Teaching kids about the Tulsa Race Massacre is completely fine, according to Oklahoma school Superintendent Ryan Walters. Teachers just need to make sure no one is “made to feel bad” about it.
At a forum in Norman, Oklahoma, on Thursday, a resident asked Walters how teaching about the massacre — in which scores of white vigilantes terrorized a Black neighborhood over the course of two days — didn’t run afoul of the state’s ban on critical race theory.
“I would never tell a kid that because of your race, because of the color of your skin, or your gender or anything like that, you are less of a person or are inherently racist. That doesn’t mean you don’t judge the actions of individuals,” Walters said. “Oh, you can. Absolutely, historically, you should. ‘This was right. This was wrong. They did this for this reason.’ But to say it was inherent in that because of their skin is where I say that is critical race theory. You’re saying that race defines a person.”
On Friday, Walters attempted to clarify his thoughts in a statement in which he accused the media of attempting “to create a fake controversy.”
“Let me be crystal clear that history should be accurately taught: 1. The Tulsa Race Massacre is a terrible mark on our history. The events on that day were racist, evil, and it is inexcusable. Individuals are responsible for their actions and should be held accountable,” he said. “2. Kids should never be made to feel bad or told they are inferior based on the color of their skin.”
Critical race theory, typically taught in college-level academic courses, portends that systemic racism underlies much of U.S. policy. But in the years since a police officer in Minneapolis murdered George Floyd, a Black man, conservatives have seized on the term and misconstrued it to mean talking about racism and history ― and making white children feel guilty for being white in the process. The moral panic surrounding critical race theory further expanded to include topics like diversity and LGBTQ+ rights, which conservatives derisively refer to as “wokeness.”
The Tulsa Race Massacre began on May 31, 1921, after a Black teenage boy was accused of assaulting a white teenage girl. Rumors spread through Tulsa and white vigilantes descended upon the part of town that was known as Black Wall Street because of the concentration of wealth. The attackers spent two days killing and injuring people as well as burning down homes and businesses. An estimated 50 people were left dead and thousands more were injured.
Walters, a former social studies teacher in McAlester, Oklahoma, won the election for state superintendent last November while largely campaigning on eradicating “wokeness” and critical race theory from schools. (He also spread a conspiracy theory about cat litter.)
At a gathering of the far-right political organization Moms for Liberty earlier this month in Philadelphia, he wooed attendees by hitting all of the right’s talking points about education.
“The radicalism that the left has taken to try to force socialism and Marxism in our classrooms is the most outrageous thing this country has ever seen,” he said to applause.
But in his home state, his views don’t always resonate — even with his fellow Republicans. He has fully embraced the culture wars, and other conservative lawmakers have criticized him for focusing too much on cultural issues like book censorship instead of funding for Oklahoma schools.
After he was sworn into office, Walters spent months claiming that school libraries were providing porn to students. He demonized teachers unions, alleging that they were indoctrinating and abusing students, and referred to them as terrorists.
At Thursday’s meeting, he was met with an angry crowd.
“It doesn’t matter how much the radical left attacks me,” Walters said. “It doesn’t matter how much the teachers union spends against me. I will never stop speaking truth.”
It got so rowdy that two people were escorted out and residents were left disappointed. “I didn’t think at 68 years old I would have to be concerned about public education for my grandkids going backwards instead of forwards,” one attendee told a local Fox affiliate after the event.