DeSantis Pushes Falsehoods, Announces “Stop Woke Act” to Stop Schools From Teaching Critical Race Theory

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican today announced the “Stop Woke Act,” legislation intended to stop schools from teaching critical race theory, a body of legal and academic scholarship that aims to examine how racism and disparate racial outcomes have shaped public policy via often implicit social and institutional dynamics.

“Today, we are taking a stand against critical race theory in our schools and in the workplace by calling for the enactment of the Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” he announced on Twitter.

Critical race theory is taught in colleges, not in public schools, and certainly not to young children, but DeSantis has continued to push these falsehoods as he continues to court conservatives who’ve given in to these conspiracies at a time when efforts to reposition the consequences and legacy of slavery as elements vital to the historical narrative continue to gain traction.

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According to DeSantis, critical race theory only further divides children and teaches them to hate each other.

The legislation, officially titled the “Stop Wrongs against Our Kids and Employees Act,” would empower parents to file lawsuits to enforce the prohibition of critical race theory lessons in public schools, defund primary and secondary education in the event they schools consultants on the theory, and bars its concepts from being included in employee training.

“It violates Florida standards to scapegoat someone based on their race, to say that they are inherently racist, to say that they are an oppressor, or oppressed or any of that and that’s good and that’s important. But we also have to realize that we have to do more to make sure that that actually carries the day in our classrooms and in our society,” DeSantis said.

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.