‘Debate’? CNN Sides with CRT Activist to Bully Conservative Mom

What I would say is that I think we need to put a little bit more trust in our educators. We need to put more trust in people who have actually researched this issue and who actually are better informed because they actually spent the time and energy necessary to really understand some of the nuances that are being kind of blown over here in this conversation. I think what’s important to really be aware of is that having this conversation on race and racism is what this is really about. What you oftentimes hear on the other side is this unwillingness to really call things out. They used to say in the black churches, you know, shame the devil and tell the truth. The truth is racism is real. It’s having a real impact on our children. It’s having an impact on the quality of life that people are experiencing. Where else is a better place to have the conversation around race and racism but in the classroom, to make sure they’re critical thinkers, they’re problem solving, they’re innovators, so they’re prepared for the world of work. So they can go out and make a difference in the world. Basically, the response is, let’s not have this conversation so we can keep them silent and quiet and not able and really make no real change in society. 

CNN New Day

10/12/21

BRIANNA KEILAR: Virginia’s democratic gubernatorial candidate, Terry McAuliffe, criticized over his comments of what should be taught in schools and saying parents should stay out of it. Heated debates continue at school board meetings across the country, about whether public schools should teach critical race theory, which is a legal theory that recognizes that systemic racism is part of American society and challenges the beliefs that allow it to flourish. Let’s talk about this with people who are affected by this discussion. A Virginia mom against critical race theory teaching in school, Asra Nomani, and also with us is a Texas parent in favor of critical race theory being taught in schools, Kazique Prince. I want to thank both of you for coming on. This is such an important discussion that we’re having. Look I know that you both agree that parents should have a say, right? They should have a say in what their kids are being taught. You differ on what schools should teach. So Asra to you first, you know, what do you think schools should not be teaching?

ASRA NOMANI:  Schools should be teaching reading, writing, arithmetic. They shouldn’t be radicalizing our kids. Unfortunately, schools are now radicalizing our kids. This is the volume of the book from Critical race theory that as people say is taught in law schools, but now it is trickling down into little books for children, like “Woke baby.” “Gender queer,” which is the book that actually inspired this mom to speak in the school board meeting in Fairfax County, to which Terry McAuliffe responded. In it there is unfortunately a very graphic symbol of pedophilia and pornography.

KEILAR:  Can I ask you, why do you draw a line from one to the other? Because I have gone through critical race theory. I don’t know that there is a direct line. Why do you think that there is? 

NOMANI: Just look at this idea that is in “Not my idea.” It literally says here, ‘whiteness is a bad deal.’ It has a symbol of Satan. And this is the contract that they say whiteness brings. Children are getting this book. So there is a direct correlation from these ideas to these dangerous principles. And I fit into the intersectional world. I’m a Muslim. I’m an immigrant. I’m a mom of color. I am a single mom. Yet I do not — all of these privileges in the new paradigm of the oppression matrix, because we’re all human beings. That’s what we need to teach children. Of course race is important issue, our racial history is important. But right now CRT is bringing into our schools racism, bigotry, and separation, affinity circles, segregation. It is not okay, and it is not healthy for our kids.

KEILAR:  What do you say to that?

KAZIQUE PRINCE: What I say is that, you know, [chuckles] one of the big problems we have today, and we’ve learned this during the pandemic situation that we’re in today, that we have too many people who know little or nothing about education trying to tell professionals who are in this industry, who have been working hard. If anything, we learned their jobs are much harder than we think they are. We’re coming in as weekend warriors, trying to tell them about what education should look like. 

What I would say is that I think we need to put a little bit more trust in our educators. We need to put more trust in people who have actually researched this issue and who actually are better informed because they actually spent the time and energy necessary to really understand some of the nuances that are being kind of blown over here in this conversation. I think what’s important to really be aware of is that having this conversation on race and racism is what this is really about. What you oftentimes hear on the other side is this unwillingness to really call things out. They used to say in the black churches, you know, shame the devil and tell the truth. The truth is racism is real. It’s having a real impact on our children. It’s having an impact on the quality of life that people are experiencing. Where else is a better place to have the conversation around race and racism but in the classroom, to make sure they’re critical thinkers, they’re problem solving, they’re innovators, so they’re prepared for the world of work. So they can go out and make a difference in the world. Basically, the response is, let’s not have this conversation so we can keep them silent and quiet and not able and really make no real change in society. 

NOMANI: What’s so ironic is that it is parents that they are trying to silence. I am wearing this shirt that says, “I am a mom, not a domestic terrorist.” Because the national school boards association, and now the justice department, has started a war on parents to silence us. Of course, I respect educators. I came to this country not knowing a word of English, and it was teachers in West Virginia that allowed me to become a journalist. This is what we’re investigating, is that this is literally a poster that a parent sent to us of a picture. I blanked out the f-word, but it says —

KEILAR: From where? 

NOMANI: From Los Angeles unified school district. It is called —

KEILAR: That you say was displayed? 

NOMANI: It was displayed. The school district acknowledged it. Being a–

KEILAR: So let me ask you about this, because I think I’m curious what you think about this, there are some books,. And clearly parents have, you know, they have a stake in whether some of these things are read or said. But I wonder if you see this as fully representative of the discussion of race, like, are you arguing that all of these things should be included, or are you saying that this sort of blanket argument against critical race theory is actually an effort to avoid discussing racism? 

KAZIQUE PRINCE: Yeah, it is an effort. And oftentimes hidden behind this rhetoric. The language that I’m hearing used here doesn’t really speak to the level of sophistication that I think is necessary to help our young people be prepared for the world of work, for the society that they’re going to be living in. As someone who worked at the universities, we had too many students coming to the university who had little or no experience of knowing how to navigate the conversations and relationships that were related to race. So oftentimes they were ill prepared and so I’m not saying every piece of material that is out there is appropriate, and useful, but that’s what parents, I think, having their involvement so critical, doesn’t mean we have no involvement from parents, as a parent myself I was definitely involved with my children’s education. Not just at school, but also at home. And so I think it is really important to really — not to really low ball this conversation and really make it oversimplified, this is pretty nuanced. Parents have the means of becoming more informed to be aware of what’s available out there for them, so they can make really good decisions. But I don’t think that means we need to abuse and really speak down to educators as if they are not prepared or have information that is necessary. And on occasion I think there is times where we should be saying, you know what, I’m not sure about this, I have questions. That’s what this whole conversation about being critical is about, it is about having the means of having an intelligent meaningful conversation about this, and instead of throwing it all out and thinking, oh, well, this –this is not an appropriate way to deal with some of the challenges.

KEILAR:  I know that we have only scratched the surface of this topic. There is so much more and what we’re talking about are children, obviously this is something we’re all very invested in. I thank both of you for having a discussion, a civil discussion that needs to continue. Thank you.