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GOP House Leader Swiftly Schooled After Claiming Critical Race Theory Goes 'Against' MLK's Teachings

John Sundholm
Jul. 13, 2021
GOP House Leader Swiftly Schooled After Claiming Critical Race Theory Goes 'Against' MLK's Teachings
Drew Angerer/Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images; Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Well it's a day that ends in "y" which means Republicans are once again freaking out about Critical Race Theory (CRT)—the advanced course of study Republicans and conservative pundits are making a cottage industry lying about.

Conservatives claim CRT advocates for Black supremacy because all White people are racist.

That is a bold-faced lie. But facts have not been Republicans' strong suit in the last few years.

So House Minority Leader—California Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy—felt emboldened to take the lie one step further, claiming Critical Race Theory runs afoul of the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

McCarthy has now found himself being put in place by none other than Dr. Bernice King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter.

King was joined by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and scores of other people on the internet.

It all began with a tweet from McCarthy, seen below.

In the tweet, McCarthy claimed:

"Critical Race Theory goes against everything Martin Luther King Jr. taught us—to not judge others by the color of their skin."

But that is only one tiny fraction of what King taught, and spurious claims like McCarthy's are a common reductive refrain among conservatives who seem not to know—or at least to prefer not to acknowledge—anything about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. beyond his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Dr. Bernice King immediately took McCarthy to task for precisely that, urging him to bring himself up to speed with her father's teachings and sharing with him another of her father's works in which he speaks at length about the very aspects of racism that today comprise the backbone of Critical Race Theory.

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, too, clapped back at McCarthy with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that speaks directly to McCarthy's ignorance.

On Twitter, many people were angered by McCarthy's ridiculous claim.








And plenty of people had lessons of their own for McCarthy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work.




McCarthy has yet to respond to any of the pushback he received.