Welcome to this episode of the award winning Best of the Left podcast in which we take a look at how the debate over education has been derailed from the legitimate concerns of the past focused on the downfalls of No Child Left Behind and Common Core Policies into a cul-de-sac of

ignorance over opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and the teaching of critical race theory.

Not to mention the new McCarthyism that has sprung up to squash any criticism of Israel's

genocidal war in Gaza.

Sources today include the At Liberty podcast,

the majority report, counter spin,

the Ed Up Experience Podcast, and virtually connecting an equity unbound with additional

members only clips from the Ed Up experience and the majority report. So in 2020 there was really a moment where people pause and considered racism.

Professor Tillery just spoke about the importance of the racial reckoning in the workplace.

But the reckoning didn't just happen in the workplace.

There was a reflection about how all of our American institutions

could become anti-racist institutions, particularly to education. As there's

social progress, there's always immediate retrenchment as we talked about.

And almost immediately in the face of these commitments to anti-racism and racial justice to embrace students of color in classrooms in a

system that has never fully embraced them to be honest.

Conservatives coordinated an attack alleging that critical race theory was infiltrating schools.

They started to create educational gag orders primarily in the form of legislation,

but also in the form of executive orders,

school board rules, and attorney general opinions

that prohibit discussion of racism and sexism,

particularly systemic racism and sexism in classes. sexism and

so the first educational gag order

...