James
- W. Russell Freeman
- Sherrie Todd
- Tracy Winters
- David Cox
- Howard Barnard
- Helen Smith
- Melanie Wellons
- James Edwards
- Shanda Allen
Their vote against critical race theory was ideological and had no practical application, but the ideology reinforcing the vote wants to whitewash historical realities and have teachers go along with that in case realities come up that don’t fit these board members’ views.
The vote might try to whitewash things, but it’s a dark future if more of the ideology behind the critical race theory ban comes to other counties across South Carolina.
This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 11:34 AM.