School officials in Alabama say they're being accused by parents of teaching students the now-forbidden tenets of "critical race theory" simply by recognizing Black History Month.
AL.com reports that Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey told members of the Alabama House Education Policy Committee this week that many parents are accusing schools of teaching critical race theory even if the lessons in question have nothing to do with CRT.
"I had two calls in the last week that they're having a Black History Month program and they consider having a Black history program CRT," Mackey said. "Having a Black history program is not CRT."
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
While many Republican legislatures have banned teaching critical race theory, there is little consensus about what such teachings entail, and books and lessons that have long been considered mainstream education are now being caught up by anti-CRT fervor.
Mackey defended his schools' curriculum while talking with Alabama lawmakers and insisted that nothing related to CRT is part of students' education.
"I can tell you what's in the state curriculum," Mackey said. "I can tell you what's in our textbooks and CRT is not in there."
Read more stories like this:
