Teaching Black Conservative Leaders Why More Black Families are Pushing for Black Homeschooling as They Watch Republicans Attempt to Ban Black History in the Schools

Greetings Beloved,

For today's Empowering Post, I want to teach you about the growing backlash among principled Black Conservatives towards Lily White Republicans.

For every action, there is an equal opposite reaction. And in Conservatives’ attempt to quell what they perceive to be anti-White hatred and racism, they have made Black History the target of their disdain.

As Black parents observe your Republican leaders and Conservative parents whitewashing American History, they are making efforts to form their own educational programs that deliver accurate history.

Meanwhile, as this shift occurs, Conservatives will find themselves constantly enduring racist battering until they finally learn to listen to Black Conservatives who teach them a better way.
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Now, let’s get into this teaching.

CRT

Woke.

Anti-racism.

What do these ideals have in common today?

Conservative ignorance.

And what has Conservative ignorance led to?

Banning knowledge and history that often encompasses the conservative stories about Black Americans.

For every action, there is an equal opposite reaction. And in Conservatives’ attempt to quell what they perceive to be anti-White hatred and racism, they have made Black History the target of their disdain.

These are sharp words I often deliver to my audience — which is 75% White Conservative — because I am constantly pushing Beloveds to choose better pathways within the social, political, and economic discourse.

Pathways that lead to better results.

Pathways that help them get the racist battering off their necks without compromising the Conservative Alliance with Black Voters.

But over the last few years, we’ve seen what happens when the best course of action is hijacked by alternative political agendas.

The War Against Critical Race Theory

Define Critical Race Theory.

To Conservatives, CRT teaches children that one race is superior to another; and based on someone’s skin color, he or she is either an oppressor or the opposed.

To the rest of the world who reads books, CRT’s core tenet teaches that racism is socially constructed, thereby nullifying any notion that racism is inherent in one group or another. In other words, CRT argues no one is born racist. Rather, it is taught or constructed by a society in which it is formed. And by using various systems, one group can benefit economically at the expense of another.

But Conservatives are expected not to know this knowledge. They are expected to be spoon-fed information from their pundits and think tank researchers, even when these folks publicly admit they lie to the base.

​When examined closely, certain tenets of CRT actually stand on the side of Conservatives’ primary argument.

Essentialism is the idea that things have qualities, attributes, or meanings that cannot be separated from them. It’s the belief that things have an inherent essence or true nature to them.
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Social constructionism is the polar opposite of essentialism. Social Constructionism argues that nothing has an inherent, immutable quality to it, but rather the qualities of things are created through social interaction. Social Constructions are the meanings we attach to symbols, objects, and other things which are created through an informal process of social negotiation. Or simply put, “it is what we say it is.” (Source)

​According to Encyclopedia Britannica:

… legal scholars Richard Delgado (one of the founders of CRT) and Jean Stefancic [note] there are several general propositions regarding race and racism that many critical race theorists would accept, despite the considerable variation of belief among members of the movement. These propositions constitute a set of “basic tenets” of CRT.

First, race is socially constructed, not biologically natural. The biogenetic notion of race—the idea that the human species is divided into distinct groups on the basis of inherited physical and behavioral differences—was finally refuted by genetic studies in the late 20th century. Social scientists, historians, and other scholars now agree that the notion of race is a social construction (though there is no consensus regarding what exactly a social construction is or what the process of social construction consists of). Some CRT theorists hold that race is an artificial association or correlation between a set of physical characteristics—including skin colour, certain facial features, and hair texture—and an imagined set of psychological and behavioral tendencies, conceived as either positive or negative, good or bad. The associations have been created and maintained by dominant groups (in the United States, whites of western European descent) to justify their oppression and exploitation of other groups on the basis of the latter’s supposed inferiority, immorality, or incapacity for self-rule.

