“I Don’t Want to Lose My Job”: Teachers Express Fear of Retaliation for Speaking Out Against CRT

Teachers across the state sound the alarm on indoctrination and retaliation in private messages to Lt. Gov. Robinson’s task force

Raleigh, N.C. — Teacher submissions consume page after page of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s report on school indoctrination. They didn’t mince words: “Many of us are too afraid to lose our careers and reputations by speaking up.”

Critical race theory teaches adherents to view everything and everybody through the lens of race and power. “Antiracism,” a doctrine inspired by critical race theory, teaches that “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.”

The application of this doctrine in a classroom takes many forms. For example, the N.C. Governor’s School showed students a picture of a white male and said he is the “prince of privilege.” A seventh-grade teacher in Asheville reportedly told a student he was wrong for submitting an assignment asserting merit matters more than skin color or sex. A Wake County Public School System document reportedly lists the phrase “we’re just one human family” as an example of “covert white supremacy.”

Teachers who see this doctrine’s ascent in their schools reported a fear of retaliation if they speak up against it. Here are some excerpts from teacher submissions to Lt. Gov. Robinson’s task force [edited lightly for clarity]:

• “I am a NC public school teacher . . . The leftist political activism in our school system is real. Many of us are too afraid to lose our careers and reputations by speaking up against it.”
• “Anyone who speaks up is afraid they will be ‘canceled’ or ‘terminated’ because they have a different opinion. This is not the work environment we should be exposed to or the environment our students should be presented with when they enter the classroom.”
• “I am 5 years away from retirement and that seems like forever right now . . . Please keep my letter private because I don’t want to lose my job so I can still get my retirement but I couldn’t just sit back and act like what is happening is okay.”
• “Please contact me if you have any questions. I have pictures and records of everything. Please do not post my identity. I’d lose my job.”
• “I am a School Counselor at a middle school so please keep this as confidential as possible. I am very concerned about the security of my job . . . I have taken no steps to resolve this problem. Mostly because I am very concerned that I would get fired for my personal beliefs if they were known.”

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said, “The Democratic Party position is that this doctrine ‘doesn’t exist’ in schools. Not only is that plainly untrue, but teachers who object to the doctrine fear for their careers. This is not an acceptable state of affairs.”