WEBVTT - Connecting the Dots 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.440 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to bokay f Daily with 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:18.520 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody reporting from the home Bunker. Folks. 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.360 I'm really excited to bring to you today this episode 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.760 that I think is really important, not just for parents, 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:29.400 not just for teachers, but for all of us. You know, 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:32.159 oftentimes when we talk about education on this show, I 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:36.839 forget to make kind of the disclaimer that regardless of 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:39.519 whether or not you actually have kids or plan on 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:44.320 having kids at all, our education system and the strength 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:48.000 of it matters to all of us because they are 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:53.520 creating the future thinkers, workers, innovators, or what the Republican 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:57.400 Party wants is the permanent underclass in this country in 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:01.520 order to uphold capitalism and the one percent. What Grace 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:06.600 Lynch's new show Teaching Texas goes into a deep dive 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:12.360 about how the state of Texas has had control over 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:17.759 American history, over our textbooks for the last sixty years. 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:21.959 The show begins with a historical context, going back to 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:26.160 the nineteen sixties into this couple, this white couple, who 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:29.800 were uncomfortable, you know, with the way that history was 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.800 being taught, how it went against their Judeo Christian values. 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:37.880 And that their idea of America was running in contrary 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.600 to you know, the truth that was being talked about 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:48.000 America's founding and subsequent racism and policies of discrimination. But 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:52.279 we know that the far right has an all out 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:57.080 onsawt against education. Right now, affirmative action is on the 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.960 chopping block and will be dismantled by the Supreme Court. 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:05.400 We know that affirmative action allowed for people of color, 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:08.679 black people in particular, to be able to aspire to 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:13.200 higher education at predominantly white institutions because they had a 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:18.839 history of what discrimination shocking, and so affirmative action came. 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.320 And then now you have a rise in the number 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:25.360 of people of color black people over the decades going 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:28.360 into higher education. Well, what else do we learn. We 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:30.720 know that a majority of black and brown kids of 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:34.200 color are who are in public education system, and so 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:36.600 we know that that has been the reason for a 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:41.280 quest to defund public education throughout the decades. And now 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:44.239 they are using quote unquote the boogeyman of critical race 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:49.400 theory as the reasoning behind wanting to run push people 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.880 of color out of the public education system because with 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:56.360 more people taking their children out and putting them in 0:02:56.480 --> 0:03:00.160 religious institutions are putting them in private schools, will then 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:01.880 you're not going to need to have the same kind 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:05.240 of investment right into our public education system, which in 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:09.240 turn does what exactly creates a more pliable and under 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:13.960 educated working class that won't go against their authoritarian regimes 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.040 and that will live in a cycle of desperation and poverty, 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:22.160 right creating the permanent underclass that this country that Republicans want. 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:28.160 What Teaching Texas in their eight part series do is 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:32.840 connect the dots between how this started in Texas and again, 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.680 what happens in Texas happens around the country because they 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.920 control the textbook situation that goes into all of our 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:45.440 nation schools. So we can't just say to ourselves, well, 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:48.480 I'm in New York, or I'm in California, or you know, 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.240 I'm in Oregon or I'm in Iowa, so like this 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:56.120 doesn't matter for me. No, it does, because they're disseminating 0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:00.920 their watered down white supremacists encircled vision of America all 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:04.960 throughout the country and invading our public school systems. With 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:09.040 Grace Lynch, I will also discuss, you know, the rise 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.520 in violence that we have seen at school board meetings 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.000 and how political violence isn't just about the violence that 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:18.640 is happening at the federal level, but it's what we 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:21.400 are seeing at the state and local level that should 