In what was an expected move, the Mississippi Senate has passed a bill that would ban the teaching of critical race theory in schools and universities.
Black members walked out prior to the 32-2 vote.
Black members of Mississippi’s senate walk out of the chamber before the final vote on a bill to ban teaching critical race theory in schools and universities. The vote passed. pic.twitter.com/hLUwAn6ekL
— Kobee Vance (@kobeevance) January 21, 2022
Critical race theory (CRT), an academic concept that race is a social construct embedded in United States legal systems and social institutions, is something that many elected officials, including Governor Tate Reeves, have been vocal about banning. But according to State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carey Wright, there’s no teaching of CRT in Mississippi schools.
“Let me reiterate. We are not teaching critical race theory in our social studies standards. Period. The end,” Wright said in front of the Senate Education Committee last Wednesday.
Passed on Friday morning, SB 2113 says “that no course of instruction shall be taught that affirms such principles (of CRT).” This would apply to all school districts, charter schools, and public institutions of higher learning.
The bill will now head to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Philip Gunn has consistently been vocal about his support to ban the teaching of CRT. The two recorded nays came from the only two white Democratic senators in David Blount, D-Jackson, and Hob Bryan, D-Amory.
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