Birmingham, Ala. – Today (July 8th, 2021), the Alabama Policy Institute (API) responded to a letter (available here) from the ACLU of Alabama to the Alabama State Board of Education calling on them to oppose a ban on Critical Race Theory (CRT). The resolution to ban some aspects of CRT from K-12 classrooms was drafted by Eagle Forum of Alabama and supported by API and the Alabama Center for Law & Liberty, API’s litigation arm.
“This letter from the ACLU fits into the broader narrative by liberal groups nationwide that they will fight to protect the ability to teach progressivism to our children,” API’s Chief Policy Officer and host of Rightside Radio Phil Williams said. “Just this week, the national teachers union came out strongly in support of Critical Race Theory being taught in public schools. We’ve now learned that the ACLU intends to join the NEA in that fight. Well, this is a fight worth having and nothing will deter API and other conservatives from combating this scourge.”
“API continues to be on the forefront of the fight against the growing spread of liberal policies and Critical Race Theory is just one more example,” said API President Caleb Crosby. “If the ACLU or other liberal organizations think for a second that we will step aside and allow activists to infect the minds of our children they are wrong. Critical Race Theory does not belong in our K-12 classrooms.”
“Instead,” Phil Williams said, “every child should be taught of their own self-worth and the ability to rise to the highest levels in our society. Critical Race Theory does just the opposite and preaches division, discord, and defeat.”
“Schools should be a place of education, not indoctrination,” API’s Chief Operating Officer Carl Jones said. “It is not a place for the left, or the right, to promote a political agenda. The school board, and the state legislature, should instead prioritize the basics to get us off the bottom rung of states in regard to education.”
Caleb Crosby added, “We urge Governor Ivey and the members of the State Board of Education to take up this issue and pass the resolution banning Critical Race Theory in our schools.”
Founded in 1989, API is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to strengthening free enterprise, defending limited government, and championing strong families.