DeSantis invokes MLK while introducing proposed bill that would allow parents to sue schools teaching Critical Race Theory

Meaghan Ellis
16 December 2021
Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday announced a proposed piece of legislation that open a door for parents to sue schools including the study of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in its curriculum.

Per a press release from DeSantis' office, the Stop WOKE Act, meaning Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, "will be the strongest legislation of its kind in the nation and will take on both corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory."

In the release, DeSantis also included a statement describing CRT as "state-sanctioned racism" as he further explained the purpose of the bill.

“In Florida, we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory,” DeSantis said in the statement. “We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other. We also have a responsibility to ensure that parents have the means to vindicate their rights when it comes to enforcing state standards. Finally, we must protect Florida workers against the hostile work environment that is created when large corporations force their employees to endure CRT-inspired ‘training’ and indoctrination.”

READ: Ron DeSantis’ 'Stop WOKE' bill targets teachers — and it’s modeled after Texas' anti-abortion law

The bill would give school faculty members, parents, and students a "private right of action" to push back against schools teaching CRT and work spaces that may have a "hostile work environment due to critical race theory training."

While pushing the controversial bill, DeSantis attempted to invoke Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King as he misconstrued the meaning of the late civil rights activist's words.

"You think about what MLK stood for. He said he didn't want people judged on the color of their skin but on the content of their character," DeSantis said Wednesday. "You listen to some of these people nowadays, they don't talk about that."

Contrary to DeSantis' beliefs, CRT is a means of raising awareness about the existence of racism, white supremacy, and how it has shaped our society. By raising awareness about the problems, they can be properly addressed to move the country toward the direction Dr. King envisioned.

Speaking to CNN, Kimberlé Crenshaw —a renowned critical race theorist who also works as a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Columbia University— expounded on the study of CRT.

"Critical race theory is a practice. It's an approach to grappling with a history of white supremacy that rejects the belief that what's in the past is in the past and that the laws and systems that grow from that past are detached from it," said Crenshaw.

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