An amendment to ban funding for schools or other publicly-funded institutions that teach critical race theory was approved by the U.S. Senate. | Canva
An amendment to ban funding for schools or other publicly-funded institutions that teach critical race theory was approved by the U.S. Senate. | Canva
Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez-Mastro and Jacky Rosen have teamed up to oppose Sen. Tom Cotton's (R-AR) proposed amendment to the latest budget proposal that would ban funding for schools or other publicly-funded institutions that teach critical race theory. The two senators from Nevada have formed ranks with other Democrats to oppose the amendment.
“They want to teach our children that America is not a good nation but a racist nation," Cotton said ahead of the vote, Just the News reported. "Those teachings are wrong and our tax dollars should not support them. My amendment will ensure that federal funds aren’t used to indoctrinate children as young as pre-K to hate America."
Nicholas Ensley Mitchell, assistant professor of Curriculum Studies at the University of Kansas spoke against the amendment.
He said, according to The Conversation, that teachers will either "'distort' history in the eyes of lawmakers who say it’s wrong to teach that America was racist from the start. Or they will distort history by ignoring the fact that – as the U.S. Supreme Court once noted itself in 1857 – Black people were 'not intended' to be regarded as 'citizens' under the U.S. Constitution and therefore had no constitutional rights."
Cotton gave several examples of critical race theory being used in school. One example was 30 public school districts in 15 states have assigned a book inspired by critical race theory called “Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness,” which depicts “whiteness” as the devil, the NY Post reported.
Supporters of critical race theory say it can eliminate systemic racism because it considers the ways race has influenced law and culture in the United States, the NY Post reported.
Tara Yosso, a professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside, said critical race theory can be an approach used to theorize, examine and challenge the ways which race and racism implicitly and explicitly impact social structures, practices and discourses, according to The American Bar Association.
In the end, Cotton got his way. The amendment was approved by the Senate 50-49. All Senate Republicans voted in favor of the amendment, while all Democrats except Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted against it, including Cortez-Mastro and Rosen, Just the News reported.
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