Tucker Carlson has blasted a school district board that says To Kill A Mockingbird is ‘racist’ but has highly sexualized books that talk about ‘eating c***ie’ on its approved list. The Fox News host hit out at the Loudoun County school board in Virginia in an opinion piece and on his show Thursday night. Carlson aired a clip of middle school teacher Andrea Weiskopf saying at a school board meeting that the Harper Lee novel causes ‘racial trauma’ to black children due to its ‘white saviorism.’ He slammed Weiskopf as a ‘lunatic’ while he said parents pushing back against the teaching of CRT deserve ‘an award.’ He aired clips of parents reading from books approved by the board including passages saying ‘sometimes a girl just needs a big d**k’ and ‘you ate her c****ie’ as he questioned why what he deemed ‘sexual propaganda is in.’ Loudon County has gained national attention of late as parents in what is America’s wealthiest suburb try to oust members of the school district board because they oppose their children being taught Critical Race Theory. In the clip of Weiskopf tells the meeting attendees people who cannot consider the ‘racial trauma’ To Kill a Mockingbird can cause ‘have no business discussing any books.’ ‘It’s funny how they are so afraid of having their children seeing another view of sexuality, gender or religion,’ she says. ‘If you want to talk about books that are assigned, let’s read To Kill a Mockingbird together. ‘If you aren’t able to consider the racial trauma this assigned book causes black children with its white saviorism, then you have no business discussing any books.’ Carlson hit out at the teacher saying she was ‘stupid’ and ‘miserable’, claiming she views the book as ‘racist… due to the fact there are white people in it.’ ‘Miss Weiskopf explained how the book ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ — a book the rest of us assumed was all about why racism is bad — is in fact itself racist because it causes something called ‘racial trauma,’ due to the fact there are white people in it,’ he said. ‘Can you even imagine what this lady’s personal life must be like? Miserable doesn’t begin to describe it. Desperate. Hellish.’ To Kill a Mockingbird has been deemed problematic by some in recent years due to its repeated use of the ‘n-word’ and the interpretation that it has a white savior complex. Monday’s Not Coming is one of the books on Loudon County Public School’s High School Diverse Classroom Libraries list. The novel, by Tiffany D. Jackson, is written through the lens of teenage girl Claudia whose friend Monday goes missing one day. It explores issues such as systemic racism, mental illness, sexuality, and media bias. Parents in the county have objected to its sexually explicit passages and language. Here are some of the passages: The novel, set in 1930s Alabama, focuses on the trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman who is represented by a white attorney at trial. The attorney Atticus Finch is regarded by some as the white savior to black man Tom Robinson. The novel has not been banned from the curriculum at Loudoun County Public Schools and Weiskopf did not call for its withdrawal from the district. In December, she said its reading in the classroom was ‘curricular violence’ but said this did not mean it should be banned – rather than it ‘should not be a central text in the classroom.’ However, Carlson contrasted her criticism around the teaching of the classic novel to the district’s approval of other books with a sexualized nature. ‘Have you ever taken a look at the books your kids are being assigned in school? Have you ever read them? Parents in Loudoun County actually did read them,’ he said. ‘One mother had the temerity to read portions aloud at the Loudoun County school board meeting.’ Carlson aired a clip of one mother reading explicit passages from the book #Murder Trending. ‘Jasper wasn’t even my boyfriend. Just some dude I did some hacking with once in a while. He was pretty basic library-systems, low security s***. Not in my league at all but he had a big d*** and sometimes a girl just needs a big d***,’ she reads at the board meeting. Another parent reads a passage from the book Monday’s Not Coming: ‘Her top lip curled up. Wait a minute is that really going on? She did your homework and you ate her c****ie? Is that why you’re crying?’ The mother continues to read: ‘It’s ok. It’s cool. This is what girls do at parties I told myself and kept dancing with a boy I couldn’t see. The alcohol making my waist wind faster.’ The mother is then seen blasting the ‘vile reading’ and questioning if her children will be taught ‘pole dancing in PE.’ ‘If this is inappropriate for me to read to you, this is inappropriate for our children,’ she says. ‘How much did the billion dollar porn industry contribute to LCPS? My question now is if you’re going to use the whole language approach to coincide with this vile reading? Are you going to teach pole dancing in PE?’ Carlson also pointed to another parent called Brandon Michon who he said ‘tried to read more from those books’ but they ‘tried to shut him up’ when they ask him to cover his nose with his face mask. ”She’s a ho just like her sister – f**king every dude on the courts,” he reads. ‘It’s time for LCPS to get their house in order. The curtain has been pulled back and people can now see the deficient leadership in this country. ‘My five-year-old is being peddled transgender books in her library, teenagers are being peddled pornography under the guise of literature… Do something! Be a leader! The citizens of this country deserve better.’ A school board member interrupts the man’s argument to ask him to pull his mask up which he is wearing below his nose. ‘You’re all vaccinated!’ the man screams. Carlson showed another mom at the meeting hitting out at critical race theory as ‘a tactic that was used by Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan on slavery very many years ago to dumb down my ancestors so we could not think for ourselves’. ‘Critical race theory is racist, it is abusive, it discriminates against one’s color,’ she says. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Set in 1930s Alabama, it focuses on the trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman and represented by a white attorney at trial. The book was written in 1960, won the Pulitzer Prize and has long been taught in schools as a classic. Controversies The novel has divided opinion over how it addresses race and racism. The book is written from the perspective of white child Scout and so racism from the view of a white outsider. The n-word is repeatedly used in the book. Some have labeled it as having a white savior complex with attorney Atticus Finch the white savior to black man Tom Robinson. Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson Published in 2018, the book follows the story of two teenage friends Claudia and Monday. One day, Monday does not turn up for school and Claudia tries to find out what has happened to her friend. It focuses on issues such as race, mental illness, sexuality, and media bias. Controversies Parents have voiced concerns at the book being taught in schools as it contains sexually explicit content and swear words. In one passage it describes teens performing oral sex on one another saying ‘she sucked my d***.’ ‘Her top lip curled up. Wait a minute is that really going on? She did your homework and you ate her c****ie? Is that why you’re crying?’ one passage reads. It also repeatedly uses the word ‘f**k’ and phrases including ‘f**king p***y.’ Carlson said he believes she ‘deserves an award’ as he claimed ‘hurting people because of their skin color is the entire point of critical race theory’. Critical race theory examines the ways in which race and racism influence American politics, culture and the law. Its entry into the nation’s education systems has divided opinion with Democrats typically in favor, while many Republicans vehemently oppose it. Loudoun County has found itself at the center of the national debate in recent months. In March, the school system dropped Dr. Seuss from its annual reading event citing its ‘strong racial undertones.’ School officials said they wanted to move toward books more ‘inclusive and diverse and reflective of our student community.’ A group of wealthy parents are now seeking to oust members of the board and launched a campaign Tuesday called ‘Fight for Our Schools’ on Twitter . The campaign accuses board members of ‘plotting war’ against parents who oppose CRT and labelling them as racists. Loudoun County Sheriff’s office is investigating various allegations of harassment between opponents and supporters of CRT in the community’s public schools. Loudoun County Public Schools has not officially made it compulsory to use CRT in their classrooms On Thursday, Carlson also slammed a Portland State University professor who said ‘slavery is still here’, branding him a ‘low IQ vandal wrecking the school system’. He shared a clip of Ethan Johnson, who chairs the black studies department, in conversation with 1619 creator Nikole Hannah Jones. In it, Johnson says: ‘One of the things that is really important, I think is, to not frame slavery as our legacy but as it’s still here. ‘It’s legacy suggests that it’s over and there’s some remnants of it moving forward. And I would suggest that, no, slavery is right here. ‘The idea of what a slave is, is still here. And we’re living that.’ After airing the clip Tucker hit back, telling viewers: ‘Ok, so the Civil War never happened. Turns out that your ancestors weren’t killed or maimed trying to end slavery. Abraham Lincoln never signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery is still under way. ‘That’s the view of some guy who is literally claiming to be a college professor. ‘But he’s not alone, people like that are in charge of the schools now. Low IQ vandals wrecking what they did not build, from the very bottom to the very top. ‘They are everywhere.’ Carlson had earlier blasted Critical Race Theory as ‘obviously, aggressively, flamboyantly racist’. Three Republican-led states officially banned it in public schools with nearly a dozen others currently trying to pass similar laws. Oklahoma is the latest state to sign into law a ban on teaching critical race theory in public schools, with Gov Kevin Stitt arguing that it will allow history to be taught without labeling a ‘young child as an oppressor’. Idaho and Tennessee have already approved similar bans. The fight over critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States over the last year. The theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country over the last year and the introduction of the 1619 Project. The 1619 Project, which was published by the New York Times in 2019 to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores, reframes American history by ‘placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the US narrative’. The debate surrounding critical race theory regards concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist. Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of ‘privileged’ or ‘oppressed’ based on their skin color. Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating racism because it examines the ways in which race influence American politics, culture and the law. Other attempts have been floated in New Hampshire, Missouri and Louisiana over the past few months, though those measures are unlikely to pass. North Carolina House Republicans also approved a plan on Wednesday to prohibit public schools from embracing certain ideas that critically examine how race and racism influence American politics, culture and law. Critical race theory highlights how historical inequities and racism continue to shape public policy and social conditions today. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday defended American colleges and universities teaching theories of systemic racism as ‘responsible’ as she was forced to deny allegations that it amounted to ‘liberal indoctrination.’ The issue has become one of the frontline skirmishes in the country’s culture wars in the wake of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests. Conservatives allege that students are being taught a warped version of American history that claims the impact of slavery remains present throughout society. Critics say the teachings reduce people to ‘privileged’ or ‘oppressed’ based on skin color. But supporters say it is vital to understand how race impacts society in order to eliminate racism. Cases have emerged in recent weeks across the country of teachers and parents saying their children are being forced to learn critical race theory. Parents in America’s wealthiest suburb have also released a campaign ad to oust members of a Virginia school district board after it pledged to push Critical Race Theory onto their children. On Tuesday, ‘Fight for Our Schools’ – a group made up of dozens of parents from the wealthy enclave, where the median household income is $142,299 – released the campaign ad on Twitter .
