Governor Cooper Vetoes Hotly Contested Critical Race Theory, Destructive Protest Bills

While there is still an ongoing debate as to what exactly CRT-based pedagogy encompasses, it generally refers to a way of teaching about history and society that acknowledges that racism continues to permeate our social and legal systems today. Source: Mike Kim

On Friday, September 12th, Governor Roy Cooper vetoed two hotly contested bills, one aimed at banning the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in North Carolina schools, and the other meant to increase punishments for those involved in protests that turn destructive.

House Bill 324: Ensuring Dignity and Nondiscrimination in Schools is a Republican-backed anti-CRT bill. While there is still an ongoing debate as to what exactly CRT-based pedagogy encompasses, it generally refers to a way of teaching about history and society that acknowledges that racism continues to permeate our social and legal systems today. 

Specifically, the bill prohibits schools from teaching students to believe that one race or sex is superior to another, that an individual is inherently oppressive due to their race or sex, and that individuals should be discriminated against based on their race or sex. It also mandates that schools must publicly announce their curriculum, reading lists, and any speakers coming to the school that might speak on topics of diversity on their websites. The bill passed along party lines, with all Republicans in the Senate in favor and all Democrats against. “The legislature should be focused on supporting teachers, helping students recover lost learning, and investing in our public schools,” Cooper explained in a statement regarding his veto of the bill. “Instead, this bill pushes calculated, conspiracy-laden politics into public education.”

Republicans who voted in favor of the bill disagree and claim that the veto, as opposed to the bill, is what pushes conspiracies in public schools. Senate Leader Phil Berger, a Republican from Rockingham, said that the bill does not prevent educators from teaching American history. “It’s perplexing that Gov. Cooper would veto a bill that affirms the public school system’s role to teach students the full truth about our state’s sometimes ugly past,” Berger said. “His invented excuse is so plainly refuted by the text of the bill that I question whether he even read it.”

Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Democrat from Wake County, said the bill suppresses free speech. “At the end of the day the bill to me constitutes a speech code,” Chaudhuri said. “It's censorship and it's going to insert the state General Assembly into what's going to be taught and not taught.” Other Democrats shared this sentiment and argued that while some say the bill ensures that schools teach the full history of North Carolina, it actually does the opposite.

Cooper also vetoed House Bill 805: Prevent Rioting and Civil Disorder. Introduced by Republicans after the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer, this legislation attempted to increase criminal penalties for those involved in protests turned destructive. Similar to HB 324, the bill passed the Senate along party lines. Regarding his veto, Cooper claimed that the legislation was redundant. “People who commit crimes during riots and at other times should be prosecuted and our laws provide for that, but this legislation is unnecessary and is intended to intimidate and deter people from exercising their constitutional rights to peacefully protest,” he said.

Cooper’s claim that the bill is an attempt to deter people from exercising their constitutional rights is highlighted by the timing of the bill’s introduction during a wave of protests in which many of the participants were African-American, alongside the fact that Republicans have passed legislation considered discriminatory against African-Americans before. Just a week after Cooper’s vetoes, a North Carolina court struck down a voter identification law passed in 2018 by Republicans, writing that the law “was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional intent to target African American voters.” Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican from Cleveland County, argued that the bill was “common sense,” and that it would serve to protect communities from potentially dangerous protests. “Today’s veto is another slap in the face to the small business owners and residents of cities and towns across this state that were damaged by lawless riots,” Moore said.

Moving forward, Republican legislators have said they will continue to try to make these bills into laws. They will likely have to find an alternative to passing them through the legislature because, while they do have a majority in both the House and Senate, they do not have the two-thirds supermajority required in either chamber to override Cooper’s vetoes. 

Senate Democratic leader Dan Blue confirmed in a tweet that Democrats would uphold Cooper’s vetoes. The only hope remaining for Republicans may be to let North Carolinians decide in a statewide vote to pass the bills in the form of a constitutional amendment.