NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson Launches School Task Force and Decries ‘Woke Culture… Making Things Difficult All Across the Nation’

Yesterday, North Carolina’s Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson launched the FACTS Task Force on his official government page to provide support for some parents, kids and educators who he says have concerns over what’s being taught in North Carolina public schools.

During a news conference, Robinson said, “If I go into the classroom and I can’t put my opinion aside long enough to go inside the classroom and give impressionable, young minds just the facts without my opinion, I have failed as an educator.”

Robinson, who is the state’s first black Lt. Gov. claimed a female student was not allowed to write a report on him for Black History Month which was part his motivation for launching the initiative and that “Her teacher would not allow her to do that. And told her that she had to do her report on Tupac Shakur. That is indoctrination.”

FACTS stands for Fairness, Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students and concerns people can submit online include: examples of discrimination or harassment, examples of students being influenced by political opinions and ideologies and proof of inappropriate content or subject matter.

In an interview with Newsmax, Robinson decried a situation where “Woke culture is making things difficult all across the nation.”

“What we’re seeing across the country right now is a blatant attempt to just flat out discriminate against people because of their political ideologies and that’s just not fair, it’s just not the American way, and it’s certainly not something that should be done in education,” Robinson explained.

Host John Bachman agreed and suggested that schools should be a place “for debate” and shared a story about his experiences when he was in school he would debate the issues with a teacher who was of a different ideology.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Woke culture is making things difficult all across the nation.&quot; North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson sounds off on the &#39;Woke Left&#39;s&#39; obsession with race. [with <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnFBachman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JohnFBachman</a> on Newsmax TV: <a href="https://t.co/VlT7z8drtO">https://t.co/VlT7z8drtO</a>] <a href="https://t.co/oupQaVXcyp">pic.twitter.com/oupQaVXcyp</a></p>&mdash; Newsmax (@newsmax) <a href="https://twitter.com/newsmax/status/1372248099754758147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

From ABC 11:

The task force wants to collect the data, analyze it, and then determine which complaints are the most urgent.

“We will know how we’re going to tackle this after we get this information and disseminate it,” said Robinson. “We need to make sure there is equity in the classroom and make sure people are treated fairly.”

The Education Justice Alliance said the Robinson’s taskforce is unnecessary.

A spokesperson said in a statement: “There is inequitable treatment of Black, Indigenous and other students of color in some of our schools especially as it relates to suspensions, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement. We can look at data collected yearly that shows the disparities. We think the Lt. Governor’s task force would be better served to look at real instances of inequities in our public schools.”

Robinson didn’t name all of the 12 task force members during the news conference but it does include Senator Kevin Corbin, Representative David Willis, and State School Board Member Oliva Oxendine, who, like the Lt. Governor, lean conservative.

Other members are: Linda Kakadelis and Dr. Terry Stoops with the John Locke Foundation, Melissa Merrell with Union County Board of Education, Judy Henion with the Classroom Teachers Association of NC, and Melissa Oakley with Onslow County Board of Education.