NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE PRESIDENT MARC MORIAL
DENOUNCES GOV. LANDRY’S ANTI-CRT ORDER AS “NEW LOST CAUSE MYTHOLOGY”
NEW YORK (August 30, 2024) – National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in response to Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s order to distort history in Louisiana’s schools:
“Gov. Landry has demeaned his office and shamed the state with his transparent effort to warp our history.
“As Landry surely knows, Critical Race Theory is an advanced legal concept mainly confined to law schools and graduate studies. A ban on actual CRT would have no effect on the K-12 curriculum. He is shamefully capitalizing on fear and ignorance to stoke resentment and further a white supremacist agenda.
“The goal of so-called CRT bans like Landry’s is to stifle awareness of historic racism – the legacy of segregation, redlining, voter suppression and gerrymandering— so that racial gaps in wealth and income, educational and professional achievement, or political representation can be portrayed as the result of ‘merit’ and ‘hard work.’
“It is the modern version of the Lost Cause mythology. But instead of promoting the lie that Black Americans are content to live under a system of oppression, Landry promotes the lie that the system of oppression never existed.
“The National Urban League remains committed to a clear-eyed and honest view of American history. We will continue to fight Landry’s appalling order and expose the anti-CRT effort for the white supremacist propaganda that it is.”