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:24.919 be raising alarm bells. So I'm really excited, folks, for 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:29.600 you to dig into this conversation with Grace Lynch, audio 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:34.640 journalist and the host of Teaching Texas that is coming 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:39.040 up next. Hey, there, I want to tell you about 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:41.919 another podcast I think you'll love, The Brown Girl's Guide 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:44.880 to Politics, hosted by a Shanty Goehler, the president of 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:48.159 Emerge BGG, is the one stop shop for women of 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:50.279 color who want to hear and talk about the world 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:53.080 of politics. Join a Shanty this season as she talks 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:55.560 to incredible women of color who are changing the face 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:58.280 of politics and tackling some of the most important issues 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:01.760 facing the United States, from reproductive justice to voting rights, 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:05.039 to climate change and more. Tune in every Tuesday wherever 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:10.760 you get your podcasts. Folks. I'm very excited to welcome 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:14.159 to woka F for the very first time, Grace Lynch, 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.760 who is an audio journalist and producer at Wonder Media 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:23.080 Network and is host of the show Teaching Texas, which 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:27.039 does a deep dive into how Texas has dictated American 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:31.920 education over the last sixty years. Grace, as we were 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.440 talking before we hit record, I was sharing with you 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:38.200 that and as my the WOKAF audience knows that I 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:42.840 am a former early childhood educator. My master's degree worked 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:48.599 on Capitol Hill doing education policy, was a lobbyist. Education 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:53.000 is very important to me and has always been, and 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:56.000 I feel like I am, I guess not the only 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.240 person now because you've got a whole podcast dedicated to 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:03.960 how dangerous the state of Texas is to the nation's education. 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:08.200 So give us a little bit about why this podcast 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:11.880 and why now? Well, first of all, thank you so 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:13.840 much for having me. It's a real pleasure to be 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:16.200 here with you and to be on the show. I'm 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:18.279 a longtime listener and fans, so this is a real 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:23.039 treat for me. And why this show? Why now? Well, 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.840 I think that if anyone has been even remotely paying 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.680 attention to the news, or honestly even desperately trying to 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:34.080 avoid it, you have still been bombarded with the CRT 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:38.560 debate that is raging all across the country. Parents storming 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:44.560 school board meetings, teachers and administrators getting fired over acknowledgements 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:49.920 of racism existing, all this anti trans legislation that's been 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:54.440 passing about you know, trans kids in schools. It's education 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.560 has become the latest front of our culture wars. And 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:02.600 I actually pitched the show years ago, long before kind 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:06.039 of the CRT debate took over, because I really was 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:09.000 just fascinated by the fact that Texas had such an 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:12.400 outsized impact on our education and wanted to dive into 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.160 that more So, I think the why now kind of 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:18.680 honestly presented itself to me in a really lucky way, 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.000 but that as we're heading into a mid terms where 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.880 you know, democracy is on the ballot in many ways, 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:28.800 I think that something that should not be overlooked is 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:33.080 the fact that public education is the bedrock of democracy 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:36.960 and is really a foundational element that creates an informs 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:40.520 doesn't read that can function in a democracy. So I 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:44.440 feel as if that these debates have been kind of siloed, 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:49.160 the discussions over CRT and this you know, acknowledgement of 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:52.040 the crisis in our democracy, and really they're one and 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.800 the same, and so I think that I hope any 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.480 audience that comes, you know, on and listens to the 0:07:57.480 --> 0:07:59.320 show as we journey all the way back to the 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.080 nineteen six season, really look at this grassroots movement that 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:07.640 began in Texas that they also connect that to, you know, 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:09.680 and stick with us until we reach the modern day 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:11.880 and kind of start to talk about the implications of 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.120 education and its importance right now. Well, I think what 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.760 is really important is that you are giving a history 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.640 lesson rights as well as, you