Media top headlines June 1
A new report on violence gripping Portland amid an anti-police push and more round out today's top media headlines.
The New York Times published a seemingly disparaging piece Tuesday about those fighting against the growing trend of critical race theory in American education, focusing largely on Republican lawmakers' efforts against the curriculum as opposed to the growing outrage among parents.
"From school boards to the halls of Congress, Republicans are mounting an energetic campaign aiming to dictate how historical and modern racism in America are taught, meeting pushback from Democrats and educators in a politically thorny clash that has deep ramifications for how children learn about their country," the Times wrote in a piece headlined, "Disputing Racism's Reach, Republicans Rattle American Schools."
GOP "attacks" on critical race theory are "in sync with the party’s broad strategy to run on culture-war issues in the 2022 midterm elections, rather than campaigning head-on against Mr. Biden’s economic agenda — which has proved popular with voters — as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic," the authors allege.
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The authors continue to paint CRT as a positive curriculum that serves as a response "to a changing nation in which a majority of public-school students are now nonwhite, but the teaching force remains nearly 80 percent white."
But largely left out of the piece was how it's not just conservative political leaders, but outraged parents across the country who have begun to challenge the controversial curriculum.
Shawn McBreairty, a parent in Cumberland County, Maine, recently pushed back against his daughters' school district for allegedly sending the community "racial equity" letters following the murder of George Floyd, that suggested U.S. culture is stained by "white supremacy."
"We call for justice for George Floyd and for the many other Black lives that have been taken by white supremacy in our nation," the letter from the equity leadership steering committee said, according to the Press Herald. "It is our duty to educate ourselves and dismantle the violent and oppressive structures which have kept us divided."
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McBreairty reportedly has a criminal trespass order against him, which prohibits him from entering or remaining on the property of all schools and properties in the school district unless he has permission from the superintendent.
The Press Herald reported that officials said McBreairty was never banned from attending graduation, just from being on campus and could request to attend school events on a case-by-case basis. McBreairty asked to attend graduation and MSAD 51 Superintendent Jeff Porter granted approval last week, the outlet said, citing a statement issued by district officials. Porter reportedly also told the media outlet that district officials "don’t want him to be disruptive at his kids’ graduation."
"The woke mob, the trolls, they go after everybody," he said on "The Faulkner Focus" on Tuesday. "I got pushed and I pushed back pretty hard."
Porter reacted in a statement to Fox News.
"MSAD #51 does not use CRT in its schools," he said. "We do not teach white children to hate the color of their skin. To the contrary, we teach all of our students the importance of self-worth and acceptance of self and others. We believe that all children are gifts. The narrative that this parent has created is simply untrue and an unfortunate connection to the undercurrent of national political ideology that is not illustrative of our high-performing and well-regarded school district."
New York City parent Andrew Guttmann has issued similar warnings about CRT, predicting it "is going to destroy our country" if it's not reversed. He also noted it's not just one side of the political spectrum worried about CRT's impact on education, revealing in an op-ed for The Hill that his effort against CRT has been supported by liberals as well.
"There appears to be widespread belief that opposition to critical race theory is a view held solely by the political right," he wrote. "This perception is wrong. "
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"Since my letter became public, I have received several thousand supportive emails and messages from people across this country, including many from self-described Democrats and liberals," he continued. "The tone of most of the messages sent to me is not at all political in nature; instead, the tenor is one of desperation and powerlessness."
Fox News' Talia Kaplan contributed to this report.