America


Ground Zero in Bitter Fight Over Critical Race Theory


When the “woke” revolution came to af luent Loudoun County, Virginia, angry parents rose up and cried: Enough!


N BY CLAYTON B. REID


ot so long ago the big- gest


drama County, in Virginia,


Loudoun which


boasts the nation’s highest


household income ($142,299 as of 2019), used to be over which millionaire’s horse would win the annual point-to- point steeplechase race.


Located an hour west of Washing-


ton, D.C., the county embraced tradi- tion and stability. Towns like Purcellville, Leesburg,


and Waterford seemed fi rmly rooted in traditional values of family, faith, and freedom. Then came the developers. In the


1970s and 80s they built massive hous- ing developments in the eastern part of the county for young couples willing to make the daily schlep into the city. Soon, an infl ux of federal workers,


16 NEWSMAX | OCTOBER 2021


along with an infusion of high-tech industries, began to transform the county. And predictably, some of the newcomers brought their “woke” poli- tics with them.


By the time Barack Obama beat Mitt


Romney in 2012, Virginia and Loudoun County were well on their way from red to purple to solid blue. All of which laid the groundwork for


what’s happening today: Once-sleepy Loudoun County suddenly fi nds itself at ground zero of the most bitter, con- troversial battle over schools and cur- riculum in the country.


PARENTS REBEL Hundreds of parents have stormed school board meetings to protest the teaching of critical race theory in the schools. School board members shut down


one meeting that got unruly. Two resi- dents were arrested for refusing to leave after the session was disbanded.


A fi fth grade teacher, Laura Mor-


ris, broke out in tears at another board meeting. The veteran teacher of 10 years pronounced she would quit rath- er than indoctrinate children about rampant systemic racism. “School board,” she announced at


the August meeting, fi ghting back tears, “I quit. I quit your policies. I quit your trainings. “I quit being a cog in a machine


that tells me to push highly politicized agendas on our most vulnerable con- stituents — children.” Another teacher, Byron “Tan-


ner” Cross, said his religious convic- tions would not allow him to address children by multiple pronouns rather than “he” or “she,” as mandated by


©REUTERS


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