Newly sworn-in Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin affirmed his stance that critical race theory exists in school curricula and promised to challenge racially divisive concepts.
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Youngkin appeared in a Virginia classroom and pointed to critics who believe critical race theory does not exist, saying they are not aware of what is going on in public schools.
“Anyone who thinks that the concepts that actually underpin critical race theory are not in our schools has not been in the schools,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin pushed back at critics who point to the fact that there is no school course called by the theory’s name.
“Well, of course there’s not in elementary school, but in fact, there are absolutely the tenets of [critical race theory] present in the schools, and that’s what our executive order went at yesterday,” Youngkin stated.
The Republican governor added that history must be taught from a holistic perspective.
“We are not going to teach our children to view everything through a lens of race,” Youngkin noted. “Yes, we will teach all history, the good and the bad, because we can’t know where we are going until we know where we came from, but to actually teach our children that one group is advantaged and another is disadvantaged simply because of the color of their skin, cuts across everything we know to be true.”
Youngkin affirmed his campaign’s promise to stand by parents and support their rights regarding whether children wear masks in schools.
“What’s happened over the last few years is bureaucrats and politicians have absolutely stopped listening to parents, and in Virginia, it is clear under law that parents have a fundamental right to make decisions for their children’s upbringing, their education and their care, and so we are providing parents an opt-out,” Youngkin said.
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After being sworn in as the 74th governor of Virginia, Youngkin signed 11 executive orders, including those ordering schools to stop teaching critical race theory and to stop implementing mask mandates in public schools.
