The mayors of four major cities seemed to back away from sponsoring a resolution supporting critical race theory (CRT) in public K-12 schools after their support for the deeply unpopular ideology was made public on social media.
The resolution, which was adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, initially listed the following four mayoral sponsors: Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Greg Fischer; Boise, Idaho, Mayor Lauren McLean; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot; and Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler.
According to the resolution, the “basic tenants” of CRT are: the “recognition that race is not biologically real, but it is socially constructed…”; “acknowledgment that racism is a normal feature of society and is embedded within systems and institutions…”; “rejection of popular understandings about racism, including claims of meritocracy, colorblindness, and arguments that confine racism to a few bad apples…”; and “recognition of the relevance of people’s everyday lives to scholarship, embracing the lived experiences of people of color … and rejecting deficit-informed research that excludes the epistemologies of people of color…”
The resolution concludes by stating that “the nation’s mayors support the implementation of CRT in the public education curriculum to help engage our youth in programming that reflects an accurate, complete account of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color] history, and that the U.S. Conference of Mayors supports access to equitable programs that reflect history, decrease achievement gaps, and better ensure that BIPOC students receive resources that ensure their success upon the completion of their primary education.”
CRT foe Christopher Rufo posted a screenshot of the entire document onto Twitter on Wednesday.
“BREAKING: The mayors of Chicago, Portland, Louisville, and Boise have officially endorsed critical race theory in public schools and promised to drive “the implementation of CRT in the public education curriculum” across America,” the independent journalist and filmmaker tweeted.
BREAKING: The mayors of Chicago, Portland, Louisville, and Boise have officially endorsed critical race theory in public schools and promised to drive "the implementation of CRT in the public education curriculum" across America.
They aren't hiding it anymore. pic.twitter.com/RrubnsCMm4
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 9, 2021
“This is a document straight from the Desk of Bozo the Clown, King of Clownworld,” quipped fellow CRT critic James Lindsey on Twitter.
By Thursday morning—after the resolution went viral on Twitter—all four mayors’ names had disappeared from the controversial document.
A spokesperson for the Idaho mayor said in a statement to Fox News that the inclusion of her name on the resolution was a “staff error.”
“Mayor McLean did not give her name or sponsor the resolution at the conference of mayors,” the spokesperson said. “It was a staff error. Signing on to this resolution wouldn’t make sense within Boise city limits since our school systems are operated by the Boise School District and West Ada School District, and she has no role in either.”
“I think it’s really important to be clear that I didn’t, in fact, give my name or sponsor this resolution at the conference of mayors,” McLean told BoiseDev. “It was a staff error – and we know errors happen. And we wish this one hadn’t.”
The remaining three mayors have not yet explained why their names were removed from the document.
The offices of Fischer, Lightfoot and Wheeler did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News regarding the apparent retraction of sponsor names from the resolution on the Conference of Mayor’s website.
CRT is formally understood as an academic and legal analysis of race recognizing racism as a systemic problem affecting certain areas of society, but critics argue that the movement is divisive, especially when presented in classrooms, and separates children into groups of oppressors versus oppressed, privileged and underprivileged.
Rufo noted on Twitter that CRT apologists (like MSNBC’s Joy Reid) have argued disingenuously that “critical race theory is only in law schools.”
“Then the NEA pledged to bring it to every K-12 school, the AFT promised to defend teachers who violate the law, and the Conference of Mayors endorsed it nationwide. They are political predators who want to harm your kids,” he argued.
They said "critical race theory is only in law schools."
Then the NEA pledged to bring it to every K-12 school, the AFT promised to defend teachers who violate the law, and the Conference of Mayors endorsed it nationwide.
They are political predators who want to harm your kids.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 9, 2021
Rufo pointed out that the U.S. Conference of Mayors still endorses the Marxist racial theory, but because it is so deeply unpopular with most Americans, most politicians do not want to be associated with it.
And yes, the US Conference of Mayors still endorses critical race theory in the classroom. But we've shown that their support is superficial and when we expose it and tie it to specific names, they will run away from it.
They know that critical race theory is deeply unpopular.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 9, 2021
“If you oppose Critical Race Theory, you’re in a giant majority that is mostly disenfranchised and held hostage by a tiny lunatic fringe,” Lindsey tweeted. “Stop being afraid of them. They fear that more than anything else.”