Second, racism in the United States is normal, not aberrational: it is the ordinary experience of most people of colour. Although extreme racist attitudes and beliefs are less common among whites than they were before the mid-20th century, and explicitly racist laws and legal practices—epitomized by the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation and denied basic civil rights to African Americans in the South—have been largely eliminated, most people of colour continue to be routinely discriminated against or otherwise unfairly treated in both public and private spheres, as demonstrated by numerous social indicators. African Americans and Hispanic Americans (Latinxs), for example, are on average more likely than similarly qualified white persons to be denied loans or jobs; they tend to pay more than whites for a broad range of products and services (e.g., automobiles); they are more likely than whites to be unjustly suspected of criminal behaviour by police or private (white) citizens; and they are more likely than whites to be victims of police brutality, including the unjustified use of lethal force. If convicted of a crime, people of colour, particularly African Americans, are generally imprisoned more often and for longer periods than whites who are found guilty of the same offenses. Many Blacks and Hispanics continue to live in racially segregated and impoverished neighbourhoods, in part because of zoning restrictions in many predominantly white neighbourhoods that effectively exclude lower-income residents. Predominantly Black or Hispanic neighbourhoods also tend to receive fewer or inferior public services, notably including public education. The lack of quality education in turn limits job opportunities, which makes it even more difficult to leave impoverished neighbourhoods. On average, Blacks and Hispanics also receive less or inferior medical care than whites and consequently lead shorter lives.

I challenge you, Beloved, to examine American History and tell me which element of Critical Race Theory’s first two tenets prove untrue?

From this brief study, you can imagine my shock as I witness the base become more and more duped into believing CRT is the problem.

Clearly, ignorance is the issue.

And because I know Conservatives do not read books, it makes sense why Rufo and the Conservative Think Tanks could easily lie.

Beloveds today may ask, “Coach, why are you still on this CRT hype?” And the answer is simple.

Because we are approaching another election year; and each cycle, conservatism loses its own voters.

We must step back for a moment and consider why.
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Today, we are witnessing sharp declines among young Republicans when it comes to core conservative values. Consider a recent article written by Brad Polumbo entitled “Young Republicans’ Support for Capitalism Sharply Declining, New Poll Finds.”

Overall, 57 percent of Americans view capitalism favorably while 36 percent view it negatively. Young adults, defined as 18 to 34-year-olds, are nearly split. Roughly 49 percent view capitalism favorably while 46 percent view it negatively. However, this is a drastic shift from just 2019, when the same measure found 58 percent favorability.

‘In 2019, 81% of Republicans and GOP leaners age 18-34 had a positive view of capitalism; today, that number has fallen to 66%,’ the survey finds. ‘Among Republicans 35 and older, views haven’t shifted as substantially.’

Frankly, these results should be alarming for those who believe in free-market capitalism. It’s bad enough that society overall and young people overall are drifting toward socialism, but to be losing ground on the young Right is even more cause for concern.
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From student loan debt to jobs and opportunity to climate change and all the other issues young people care about today, we must do our utmost to explain how big government, not free-market capitalism, is what’s really causing the problem.

You see, even your young adult children are merging away from your brand of conservatism because the issues they care about — including dealing with racism — are being ignored (or banned) … by YOU!

The War Against Black History

In 2020, during Trump’s 2nd presidential campaign, I made strong warnings against this attack on CRT. I was very clear: If you push banning regarding an idea you don’t understand, Black History will get caught in the crossfire.

And we have seen this warning come to fruition.

