Some schools and universities celebrating Black History Month may find themselves adhering to new restrictions on diversity education imposed by some governments throughout the country.
Across the U.S., 35 states have introduced new bills or taken other steps to restrict the teaching of critical race theory — a concept that focuses on the legacy of systemic racism — in addition to limiting how teachers can discuss racism and sexism in the classroom, according to Axios.
"How can Republicans celebrate Black History Month while trying to prevent black people from voting and erasing our country’s history of slavery and racial oppression from our schools?" U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) tweeted Feb. 2.
In addition to those 35 states, an analysis from Education Weekly found that 14 states have also imposed similar restrictions through legislation, executive actions or commission votes to keep the concept out of classrooms. Within those states, elementary school teachers, administrators and college professors have found themselves facing fines, physical threats and the potential of job termination should they discuss systemic racism.
"These laws supposedly protecting white students from guilt say more about the authors of the law than the students," Manisha Sinha, a University of Connecticut historian and author of "The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition," told Axios. "There's no reason why a white student can't identify with the abolitionist or the civil rights leader, rather than a slaveholder."
Many of the restrictions walk a line between what is considered appropriate for the classroom and what is not. Teachers may be allowed to mention that Brooklyn Dodgers infielder Jackie Robinson crossed Major League Baseball's color line but not make any mention as to why black players were banned from playing before him. Or teachers may also introduce Malcolm X but be prohibited from reading any of his speeches, among other rules.