Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon had a set of contentious meetings with lawmakers on Tuesday and Wednesday, appearing before Senate and House Congressional committees to answer questions about the future of the department and the administration’s education policies.
One of the most tense exchanges involved a set of questions about Black history that McMahon would not answer, possibly because she did not know the topics at hand.
Linda McMahon refuses to clarify knowledge about the Tulsa Massacre, Ruby Bridges
In a series of questions on Wednesday, Congresswoman Summer Lee of Pennsylvania asked McMahon if “a lesson plan on the Tulsa Race Massacre” would be considered “illegal DEI” under the current administration’s policies, referring to the 1921 destruction of the Black Greenwood District of Tulsa by an attacking white mob.
Avoiding answering the question, Lee asked the secretary if she knew what the Tulsa Race Massacre was, to which McMahon would only respond that “I’d like to look into it more and get back to you.”
Lee asked similar questions about lessons on Ruby Bridges, who, as a 6-year-old child in 1960, integrated an all-white school in Louisiana in what became some of the most iconic imagery of the Civil Rights Movement.
Bridges has since become an advocate and author of several books, including the autobiographical Through My Eyes and children’s literature as well. McMahon admitted that she hadn’t read Bridges’ book Through My Eyes, but would not clarify if she knew who Bridges was.
Trump, GOP target ‘DEI’ to whitewash history
Lee’s questions are not hypothetical, as the Trump administration’s campaign against “DEI” has accelerated efforts to whitewash American history. Among other moves, the military eliminated celebrations of Black History Month and other celebrations of minority groups, and targeted books on historical figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jackie Robinson to be removed. Schools across the United States have been threatened to remove “DEI” programs or face federal funding cuts and other consequences. Bridges’ story has in the past been particularly targeted; in 2023, a Florida elementary school banned a documentary about Bridges after a parent complained that it was inappropriate because of its depictions of racism.
Linda McMahon displays a lack of understanding in her answers to Congress
The tense exchange with Sen. Lee was part of a larger set of questionable and embarrassing moments for McMahon in her recent Congressional appearances. On Tuesday, McMahon and Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana both miscalculated the cost of a federal program for low-income college students, saying that the $1.5 billion per year program would cost $1 trillion over ten years, when the actual number was obviously a much lower $15 billion. When questioned by Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut about the administration’s targeting of Harvard University, McMahon gave confusing answers about whether she had any legal authorization to cut the university’s funding because of the political viewpoints of its faculty. These moments support previous concerns that McMahon, a long-time Trump associate, lacked the qualifications for the Education Secretary position.
With a long and growing track record of the GOP whitewashing history and targeting Black stories as “DEI,” it is important for leaders such as McMahon to clarify the administration’s current policies. And it is equally important that those in positions to set those policies have at least some knowledge of the law and of the Black history of this country before deciding what is acceptable to teach.
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