know, bringing folks up 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:28.400 to the modern day. The reality in America, though, is 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.480 that education has always been at the forefront of every 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:35.880 culture war. I mean, we harken back to the images 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:38.559 of Ruby Bridges, who by the way, is not an 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:45.240 old lady by any stretch of the American imagination, and 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.800 it's alive now, and the pictures of her being escorted 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:53.600 by the National Guard as a as a four or 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:58.480 five year old to desegregate her elementary school. This happened 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.560 in the nineteen in the nineteen fifties, and what is 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.520 one of the things that had prompted Brown versus the 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:10.240 desegregating schools um came because of Brown versus the Board 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.160 of Education, and then we had the result being this 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:17.719 that children Black children needed to have literal military protection 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:22.000 in order to attend school. So I want you to 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:27.520 talk a bit about some of the historical things contexts 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.880 that we forget right or rather and I say forget, 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.439 but we're purposefully not really delved into in our education. 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:39.080 Um to have us understand that what we are seeing 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:44.160 now with from a book book burning to the narrowing 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:47.600 of curriculum, you know, in order to appease white people 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:51.480 and as Ronda Santis says, you know, to eliminate any 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:56.120 any any, any possible white guilt that could that could 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.960 ever happen, like we need to uphold white people's comfort. 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:02.160 Talk to us about some of the things that have 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:06.800 sparked on the show with regard to history that we 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:11.880 should know absolutely. And I think to your point, you know, 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:14.720 why we're paying attention to it right now as opposed 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.760 to the past, where if this has always been present, 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:21.480 is the fact that in the past, these conversations, in 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:24.040 these debates took place in rooms where people really weren't 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:29.600 paying much attention. You know, these were small elected offices 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:31.800 where people weren't really sure what these people did. Not 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:35.040 many people turned out for these elections. Grassroots activists showed 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:37.280 up to these hearings that many people knew what they 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:41.360 were doing, and so I think that the interesting thing 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.360 about what this show does is it traces it back 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:48.440 to those small town activists who started raising concerns over 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:50.920 what they saw in their children's textbooks that they didn't 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:54.720 think aligned with their what they called Judeo Christian values. 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.520 They didn't think it purported the image of America that 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:02.080 they wanted their child to have, And in many instances 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:06.080 and almost every other state, their impact on education would 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:09.200 have ended there. It would have ended with them maybe 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:15.400 influencing their local school board, maybe influencing a district wide 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:20.680 school board. But instead, because this was Norma and mel 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:25.080 Gabler in Texas, where they adopt textbooks K through twelve 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:28.880 for the whole state, making it the largest market for 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:33.240 textbooks in the country. Because they were the sole constituency 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:36.800 that this board essentially needed to cater to, they ended 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.080 up dictating what needed to be in these textbooks that 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.480 were made for the largest market and therefore sold all 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:46.960 over to the rest of the country. So we're not 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:51.120 only charting the story of the individuals who become part 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.760 of this movement, who latch onto a system that they're 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.400 able to puppeteer to their will, but also the fact 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:00.360 that the story could only have ever taken place in Texas, 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:04.000 and because it takes place in Texas, it has implications 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.840 that spread out all across the country. And I just 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.120 don't think that a lot of people necessarily realize that 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:13.160 the small town activists who have no education background behind 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:17.880 you were able to pop a teer essentially a system 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:21.160 that then rippled out all over the rest of the country. 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:24.600 And it's also worth acknowledging that, like a lot of 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:29.520 these folks throughout history, like not only just Melanorma who 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.800 we feature, but there are many acolytes that they inspire. 