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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.
Critical Race Theory goes against everything Martin Luther King Jr. taught us\u2014to not judge others by the color of their skin. The Left is trying to take America backward.pic.twitter.com/ZUx9Wu319Q— Kevin McCarthy (@Kevin McCarthy) 1626126057
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.
Rep. McCarthy, I encourage you to study my father\u2019s teachings & words well beyond the last lines of \u2018I Have A Dream.\u2019 This nation has yet to firmly commit to the intensive, multi-faceted work of eradicating racism against Black people. You should help with that. Please read this:pic.twitter.com/mhiLvvNdxM— Be A King (@Be A King) 1626138944
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.
Enraging as always to see the GOP kidnap King's name to fuel their white supremacy, thus betraying they either know nothing of his life or knowingly pervert it. The modern GOP would be frothing in rage on Fox to see King's ouevre on the streets today.https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1414701336520798219\u00a0\u2026— Robert Hallock\ud83c\udf39 (@Robert Hallock\ud83c\udf39) 1626148351
You need to publicly apologize for this immediately. There is no way MLK would ever want you Qevin to use his words to attack Americans. It\u2019s a new low for you. Which I thought was impossible.https://twitter.com/berniceking/status/1414762665566691333\u00a0\u2026— Scott Dworkin (@Scott Dworkin) 1626148226
Just when you thought they couldn't go lower, the leader of the racist Republican effort to disenfranchise people of color cynically distorts the words of Martin Luther King Jr. in an effort to rile up racist base with racist mythshttps://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1414701336520798219\u00a0\u2026— Michael E. Mann (@Michael E. Mann) 1626140434
Pretty sure CRT does not go against everything Martin Luther King Jr. taught us.https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1414701336520798219\u00a0\u2026— David Knowles (@David Knowles) 1626126263
The party that denied MLK a national holiday for decades doesn't get to hide behind him as a shield for their racism.\n\nTry again.— Alex Cole (@Alex Cole) 1626139470
You tried to subvert the Black vote and overturn a free and fair election on Jan. 6. You never read anything MLK wrote, you've mangled the point of his message and you are exactly why we need Critical Race Theory--to correct the revisionist lies white men in power have promoted.— Victoria Brownworth #GetVaccinatedNOW (@Victoria Brownworth #GetVaccinatedNOW) 1626137575
weird then that republicans gerrymander districts by racehttps://www.propublica.org/article/partisan-gerrymandering-is-still-about-race\u00a0\u2026— Max Kennerly (@Max Kennerly) 1626128573
And plenty of people had lessons of their own for McCarthy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work.
What about these words by Martin Luther King Jr, @GOPLeader?\nThe United States is "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." \n\nThere's plenty more choice quotes by MLK here. You can't just pick the parts of MLK that you like. \n\nhttps://time.com/5505453/martin-luther-king-beyond-vietnam/#:~:text=It%20was%20in%20this%20context%20that%20King%20called,domestic%20concerns%20of%20African%20Americans%20and%20the%20poor\u00a0\u2026.https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1414701336520798219\u00a0\u2026— Viet Thanh Nguyen (@Viet Thanh Nguyen) 1626128191
pic.twitter.com/HdjW7CeVHE— Michael Harriot (@Michael Harriot) 1626175844
Here's one of the things Martin Luther King Jr taught us, and it's completely in keeping with critical race theory. \n\nAre you going to try to outlaw this too?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbM2d6jy4Mc&feature=youtu.be\u00a0\u2026— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1626130392
The Kevin McCarthy Please Quote Literally Any Other MLK Line Challenge \n\nhttps://www.msnbc.com/opinion/texas-ban-critical-race-theory-schools-proves-gop-still-doesn-n1271101\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/P0oreHyAWa— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1626129946
McCarthy has yet to respond to any of the pushback he received.