A recent executive order by Governor Kristi Noem calls the work of an anti-racist author “infused with factual errors.”
Ibram X. Kendi has written several works on anti-racist ideas and policy.
He is called out by name in a recent executive order by Governor Kristi Noem. The order bans the Department of Education, which is under Governor Noem’s control, from applying for federal grants relating to American history and civics.
Noem says there’s a growing movement throughout the country to reject patriotic education and downplay the positive revolution set in motion by the country’s Founders. Noem says the country does not have racism in its DNA and calls the notion a lie.
In an interview with SDPB’s Lori Walsh on “In The Moment,” Kendi says that Noem is also pushing a doctrine.
“The idea that racism does not exist is a doctrine,” Kendi says. “I just want us to at least be honest that you may not agree with certain ideas, but to claim that a form of your ideas is not a form of indoctrination is certainly not true.”
Kendi encourages Governor Kristi Noem to read his work, point out any factual errors and send him a note.
“I do appreciate that she has stated that she wants our students to be taught a history that studies both the triumphs and the mistakes,” Kendi says. “Because I share that.”
The governor’s office has not responded to SDPB’s request for comment. Instead, Noem says on Twitter that Kendi is a “ringleader for Critical Race Theory” who criticizes her efforts to prioritize patriotic civics and education.
Ibram Kendi, a ringleader of Critical Race Theory, went on SDPB today to criticize my efforts to prioritize patriotic civics and history. Kendi, a Marxist, believes “capitalism is essentially racist” and wants the government to police all speech deemed insufficiently anti-racist.
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) August 5, 2021
This story comes from a recent interview on SDPB's weekday radio program, "In the Moment." Listen to the full interview below.