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:34.160 It's a lot of white folks, and it's a lot 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:36.760 of white moms, a lot of white women. And that's 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:41.080 also you know, many leaders of the anti CRT backlash 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:43.560 that we're seeing today are white women. And these are 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:47.160 women typically of privilege, who have, as particularly in the 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.800 nineteen sixties through nineties, the ability to stay home and 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:56.760 be really engaged in the education of their children and 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:01.439 spend time reviewing textbooks, spend time, you know, participating in 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:05.320 school boards. There's a real element of both like racial 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.840 and class segregation and privilege that's embodied in all of 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:11.960 this activism that you know, we slowly kind of weave 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:15.400 and chart through over the course of several decades. In today, 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.199 I'm so I'm so glad that you that you brought 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.760 up both the race and the privilege element in the 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:27.640 stay at home mom mom and mafia bubble, right, because 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:31.400 because it's you know it, you like. A memory just 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:36.320 popped into my head from me being an elementary school 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.760 and I went to elementary school out east on Long Island, 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:43.520 in a majority white school district and in New York. 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:49.400 And I remember my mother, who at the time was 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:57.280 a divorcee, uh you know, mother of two and a working, 0:13:57.400 --> 0:14:00.760 full time working mom. And as most those kids built 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.640 their parents, I had said to her, you know, why 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:06.720 why can't you come on my field trips the way 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.840 that so and So's mother comes on my field trips, 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:13.559 or like, you know, come and do like the bakesale, 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:15.840 you know and so and so. But my mother looked 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:17.640 at me, I'll never forget it, and I'm like a 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:20.400 grown ass woman. My mother looked at me grace and 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.600 was just like, because I have a job, because I 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:27.240 because I actually work, and I need you to understand 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.840 that life. I don't the spare time that I have, 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:35.560 right is this is not what it is dedicated too. 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:38.160 And my mother was very very clear. But I think 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.640 about that, and I think about the way that we 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:45.680 don't lift up those working moms and those working parents 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:50.000 and don't make it so, for instance, that you would 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:52.920 do these meetings at a time when everybody could participate 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.040 right where you would be, you would be opening up, 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:59.880 you know, an opportunity so that every parent has a voice, 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.440 everyone's voice is equal. So I just want you to 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:06.280 you know, the question for you is I don't think 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:11.520 that we tie in the class and tie in the 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:17.720 racial element of school board and school participation. It's like, 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:20.720 if you're not showing up for parent teacher conferences, you're 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.680 the bad parent, as opposed to you're making parent teacher 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:26.600 conferences in the middle of the fucking day, right when 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.720 regular people are working and have jobs, and so like, 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.600 I just kind of want to talk about the parental 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:37.200 influence and what you have learned, But what kind of 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:40.440 informed the questions that you were asking in the investigation 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:46.160 that you were doing with this series. Well, one thing 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:49.320 I can point to right away is later in the show, 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:51.080 when we you know, kind of fast forward into the 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.360 modern day. We spoke with this group called the Round 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:56.600 Rock Black Parents Association, and it's a group that's based 0:15:56.680 --> 0:16:00.520 on a suburb outside of Austin, round Rock, and it's 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.160 a group of parents who are parents of color who 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:06.680 are advocating for their students. And it's really unique in 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:08.800 not only the state, but a kind of in the 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:13.240 country because they have been able to successfully stop books 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:15.640 from being banned in their district, which is a really 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.440 incredible thing to see. And they emphasize so much the 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:23.760 ability to like build community and you know, reinforce that 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:28.640 community and create a sense of collectivism that has enabled 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.720 them to do that. But I will also say that 