Wisconsin hearing on race education bill disintegrates into acrimony

A legislative hearing last week on a bill banning aspects of racial and gender discrimination education in Wisconsin public schools began and ended with quotes – one from each side – from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

In between, through nearly eight hours of arguing, rolling eyes and twitching, it was hard to find a single point on which everyone would agree.

Senator André Jaque, R-DePere, quoted a line from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and said Bill 411 would ensure that people were judged “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their characters.”

Angela Harris, a first grade teacher and president of Milwaukee’s Black Educators Caucus, read from King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail that the greatest threat to black Americans is not direct racists, but “the white moderates who are more of the” To “order” as justice; who prefers a negative peace that is the absence of tension to a positive peace that is the presence of justice. “

Even if the bill gets through the Republican-controlled legislature, it has little hope of becoming law as Governor Tony Evers is unlikely to sign it.

But the hearing did show how a national race billing played out last year in Republican legislation introduced in state houses across the country. The focus is on liberating classrooms from critical racial theory that explores racism as embedded in our history, legal systems, and politics. That there is no solid evidence that it is taught in most elementary schools or high schools seemed incidental on Wednesday.

More:What Should Wisconsin Children Learn About Race In Schools? How a draft law fuels the “critical racial theory” debate

Proponents of the bill called for closer scrutiny of what students learn about the role of racism and gender discrimination in the country’s past and present. Educators cautioned against excessive supervision by parents and politicians who they believe are promoting a whitewashed version of the United States.

“I didn’t want to get to that,” said Richard Harris, who is black and has lived in the Madison area since 1937. Harris said he actually thinks the CRT should be introduced, calling the proposal “pretty much the most racist law.” I’ve ever seen. “

“I am a deacon at (Mt. Zion Baptist Church) and I pulled the straw this morning to come to the hearing. But I’m glad I came. I have never seen so many racist statements from you people up there as well as the people who support this Senate Law 411. “

And so there was an exchange like this on Wednesday:

• Representative Donna Rozar, R-Marshfield, described black girls as “colored,” an obsolete racial term stemming from Jim Crow’s laws. Rozar replied to one parent that Homestead High School has bathrooms that white girls are not welcome.

  Rozar seemed to believe the situation was approved by the school and said a “separate toilet in a school for colored girls” was appalling. After parents made it clear that different groups of students split up on their own, Rozar said that she still felt that school principals should not tolerate this, citing the removal of “colored” bathrooms, as seen in the movie “Hidden Figures.” ” to be shown.

  Rozar seemed to justify her comment, saying she was from the south. Neither she nor her staff would comment on it later.

  Senator LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee – who is black and also grew up in the south – said she doesn’t think Rozar’s use of “colored” came from a place of harm. However, others in the audience said in interviews that they found the term antiquated and inappropriate.

  Mequon-Thiensville School District Superintendent Matthew Joynt said the school does not have racially segregated toilets. In a statement to the Journal Sentinel, he condemned the “ongoing exposure to misinformation” and “open lies” across the state.

• Rep. Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego and draft law author, rattled off a list of his non-white relatives, a credibility-building technique that actually has a name: “Some of my best friends are black defenses,” which implies that Proximity to non-whites protects white people from doing racist things.

  “Here, too, nobody is against history,” said Wichgers to two of his black colleagues. “I really appreciate the story your testimonies have given. I have a sister-in-law who is black, a sister-in-law who is Mexican, a sister-in-law who is Indian – each of them 100% – a brother-in-law who is Cuban, a brother-in-law who is Mexican. ”He continued that his siblings’ children were taught in school that “their father is racist and they are really, really uncomfortable.”

  Rep. Supreme Moore Omokunde, D-Milwaukee, replied, “I would like to remind the representative of the 83rd and everyone here that just because someone (who) knows works with someone who does not know and has children with someone, who doesn’t know stops them from submitting to the principles of racism, “he said.

  Moore Omokunde added that it was important to distinguish between individual responsibility and collective accountability; he would never tell a white man that he was specifically responsible for racism in America.

• More than once, black lawmakers have been shut down amid testimony aimed at finding out whether or not systemic racism exists.

  Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond Du Lac and chairman of the congregation’s education committee, at one point banned Johnson from asking Wichgers if he thought Wisconsin was the worst state to raise a black child – a term the state used in the world Past has received about child welfare measures.

  “No, we’re not going that way,” he said.

  “It gets to the heart of the matter,” Johnson replied unsuccessfully.

• Wichgers gasped audibly as he said, “There are millions of people who have come here to be slaves. There are millions of whites who died to free and protect slaves. “

  His office later offered no explanation of the numbers or the formulation of his reasoning.

• Elsewhere, Wichgers said a teacher who tells students that only Jehovah’s Witnesses are true Christians would be an example of breaking the line. Afterward, a lawyer made it clear that the bill focuses on lessons about racism and sexism and has nothing to do with religion. Wichgers said he was using the example “legally”.
• Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke gave a revealing 12-minute speech warning of “emotional and psychological abuse” of children and parents, argued that teachers act like “public rulers” rather than “officials” behaved and urged lawmakers to make audio recorders mandatory in classrooms.

  At one point, MPS teacher Angela Harris told Clarke that he was “not black.”

  Wichgers asked her about this when she testified.

  “To quote my mother, ‘All your skin people are not your relatives,'” she replied.

  “Teaching a child in a classroom that David Clarke is not black probably shouldn’t be taught in a classroom,” said Wichgers.

  “Are we in a classroom right now?” Harris shot back. “I thought we were in Room 412 East and I spoke to a grown man after he testified. I am not in a classroom. I am not doing my job duties of myself now. “

• Senator Alberta Darling, R-River Hills and chair of the Senate Education Committee, called for educational justice even though both supporters and opponents categorize the bill as against the concept of justice.

  “I think this is what we want to achieve is get out of the department and work on finding common ground, and I think that in our state we can do the best we can to achieve justice and people to give chance to success by bridging the performance gap, “said Darling, who is a co-sponsor of the law.

  She later said she was talking about “academic equality”.

  The split over justice versus equality has been an ongoing issue. When asked about their definition of “justice,” teachers including Harris and Myers said the point is to make sure students have the things they need to be successful, knowing that not everyone is the same kind of Needs support.

  Proponents of the bill said they were firmly against justice.

  “You see, equality can be measured. … You do exactly the same thing with one person as you do with another, “Thiesfeldt told Myers.” I don’t know how you measure justice.

• In one of several tense conversations with his Republican counterparts, Senator Chris Larson of Milwaukee, D-Milwaukee, raised a petition titled “Teach the Truth.” Larson asked Wichgers why the Muskego Republican’s name was on the petition, with a comment accompanying the signature that read only “Piety”.

  But the petition does not appear to require identity verification. Of course, anyone could have signed Wichgers’ name. After Larson’s question, Wichgers didn’t even bother to answer.

  Hope Karnopp and Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this story.