A father from Colorado spoke before a school board meeting last week, denouncing critical race theory or CRT being taught in school. His rousing speech, which earned him a standing ovation, resulted in the school district banning CRT ideology in the classroom. The father was a Black man by the name of Derrick Wilburn.
"I am a direct descendant of the North American slave trade," Wilburn declared, as reported by The Blaze. "Both my parents are black. All four of my grandparents are black, all eight of my great grandparents, and all 16 of my great greats. On my mother's side, my ancestors were enslaved in Alabama. On my father's side, we were enslaved in Texas."
Wilburn, who founded the organization Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives, argued that, "I'm not oppressed and I'm not a victim," and that his three children are " not oppressed, either, though they are victims." He explained that he teaches his kids that the only thing that they are victims of are "three things: Their own ignorance, their own laziness, and their own poor decision making. That is all."
"We are not victims of America," Wilbur declared. "We are not victims of some unseen 190-year-old force that kind of floats around in the ether."
Wilburn argued that teaching CRT ideology to young minds is steering the U.S. in the "wrong direction" and that racism would finally end if not for individuals and organizations that are "keeping it on life support."
One of those institutions, he claims, is the American education system. The Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives founder and director said that instead of combating racism, CRT is actually "fanning the flames of what little embers are left."
This Colorado Springs father denounces critical race theory and says that "racism in America would be dead today if not for certain people and institutions keeping it on life support""”including public education.
Following his testimony, the school board voted 3-2 to ban CRT. pic.twitter.com/sK1TLS69MQ
"” Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) August 19, 2021
Later, Colorado Springs School District 49 school board president John Graham, secretary Rick Van Wieren, and director Ivy Liu all voted out CRT from the classroom. Fox News reported that the school board expressed their gratitude and support from the community over the issue of CRT ideology in the classroom. Now that the hurdle was over, the board committed to focusing on the students' growth "socially, emotionally, mentally, and academically."
According to The Gazette, the 25,000-student district of Colorado Springs is the first in the state to prohibit CRT in the classroom. Among the four board members of the school district, only one voted for it.
Matt Balk, a resident who spoke during the open forum said that Liu had influenced the argument after she posted her opinion on CRT on social media even before the formal discussion took place. He went as far as accusing her of having "an agenda."
Liu hit back by saying that it was her "single-minded mission to ensure that D-49 remains one of the top-notch districts, and protect it from any infusion of insidious indoctrination."
CRT has become a hot button topic in several states across the country, including in Virginia where several school teachers have resigned and hit the school board with lawsuits.
