Unconstitutional bill

Whenever the Arkansas Legislature goes into session, I am on pins and needles. The Legislature is controlled by Republicans, and many are Donald Trump sycophants, meaning that we can count on racist policies. The “stand your ground” law, which will place a larger target on African Americans, is a topic for another discussion. Currently, Rep. Mark Lowery is proposing House Bill 1218, that has the support of Sens. Gary Stubblefield and Mark Johnson.

HB1218 provides that it shall be illegal for any public school or public charter to teach courses that are specific to a particular race or gender. Subsection (b) states that they can’t include a course, class, event, or activity that promotes division between, resentment of, or social justice for a race or gender, among other things, or is designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group. The bill further provides that any school and/ or district that is caught violating this law will lose up to 10 percent of its state funding.

If this bill is passed, school districts could no longer have programs centered around Black history. Schools could not teach African American studies. It would be illegal for schools to put up posters of famous African Americans such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Daisy Bates, Frederick Douglass, and others.

This bill is clearly unconstitutionally vague, because a person could object to a course or event because they resent it. The Trumpians have another bill that will prohibit schools from teaching courses related to the 1619 Project, which teaches about the horrors of slavery. This bill has gotten national attention. Two idiots have recently reminded the nation just how racist Arkansas is. These bills will demonstrate the point further.

AUSTIN PORTER JR.

Little Rock