Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt was removed from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission after banning the critical race theory from schools.
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, which was formed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the massacre on Black people, slammed the Governor for signing the bill into law while being a part of the commission.
The critical race theory suggests that people are consciously or unconsciously inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether by their race or sex. The Republican Governor banned the theory from being taught in Oklahoma schools.
Rep. Kevin West, a supporter of the ban known as House Bill 1775, says that the ban prevents teachers from forcing students to answer whether they are inherently racist. It also prevents educators from teaching students to feel personally responsible for things that people of their race have done.
The commission’s director, Phil Armstrong, says that the bill “chills the ability of educators to teach. He believes that the bill “will only serve to intimidate educators who seek to reveal and process our hidden history.”
Last week, the commission’s members held a special meeting, where they agreed to “part ways with Governor Stitt. They explained that Stitt’s support of the bill is “diametrically opposite to the mission of the Centennial Commission.”
Stitt has not publicly responded to being kicked off the commission.
THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO @GovStitt REGARDING #HB1775 pic.twitter.com/IBOGd0RqGw
— Greenwood Rising (@GreenwoodRising) May 11, 2021
