A father in Illinois went viral last week after a video clip circulated on social media showing his harsh scrutiny of critical race theory while he attended a local district school board meeting.
Ty Smith, a parent who hosts a weekend radio show on Cities 92.9 in central Illinois, went to the Bloomington District 87 school board meeting in McLean County on June 10 to offer his opinion on critical race theory, saying it was “pretty much going to be teaching kids to hate each other.”
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“You’re going to deliberately teach kids ‘this white kid right here got it better than you because he’s white’? You’re going to purposely tell a white kid that black people are all down and oppressed? How do I have two medical degrees if I’m sitting here oppressed?” Smith asked in a series of rhetorical questions that drew cheers and applause.
District 87 reportedly does not have plans to begin teaching critical race theory in classrooms, according to a seventh grade teacher and department chair who dismissed Smith’s concerns at the meeting.
“At some point in time, if District 87 really is looking at critical race theory and getting a good definition out there … let’s have that conversation, and if you feel like we are letting you down with the curriculum we are actually teaching …let us know,” Suzie Hutton said.
Critical race theory is a controversial philosophy that has inspired lawmakers in at least 31 states to draft legislation in opposition to its teaching in public school systems.
The theory essentially claims “racism is a normal and ordinary part of our society, not an aberration,” according to a seminar created by Fordham Law School’s Center on Race, Law, and Justice.
In an interview after his viral rant, Smith said that a race-based curriculum is “nonsense” and is harmful to young students and their view of the world.
“To me, it’s a whole bunch of nonsense, virtue signaling, playing off people’s emotion. The only race there is the human race,” Smith told Fox News on Friday.
Some students at the District 87 meeting upheld the school system’s racial and diversity curriculum that reportedly has three subcommittees dedicated to it.
One student, Yvin Chin, defended teaching about systemic racism and noted critical race theory does not seek to label anyone as intentionally racist.
“In fact, it is doing the exact opposite,” Chin said. “It is saying that we understand you do not have malicious intent. It means the people hundreds of years ago, who lived in a very different United States, set up systems that were intentionally designed so we did not know about them.”
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The Washington Examiner contacted officials with District 87 but did not immediately receive a response.