Today, Black Americans are watching Conservative parents and school districts in many red states banning Black History in various forms:
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1. In March 2023, a mother from the North Shore Elementary school in Florida complained about Disney’s “Ruby Bridges,” a film that chronicles the story of a 6-year-old child entering a segregated school. Her reason: “In a formal challenge dated March 6, Emily Conklin wrote that the use of racial slurs and scenes of white people threatening Ruby as she entered a school might result in students learning that white people hate Black people.” In response, “Pinellas school officials responded by banning the movie from use by all students at the St. Petersburg school until a review committee can assess it.” Keep in mind, this school had shown this film for years without it ever being removed. Guess who inspired the faux outrage?
2. In September 2022, we learned about an Oklahoma school district banning several Black History books and literature, including: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass; A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry; and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. “Books from white authors which deal with race and racism, such as Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird, are also included on the Oklahoma banned book list.” Just in case you’ve never read these works, A Raisin in the Sun is about a Black Family working to achieve the American Dream using conservatism; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is about a Black Republican’s life, who was also a political and spiritual advisor to President Abraham Lincoln; and To Kill a Mockingbird is about a White lawyer who defends a Black man from false charges of raping a White woman (a story that mirrors the Scottsboro Nine).
3. In July 2021, Texas Republicans, in their attempt to “ban CRT,” voted to remove key historical documents from the curricula that focused on the Civil Rights Movement: “The Texas Senate on Friday passed legislation that would end requirements that public schools include writings on women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement in social studies classes. Among the figures whose works would be dropped: Susan B. Anthony, Cesar Chavez, and Martin Luther King Jr., whose ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ would no longer make the curriculum cut.” After Texas Democrats fought to conserve this history, “… the House adopted an amendment proposed by Bonnen to include speeches by Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. … as part of the required texts mentioned in the bill. That came after criticism that the bill initially focused on writings by white historical figures.”

I challenge you, Beloved, to see these actions from Black America’s point of view.

How are these efforts not in lockstep with what Critical Race Theory argues White Americans do?

Are Conservatives and Republicans not using the system to suppress the history of other American citizens on the basis of race?
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Is there not a cause to pivot?

Black Parents are Responding to This Banning by Practicing Black Homeschooling

You will recall from a previous lesson our working definition of Black Homeschooling:

Black Homeschooling is the localized development of an empowering, specialized educational program for Black children, Black educators, and Black parents. Black Homeschooling teaches children how to foster Black Excellence in the social, political, and economic spheres. Black Families who adopt homeschooling as an educational choice practice autonomy from a Progressive educational system that often stifles Black students’ emotional, intellectual, spiritual, physical, and financial well-being. In essence, Black Homeschooling embraces the unique qualities found in the Black American Experience while delivering wholesome, holistic curricula that prepare Black youth for real-world experience and success. - Coach Felecia Killings, author of Black Homeschooling: A Black Conservative Approach to Building New Educational Systems in Alliance with Conservative Politics (2024)

As Black parents observe your Republican leaders and Conservative parents whitewashing American History, they are making efforts to form their own educational programs that deliver accurate history.

There’s no single motivating factor driving Black families to homeschool. But those who spoke to the Guardian described being fed up with a public school system that disproportionately punishes Black children, relies heavily on standardized testing and lacks diverse representation in the literature and history books their children are given. As the number of Black families turning to homeschooling grows, they are simultaneously creating communities that allow Black children to learn in a culturally affirming environment, free from the punitive approach of traditional schools. (Source)

Not only are Black parents complaining about the Progressive school system that routinely disenfranchises their Black children; but they are looking at your conservative schools and discovering their is no place for them.
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These examples are just a few of the driving forces backing Black Homeschooling. And the numbers do not lie.

According to data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, there was a dramatic rise [in homeschooling] after the start of the pandemic from an estimated 5.4% of school-aged children homeschooling in spring 2020 to 11.1% the following school year. The number of Black families increased more than five times over – from 3.3% to 16.1% – a bigger jump than any other racial group. (Source)

As more policies emerge that prove beneficial to Black voters, The Foundation and The Conscious Conservative Movement will be present to sell conservative politics in these Black communities.

As we fulfill this work, we challenge fellow Beloved Conservatives to remember their core principles and to push back on those in the Republican Party who perform actions that stifle the Conservative Alliance.

As Black America continues making strides to improve her communities, a conservative political presence is required to protect what they build.

At the same time, as more Black men align with these politics, Black women will consider how these same policies will enhance the well-being of their children.

This is how The Conscious Conservative Movement will show up this next round. This is how we build the Conservative Alliance. This is how we break the back of Progressivism so our nation thrives.

And this is how we win.

Until next time, Beloved, be blessed.

And as always, let’s grow together!
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• Coach Felecia Killings