Rep. Bob Good apparently called ‘racist’ as he questioned Biden official ...

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Republican lawmakers bombarded Education Secretary Miguel Cardona with questions Thursday about critical race theory — the largely college-level academic approach to systemic racism that for weeks has left GOP pundits in a frenzy over fears that it could be taught in K-12 public schools.

4 Q$ n. C2 v( @! ZWhen it was Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Good’s turn to discuss the topic, he brought it close to home: In a national culture war over how to teach race in the classroom, Loudoun County, Va., has become the primary battleground.

. _$ K* H9 B' b8 b# p  xResidents left fuming, fearful after contentious Loudoun County school board meeting

, @9 K. B- N  r0 L/ J1 Z  \Good defended parents who went to a Loudoun County School Board meeting this week to protest critical race theory and transgender issues and became unruly — causing the board to shut down its public comment period.
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0 I) q$ Y! _7 p( r) u, o“They adjourned the meeting and actually called the police to come in and arrest parents,” Good said during the mostly virtual House committee hearing that last nearly five hours on Thursday.

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Just then, a fleeting black Zoom screen bearing the name “Don Norcross” — the Democratic congressman from New Jersey — interrupted Good’s speech.
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; }! c) n! G0 C“Racist!” a voice yelled.

- A4 @0 Z$ U# nGood didn’t miss a beat, imploring Cardona, “I hope you will not nationalize a culture war that started in Virginia.”
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This week, parents in Loudoun County had the police called to arrest them for speaking out against Critical Race Theory.

& }" K7 p! w" e/ Q. RToday in a congressional hearing I was called “RACIST” for defending Virginia’s parents
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, Q* W% V0 p7 o7 h& i/ K' x6 iWe must stand strong against Critical Race Theory! pic.twitter.com/dQCzOqpds8

1 X( o. ]4 j2 e— Congressman Bob Good (@RepBobGood) June 24, 2021
" _3 @# G# q7 e! {  ~5 a1 zA spokeswoman for Norcross did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking clarification about whether Norcross was the person who shouted “racist.”

" j$ }) M' C" m5 k: p+ b+ `" GIn a statement, Good called the outburst “indicative of the division and hate this close-minded ideology promotes.”

: a7 q" \3 H6 VThe incident highlighted just how fierce the latest political furor over teaching about racism has become, with the GOP energizing its political base while pursuing laws to ban schools from talking about systemic racism in this country.

$ S0 i! _5 e6 h' c" B; o, v( m! FRepublicans, spurred by an unlikely figure, see political promise in targeting critical race theory

- [( z# d6 A( Z; ~/ X0 mLast month, Good — whose district is south of Loudoun — joined more than a dozen other GOP lawmakers to co-sponsor a bill calling critical race theory “a prejudicial ideological tool.”
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& A5 L) {8 @9 m0 N% j( R9 \# lHis statement Thursday night said the theory is “teaching children that their race, not their character, is what defines who they are and their relationship to others.”

Proponents of a stronger curriculum on racism in the United States, meanwhile, view the Republican outcry as an attempt to limit dialogue on racism in schools and a distortion of efforts to promote racial equity in education.

In reality, few school districts nationwide are gunning to teach critical race theory, even as five GOP-led states have banned it. But many schools, including in Loudoun, are reevaluating how they approach and discuss systemic racism in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd last year, which sparked a vast racial reckoning.
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What is critical race theory, and why do Republicans want to ban it in schools?

9 ]$ S% P* ?( Q3 R* ]Some lessons may reflect the foundation of critical race theory, a 1970s-era academic framework teaching that racism goes beyond individual prejudice and is baked into institutions, namely the criminal justice system.
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Cardona said during the hearing Thursday before the House Committee on Education and Labor that the Education Department was not ordering school districts to teach critical race theory or any lesson, but that it welcomed exposing students to diverse perspectives.

7 Y" u$ w0 a* {% x) bAs Good pressed him on whether the Biden administration may take action against states that have passed laws banning critical race theory, Cardona appeared exasperated, asking Good to let him finish speaking.
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“I think this has become more politicized than it is about programming,” Cardona said.

Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), chairman of the House Labor and Education Committee, later called the “racist” comment “inappropriate” and asked members to be respectful to one another.
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$ c& t6 U; q$ G/ K% [+ |& NOn Thursday night, all Republican members of the committee asked Scott to urge Norcross to publicly apologize to Good if he was in fact the person who made the comment.

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