Oklahoma Civil Rights Curriculum

House Bill 1397 advanced when the senate education committee passed the measure. Representative Mark Lepak who authored the bill says House Bill 1397 would make available a civil rights curriculum through the State Department of Education. 

“It's a semester, course one is geared towards the sixth grade that can either be used as a stand-alone course or as an additive or complimentary to what we already have,” says Lepak.

The curriculum would focus on the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968. Lepak says the coursework has already been developed.   

"And I thought that this was an opportunity to flesh out what's in some of our standards. We cover Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights Movement letter for Birmingham, some of those kinds of things,” says Lepak.

But some lawmakers are opposed to the bill.

Members of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus say House Bill 1397 "waters down" black history because it focuses on a small portion of the civil rights era.

“First of all, it doesn't begin in that time period that someone else is trying to tell us, these are the areas that we need to focus on. There was great civil rights work done before that time period and the civil rights battle. The fight is not over,” says Representative Regina Goodwin.

Goodwin says giving the curriculum to the State Department of Education is concerning because of its new leadership.

"I would not trust the Secretary of State Ryan Walters to handle that curriculum. Don't trust that because he's been very clear that he does not want us to learn about equity. He does not want us to talk about culture, you know, diversity, all of those words. He literally, to some degree, has had stricken from curriculum this year. Those are his efforts,” says Representative Goodwin.

Representative Lepak says Walters is aware of the curriculum and approves of the coursework.

“I have talked with him about this, and actually, he likes this approach, as did Superintendent Hofmeister when I talked with her about it a while back,” says Representative Lepak

Goodwin wants students to understand that non-violent protest doesn't always end in peaceful agreement.

“You have to ask yourself why is it that someone wants to supposedly teach our youth that they need to follow the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King when we're being choked out on the streets, being shot in the forehead, right? We're seeing some folks that just literally get away with murder in 2023. What's funny is in this capitol, they talk about defending yourself, stand your ground, all of that. You got more gun laws passed here. But when it comes to black folks standing up for themselves and saying, we deserve to live in this America as much as you do, then everybody says: well, you need to be peaceful. You need to be quiet. You don't need to talk back,” says Representative Goodwin.

Senator Carri Hicks questioned if House Bill 1397 would contradict HouseBill 1775 during last week's Senate Education Committee Meeting.

"House Bill 1775 specifically said or outlawed the prohibition on teaching that hatred on the basis of immutable characteristics, and I’m reading now from the language of the bill, including not just race or ethnicity, but also characteristics such as nationality, religious belief, disability. Do you feel that that will be in violation of House Bill 1775," says Senator Hicks.

"As I recall, the author of that bill on the floor in the senate referenced some of the things that I am referring to in this particular bill. He stated that these are the type of things that we need to have being taught in our schools. So, no, I don't see any conflict whatsoever,” says Senator Micheal Bergstrom,

Hicks says since the passage of House Bill 1775 educators have felt uneasy when it comes to teaching history.

"Right now, in the climate that we find ourselves in where educators feel very unsure of whether or not they can engage kiddos in critical conversations surrounding race,” says Senator Hicks

Since the passage of House Bill 1775, the law's language caused confusion amongst many Oklahomans in and out of the classroom. 

"I still think there are folks that are misreading what the intent of that was. I thought, well, I didn't intend it this way, but this is a course that's built in a way that maybe shows you how you can teach difficult topics and focus on what I’ll call the right things,” says Rep. Lepak

The bill's senate author, Sen. Bergstrom hopes the curriculum might help create peace among students.

“We desperately need more peacemakers today. As I said, I grew up in that era. I recall very well the news of Dr. King's assassination and his aftermath. It was terrible. It turns out though, fortunately, I was dramatically impacted by his words and by his legacy and I consider him a hero,” says Sen. Bergstrom.

The bill now waits to be heard on the senate floor.