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.920 they spoke really candidly about the fact that, like, they 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:36.720 don't go to school board meetings because those aren't safe 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:39.720 environments for them because right now they're so toxic and 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:43.080 filled with such vitriol usually coming from white parents who 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.040 don't want their white children to feel uncomfortable by learning 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:49.240 about systemic racism in America, that they don't feel like 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:54.200 that's really a space for them. So they either send 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:57.840 testimony separately, they send letters separately, they somehow make their 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:01.000 voices heard outside of that pathway they've had to circumvent 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:05.320 the system altogether, or they lean on the white members 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:08.159 of their coalition to like kind of go and you 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:12.200 do that on their behalf, and so on some level, 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.560 I thought that was really inspiring to like see a 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:17.639 group of people who have had great success who have said, 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:19.680 we're not going to operate within your system that is 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.320 not built for us and doesn't want us here. But 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:26.520 it's also is very disconcerting that a group of parents 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:28.639 don't feel comfortable at a school board, meaning because they 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:35.320 risk being attacked essentially. So yeah, it's there's no like 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:38.920 even though that's like one of the like I would say, 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.119 more inspiring episodes that we have where you really do 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.560 get a sense that this debate is not just completely 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:50.520 consumed by people who are advocating for a very loud minority. 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:54.919 It is still it still illuminates just how many issues 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:57.800 are still just based into the system of how parents 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:02.240 and educators and the people monitoring education all interact. I 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:07.120 mean that should be like headline stories in and of itself. 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.119 Get a behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.320 Daily Show on Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.920 the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.680 Wood Junior goes deeper with the notable guests and experts 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.600 from the Emmy Award winning series. Together, they use comedy 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.600 to tackle current topics from gentrification to gun laws and 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.200 take a closer look at how and why these topics matter. 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:29.560 Listen to Beyond the Scenes from the Daily Show with 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.920 Trevor Noah on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:40.000 you get your podcast. New episodes every Tuesday. You know, 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.200 I will say that at the beginning of COVID, when 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:47.080 schools are getting ready to come back from a year 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:50.399 and a half of remote learning, we watched school board 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:56.600 meetings turn into cage matches right again at the hands 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:00.720 of white parents. And the fact that we don't talk 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:04.040 about that and the potential and like the rise in 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:06.400 I mean, when we talk about the rise in political 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:09.760 violence in this country, we're talking about you know, rhetoric 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:13.359 at the federal at the state, federal level, but we're 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:17.560 not really talking about the continued violence or threats of intimidation, 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.439 which is what you're saying. Your folks, the folks that 0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:25.560 you interviewed experienced, you know, just the fact that you 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:30.760 say that these that this group of parents of color, 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:35.840 black parents, brown parents needing to lean on the white 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:38.040 allies in this group in order to go to a 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:43.080 school board meeting. To me is terrifying. It's not great. 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:47.880 It's certainly not great. And you know, we also did 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:54.160 those speak too many wonderful educators or parents that are 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:58.800 white that like really want this diversity education in their schools. 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.360 They either want that for their students, and they want 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:03.760 their students of color to be seen in the stories 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:06.080 and the books that are in their libraries and in 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:09.080 the history of the country, and they want their you know, 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:12.600 white kids to know about the history of the country 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:16.359 and to be more responsible moving forward. So there is 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:20.000 a strong presence of ally ship, especially amongst people involved 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:23.920 in education, but we do need to work on making 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:28.280 these spaces safer, and that certainly has not been the 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:32.440 case recently. And I think that what we're seeing even 