A lot of people are mocking Biden White House advisor Susan Rice for claiming that over the past 20 years, racism against black Americans has reduced GDP by $16 trillion.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/susan-rice-roasted-claiming-racism-cost-us-16-trillion-nuts

That’s the type of claim that deserves to be laughed at on the face of it, so I don’t want to go into it in detail. You can read more at the link (I will toss in, though, that if you want to know something that really does have a big cost for black Americans, it’s opening up the border and letting millions of low-wage illegal immigrants come in and compete for low-skill jobs. That’s one big reason why real wages for all demographics were rising under Trump, then falling under Biden.)

What interested me more, and won’t get nearly the attention it deserves, is something else she said:

"Today, in states across the nation, we’re seeing bans on innocuous children’s books just because they feature prominently Black or Brown characters. We’re seeing Black history erased from our classrooms and textbooks. And make no mistake: Those who are doing this are trying to tell us that we do not count, that we do not matter, and that perhaps we should not exist. Black history is American history.”

I agree that black history is American history, and I think it should definitely be taught. But I also think that all history that’s taught should be real history, not leftwing propaganda designed to tear down America and spread racial divisiveness, suspicion and resentment. But Rice has done a real service here by showing us how top Democrats are responding to angry parents of all races protesting schools being turned into leftwing indoctrination camps: by simply lying about what they’re doing.

Does any honest person actually believe that parents would be up in arms at school board meetings because their kids were shown innocuous books featuring black or brown characters? Is anyone asking schools to “erase” black people from history books or act as if they don’t exist? Where is that happening, exactly? I wonder if she needed to bleach a bale of hay to create such a white straw man.

And make no mistake, she’s not coming up with this on her own. Trying to twist reality is the left’s best, agreed-upon response to parents of all races demanding that their kids get real education, not indoctrination. Check out columnist Michael Harriot claiming on MSNBC that promoting “classical education” over Critical Race Theory is a “dog whistle,” meaning that you are really a white supremacist who wants to bring back the Confederacy.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-guest-compares-support-classical-education-being-pro-confederacy-dog-whistle

I’m surprised MSNBC viewers know enough about actual American history to know what the Confederacy was. But no, wanting your kids to learn facts instead of leftist and racist dogma doesn’t make you Stonewall Jackson (sorry for the obscure historical reference, MSNBC viewers.)

For decades now, I have been pushing for improving public schools, particularly in poor areas with largely minority populations. It infuriates me to think of kids being relegated to third rate educations that make it almost impossible for them to escape the cycle of poverty because politicians prioritize protecting the teachers’ unions over the good of the students. I have noted that wherever school choice is offered, black parents and students are among those who compete the hardest to take advantage of it.

If you want to see what Republicans really believe about education, check out North Dakota, which is poised to become the latest red state to empower poor and middle-income families (regardless of race, needless to say) to choose where their kids go to school.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/13/north-dakota-legislature-bill-school-choice/

The left used to claim that people who wanted all students of every color to get the best possible education so they could achieve the American Dream just wanted to dismantle our sacred public school system (which was a tacit admission that it wasn’t providing the best possible education and couldn’t compete.) Now, they claim we’re racists who want to bring back the Confederacy (which, as I keep reminding people, was a Democrat institution ended by Republican Abraham Lincoln – no wonder they don’t want kids to learn real American history.)

It's all just desperate lies to cover up the fact that whether they want schools to be guaranteed jobs programs for union teachers or Marxist indoctrination camps, giving all our children of every race the best possible education is their very last priority.