AP

Black Mississippi senators protest vote on race theory bill

Jan 21, 2022, 12:14 AM | Updated: 2:52 pm

FILE - Sen. Barbara Blackmon, D-Canton, speaks at the well in the Senate Chamber at the Mississippi...

FILE - Sen. Barbara Blackmon, D-Canton, speaks at the well in the Senate Chamber at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Blackmon was among the Black lawmakers who walked out of the Senate Chamber in protest Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, and withheld their votes as the body passed a bill that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)


              Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, speaks during a floor debate in the Senate Chamber at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 12, 2022. Blount was among two legislators who voted against the bill that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. The Black senators walked out of the Senate Chamber in protest of the bill, prior to the vote and withheld their votes as the body passed it. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
            
              Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, asks a question during a bill debate at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 12, 2022. Horhn was among the Black lawmakers who walked out of the Senate Chamber in protest Friday, Jan. 21, and withheld their votes as the body passed a bill that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
            
              Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, listens to a debate in the Senate Chamber at the Mississippi State Capitol in Miss., Jackson, March 30, 2021. On Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, McDaniel supported and spoke on behalf of a bill that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory. Black senators walked out of the chamber in protest and withheld their votes, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. The body passed the bill. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
            
              Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando, inspects a measured package of hemp product at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 13, 2022. McLendon was the chief lawmaker who sponsored a bill that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory, which led to a walkout of the Black senators in protest and the withholding of their votes, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. The body passed the bill. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
            
              FILE - Sen. Barbara Blackmon, D-Canton, speaks at the well in the Senate Chamber at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Blackmon was among the Black lawmakers who walked out of the Senate Chamber in protest Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, and withheld their votes as the body passed a bill that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Black lawmakers walked out in protest Friday and withheld their votes as the Mississippi Senate passed a bill that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory.

The state superintendent of education has said critical race theory is not being taught in Mississippi schools and legislators have offered no evidence to show it is.

Republicans said the theory teaches “victimhood,” while Democrats said the ban could squelch discussion of Mississippi’s racist history.

“This bill is not morally right,” Democratic Sen. Barbara Blackmon of Canton, who is Black, said during the debate.

The bill’s chief sponsor, Republican Sen. Michael McLendon of Hernando, who is white, said hundreds of constituents have told him they have heard about the theory on national news and they don’t want it taught to their children.

McLendon struggled to define critical race theory when he was asked about it. But he said: “Systematic racism should not be taught to our children.”

Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped public policy and institutions such as the legal system, and how those have perpetuated the dominance of white people in society.

Republicans across the country have been raising money for months by saying critical race theory is a threat and multiple Republican-led states have banned or limited the teaching of critical race theory or similar concepts through laws or administrative actions.

Republicans control the Mississippi House and Senate. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn are among the GOP leaders who have publicly said critical race theory is harmful.

Black senators walked out of the Mississippi Senate chamber before the vote on Senate Bill 2113. It passed 32-2, with the only votes against the bill coming from white Democrats.

The bill will move to the House for more work.

“Critical race theory” is in the title of the bill, but the main text of the bill does not define the phrase. The bill says no school, community college or university could teach that any “sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.”

“I’m trying to find the mischief in this language, and I don’t see it,” said Republican Sen. Chris McDaniel of Ellisville, who is white.

McDaniel said the bill would have been considered “the most dynamic piece of civil rights legislation in this state’s history” if it had been introduced in the 1950s. At that time, schools were segregated, the state Legislature was all-white and Black people faced violent repercussions for trying to vote.

Democratic Sen. John Horhn of Jackson, who is Black, questioned whether the bill could prevent schools from teaching about the late U.S. Sen. James O. Eastland of Mississippi, who led an effort to block anti-lynching legislation in 1948, or the Sovereignty Commission, a state spy agency created in 1956 to support a system of white supremacy. The commission was defunded in 1977.

Horhn said critical race theory examines how race and law impact the economy.

“The whole situation of it is based on the founding of this country and some of the precepts that we, as a country, implicitly or explicitly accepted — chief among which we justified slavery because powers that be judged Black people to be racially inferior,” Horhn said. “And a lot of our laws, a lot of our systems, a lot of our customs, a lot of our practices have been impacted by that.´´

Democratic Sen. David Blount of Jackson, who is white and voted against the bill, asked McLendon whether Mississippi should ban other things schools are not teaching, such as whether the sun rotates around the Earth.

“We trust our teachers to teach,” Blount said. “And we don’t need to pass laws to prohibit what’s not being done.´´

____

Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

2 days ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

2 days ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

2 days ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Black Mississippi senators protest vote on race theory bill