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:35.760 more so as I spoke to the co founder of 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.600 Moms for Liberty, which is one of the nationwide groups 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.320 that's really pushing a lot of these book bands, and 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:46.240 she is a very strong willed and very animated about 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:50.119 you know, getting these books out of schools, getting CRT 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:54.560 out of schools, and doesn't seem to see that she 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:58.439 is now essentially imposing her vision of parenting onto others, 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:03.719 and that is I think illuminating, and I think that 0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:05.680 there's also, you know, something to be said for the 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:09.000 fact that, like, these spaces were made for her to 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:13.640 operate in and not made for some of the other 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:17.159 parents we spoke to. And unfortunately, some of the parents 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:19.200 of color we spoke to, like they've taken their kids 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:22.479 out of public school, and some of them who are 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:25.600 in the education profession have left because it's just not 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:28.960 worth that. And that, to me was the real heartache, 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:30.960 was to hear you know, this mom talk about how 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:33.119 she's had to take her kid out of public school, 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:41.159 and ultimately, almost every education professional I spoke to said, yeah, 0:21:41.200 --> 0:21:44.479 we think that this is that's the result of a 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:51.640 long campaign to discredit public schools, to have people distrust teachers, 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:55.840 distrust their local school, distrust public education. And that has 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:59.200 been a long time goal of the right, and with 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.879 the Boogeyman CRT, they have really figured out how to 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:06.440 do it. Yeah, I think and you know, I've said 0:22:06.440 --> 0:22:09.040 it many times on this show and other programs, which 0:22:09.119 --> 0:22:14.160 is that the goal here is to defund public education, 0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:18.240 and they're not. It is not sufficient in the way 0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:22.320 that they have long been defunding education, which is by 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:27.040 virtue of the fact of your parents' income and the taxes, 0:22:27.119 --> 0:22:30.159 the property taxes that they pay dictate how good or 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:34.440 how bad your public school is. Right, that isn't enough 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:38.080 anymore for the far right. They want to ensure that 0:22:38.119 --> 0:22:42.480 these schools shutter all together, and only the elite, those 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:47.760 that can pay for private education or independent schools, will 0:22:47.800 --> 0:22:51.560 be able to continue, you know, through their path to success, 0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:55.760 and that we will create a permanent underclass in this country, 0:22:56.000 --> 0:22:59.840 one that is under educated. And you know, it is 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:04.359 the upholders right, the workers for capitalism, like this is 0:23:04.400 --> 0:23:06.879 this is you know, and and and you know, because 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:11.639 the one percent can exist without having other people's backs 0:23:11.680 --> 0:23:15.080 to stand on. And if everybody is allowed into college, 0:23:15.240 --> 0:23:18.720 if everyone is allowed the same kind of access in equity, 0:23:19.119 --> 0:23:22.080 well then people are going to want to strive out 0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:26.120 of their pre predescribed cast that they have been put 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:28.640 into in this country. We don't call it a cast system, 0:23:28.960 --> 0:23:31.560 but that's what it is, because the likelihood that you're 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:37.280 able to move out of your parents economic status is 0:23:37.359 --> 0:23:41.560 reliant upon education right and access to that education. And 0:23:41.640 --> 0:23:44.520 you see that attacked from the court cases that are 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:48.320 before the Supreme Court with regard to affirmative action, to 0:23:48.840 --> 0:23:52.720 student student loan debt relief, to now K through twelve. 0:23:52.760 --> 0:23:56.359 It's an attack on the entire system. It is. And 0:23:56.400 --> 0:23:59.320 I will say two things to that. One, I believe 0:23:59.560 --> 0:24:02.320 in like two thousand and seven or two thousand and eight, 0:24:03.080 --> 0:24:08.160 it was acknowledged that in Texas the majority of students 0:24:08.200 --> 0:24:11.560 in public schools were students of color, and that is 0:24:11.800 --> 0:24:17.160 coincides exactly with the states divestment in public schools. So 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:21.479 there absolutely continues to be a very present racial element 0:24:21.520 --> 0:24:24.119 to all of this. The second thing I'll say is 0:24:24.160 --> 0:24:30.000 that one of our experts on the show, Charissa Lopez, 0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:34.320 who is the current political director for Texas Freedom Network, 0:24:34.320 --> 0:24:37.600 which is a progressive watchdog organization that like watches the 0:24:37.680 --> 0:24:41.560 Texas State Board of Education, she said to me, point blank, 0:24:41.680 --> 0:24:43.720 you know, if you want to influence with the next 0:24:43.760 --> 0:24:47.760 generation of people think politically, you start with what you 0:24:47.800 --> 0:24:50.560 teach them in public school. And so not only is 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:53.600 this about creating you know, a permanent working class or 0:24:53.640 --> 0:24:56.280 you know, enabling the one percent, it's also about creating 0:24:56.320 --> 0:25:01.560 a very pliable voter base, and that shouldn't be ignored 0:25:01.560 --> 0:25:03.800 in all of this either, like there is a class element, 0:25:03.800 --> 0:25:05.479 there is a race element, and then there is just 0:25:05.520 --> 0:25:10.360 a blatant political play to instill in people values that 0:25:10.480 --> 0:25:12.679 are going to be beneficial to, in this instance, the 0:25:12.680 --> 0:25:16.520