The National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers’ union, voted this week to conduct opposition research on groups that oppose the use of critical race theory in school curricula.
During its virtual representative assembly this week, the NEA adopted an amendment that would see the union spend an estimated $56,500 on researching anti-CRT organizations.
“NEA will research the organizations attacking educators doing anti-racist work and/or use the research already done and put together a list of resources and recommendations for state affiliates, locals, and individual educators to utilize when they are attacked,” the newly adopted business item reads.
“The research, resources, and recommendations will be shared with members through NEA’s social media, an article in NEA Today, and a recorded virtual presentation/webinar,” it adds.
“The attacks on anti-racist teachers are increasing, coordinated by well-funded organizations such as the Heritage Foundation. We need to be better prepared to respond to these attacks so that our members can continue this important work,” the item says, noting that the Heritage Foundation has pledged to reject CRT.
“Woke teachers unions have been put on notice that Americans will not stand for their racist CRT ideology,” Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson told The Federalist. “Now those same unions are funding a coordinated misinformation campaign to retaliate against Heritage Action and the Heritage Foundation for our defense of American students, parents, and teachers. But the American people will not be deterred, and their smear campaign will ultimately fail.”
The measure is not the union’s first foray into “social justice” — it supports Black Lives Matter and encourages teachers to sign a “pledge to grow the movement for racial justice in education.”
“We are working tirelessly to dismantle systems of oppression that prevent children from accessing a great public education because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, or nationality,” the NEA’s website says.
The union also lauds its commitment to forming partnerships “to build equitable systems” and offers links to resources on topics such as “Confronting White Nationalism,” “anti-racist” video “primers,” and “implicit bias” training.
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