Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is completely out of control
America’s history and how we came to be who we are today are very important. It is tasked to schools to teach students about our precious history — the good AND the bad. And one of the things we have seen from Republicans are attempts to whitewash that history — to hide it — to dumb it down by creating illusions of a different America where bad things never ever happened.
This prettying up of America’s history is a false history. Because the bottom line is our country has not always acted in the best interest of its people, and we all know that. When Glenn Youngkin was elected Governor of Virginia, I worried about the Old Dominion state. After all, Virginia is mostly blue.
It was a shock that Youngkin ever got in, and it does show us that ALL elections matter. Youngkin is now having his people rewrite students’ history and social studies curriculums. And I don’t like what I am seeing.
There are undoubtedly ominous signs. For example, the people making these decisions have reportedly decided to delete the teaching of Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr from specific classrooms with students they deem too young to hear about such things.
And specific conservative organizations were reportedly consulted to get their opinions on what the included material should be. One of those is the Fordham Institute, which supports banning Critical Race Theory even though it is not taught at most schools.
All of this makes me very worried for Virginia. The plan that the education secretary submitted reportedly had references to Martin Luther King Jr deleted as well as references to other important people. Some references to Barack Obama were removed.
Then, a new draft was submitted after numerous complaints, but the education board, which has nine members, seemed “confused” by the new curriculum. This is a story that is ongoing as more and more people are complaining.
It is also a perfect time to use your activism skills. If you know anyone in Virginia or live there yourself, tell them about this and urge them to call Youngkin’s office. Because we can’t afford to whitewash history. The consequences of doing that would be dire indeed.
