Tennessee conservatives have identified ridiculous new targets in their holy war against 'critical race theory'

Tennessee conservatives are throwing a fit over the teaching of the state's history during desegregation, as conservative parents are concerned about their children learning the history of bad behavior people did 50 years ago, the Tennessean reports.

A company that creates curriculum and instructional materials out of Washington, D.C. drew the ire of parents because they say that the company is encouraging "critical race theory."

The company has a "Wit & Wisdom" section in their English language curriculum that includes books such as Ruby Bridges Goes to School, Separate is Never Equal, and George vs. George.

The Ruby Bridges book is a "level 2" book from the Scholastic Reader, which has been around since 1920. Level 2 books are appropriate for 4 to 8-year-olds due to vocabulary. The book, which has been around since 2009, tells the story of a 6-year-old girl who was accepted into a white school that was becoming integrated and was then harassed by an angry mob of racists for months.

A conservative group called Moms for Liberty has taken the charge in its attacks on these books and shared their "findings" from a review of several "Wit & Wisdom" books to audiences at their "CRT 101" event last month.

Among other things, the report complained that one young student came home "emotionally traumatized" and needed the help of a "child psychologist" after her exposure to the offending books.

The group objected to the Ruby Bridges book's portrayal of a "large crowd of angry white people who didn't want Black children in a white school" in which there was no "redemption" of the white people at the end.

In addition to this, the group raised concerns about teachers using words like "injustice," "unequal," "inequality," "protest," "marching" and "segregation" in grammar lessons.

Read the full report at the Tennesseean.