Black Mississippi lawmakers walk out to protest critical race theory ban | Breaking News Updates

Mississippi’s 14 black and Democratic senators refused to vote on a bill banning the teaching of critical race theory in public colleges in the state, stepping down in protest.

“This bill is not morally right,” Democratic Sen. Barbara Blackmon of Canton said during the debate ahead of Friday’s vote before becoming a member of the walkout.

Senate Bill 2113 was voted 32 to 2 in the GOP-controlled chamber, with the only vote against coming from two white Democrats. It will move to the state’s lower house, which may also be Republican-led, for consideration.

The bill was sponsored by Republican Senator Michael McLendon, who is white.

Hundreds of voters have reached out to say they don’t need their children taught CRT, claimed McLendon – who couldn’t clearly describe what CRT is when asked. asked, but insisted that no child needs to be taught that they are superior or inferior. to a different.

“Systematic racism should not be taught to our children,” he said.

The bill is unnecessary and will stymie important discussions about Mississippi’s slavery history and Jim Crow, local Democrats say, while Mississippi’s superintendent of education says lawmakers failed to prove that CRT was actually taught in faculties.

The bill prohibits public academic institutions from educating that any “gender, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.”

Democratic Sen. David Blount of Jackson, one of the white senators who voted against the bill, asked McLendon if he thought Mississippi should also ban things that aren’t taught, like the rotation of the sun. on the ground.

“We trust our teachers to teach,” Blount said. “And we must not cross legal guidelines to prohibit what is not performed.”

With pole wires