Editorial: Defeat of culture-war board candidates hints that a political fever is breaking – St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Editorial Board
On Tuesday, voters in the Francis Howell school district and other districts around the St. Louis region said, Enough. Enough of the race-baiting, enough of the ideological grandstanding, enough of weaponizing childrens education for the culture wars.
The electoral defeat of two right-wing Francis Howell candidates for open seats and similar outcomes in almost a dozen other area races this week is an encouraging rebuke of the recent movement to politicize school boards. That voters in even generally conservative communities are finally seeing through this MAGA-affiliated fog is the best message possible going into other crucial elections this year.
Francis Howell has been this regions epicenter for an alarming national trend in which right-wing activists are targeting school board seats. Contrary to their stated goals of bettering kids education, their real agenda is to promote their own restrictive political ideology in the classroom. Their obsessions are issues related to public health, gender and, especially, race.
The Francis Howell district in St. Charles County, one of Missouris largest, is overwhelmingly white and has been the site of disturbing displays of racial intolerance in the not-too-distant past, including protests at the transfers of students from the mostly Black Normandy School District.
The Francis Howell boards subsequent embrace of racial inclusion policies including the establishment of courses focused on Black history and the approval and posting of an anti-racism statement in the schools represented welcome evolution.
But it also sparked an ugly backlash from right-wing activists who view any discussion of Black culture or the undeniable fact of systemic racism in society as something that has to be cleansed from classrooms.
Touting bogeyman phrases like woke and critical race theory (a legitimate field of academia but one that virtually doesnt exist outside higher education), they have promoted the corrosive idea that policies seeking to combat racism are inherently reverse racism.
Recognizing the realities of systemic racism in society is a legitimate aspect of educating all students about the world they will inherit and hopefully make better. To condemn such recognition as some kind of attack on white students is a twisted, historically blinkered philosophy. But its one that helped a hard-right PAC called Francis Howell Families seize a majority of the boards seven seats over the past few years.
What they have done with that majority could not be more telling.
Last year, the all-white board voted to scrub the anti-racism message the earlier board had approved. The simple, five-paragraph statement wasnt radical; it simply pledged that the district will speak firmly against any racism, promote racial healing and recognize the challenges faced by our Black and brown students and families.
Surely the sight of those messages being literally, physically removed from school hallway walls on orders from the school board sent its own loud-and-clear message to the districts few Black students, as well as their white classmates.
The current board also briefly eliminated elective Black-themed history and literature course offerings. Public outcry at the course removals forced the board to almost immediately rescind that decision, which hinted at the possibility that district residents were finally tiring of the boards ideological antics.
Tuesdays election for the two open seats drove home that message.
Mainstream candidates Steven Blair, a pastor, and Carolie Owens, a retired teacher, both won the seats over two culture-warrior candidates backed by Francis Howell Families, marking a significant defeat for the right-wing PAC. Blair and Owens were backed by Francis Howell Forward, a PAC formed last year to counter the boards rightward tilt.
It was a victory for moderation and tolerance and not an isolated one. As the Post-Dispatchs Blythe Bernhard and Monica Obradovic reported this week, right-wing activist school board hopefuls in the St. Charles City, Wentzville, Lindbergh, Mehlville, Parkway, Rockwood and Ft. Zumwalt districts all lost to more mainstream candidates. In fact, every one of the 13 candidates endorsed in a concerted anti-woke campaign by right-wing radio talk show host Marc Cox lost their races.
The Francis Howell outcome doesnt eliminate the right-wing majority on the board (yet). But it stands as a strong sign that the reactionary political fever that has gripped local elections might finally be breaking.
Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!
The rest is here:
Editorial: Defeat of culture-war board candidates hints that a political fever is breaking - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- When a Culture War Becomes a Truth War The European Conservative - The European Conservative - May 15th, 2024 [May 15th, 2024]
- The Conservatives have chosen culture wars over climate consensus - The New Statesman - May 15th, 2024 [May 15th, 2024]
- Q&A: Kaya Henderson on Teaching Black History During the Culture Wars - Future-Ed - May 15th, 2024 [May 15th, 2024]
- 431. Nellie Bowles Reporting From the Frontlines of the Culture Wars - Skeptic Magazine - May 15th, 2024 [May 15th, 2024]
- Britons dont like culture wars, but that doesnt mean the woke mob messaging will stop - The Guardian - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Editorial: Wentzville superintendent is the latest to exit the culture-war battlefield - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- 'Crazy Plane Lady' Tiffany Gomas Has Begun Weighing in on America's Culture War and We'll Be Better for It - Barstool Sports - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- I Will Not Be Fighting Culture Wars: UK Shadow Culture Secretary Seeks To Draw Dividing Line Between Labour & ... - imdb - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Literature and the New Culture Wars: Triggers, Cancel Culture, and the Teacher's Dilemma - Reformed Journal - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- I Will Not Be Fighting Culture Wars: UK Shadow Culture Secretary Seeks To Draw Dividing Line Between Labour & Conservatives As She Sets Out Stall... - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Review: 'Democracy and Solidarity' by James Davison Hunter - The Gospel Coalition - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Library System of Lancaster County board doesn't traffic in culture wars. Partisan appointees should take heed. [editorial] - LNP | LancasterOnline - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Sunak accused of making mental illness another front in the culture wars - The Guardian - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Drag queen Sasha Velour stars in Season 4 of Max's 'We're Here' - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- The danger of turning 'brain death' and organ donation into culture war issues - America: The Jesuit Review - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Whether you side with Arj Barker or the breastfeeding mum, real life is more nuanced than our tit-for-tat culture wars - ABC News - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Land, Livestock and Darfurs 'Culture Wars' - MERIP - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Finn McRedmond: Nothing is new under the sun: the solar eclipse became the latest shiny object in the culture wars - The Irish Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Arizona embraces the culture wars on the losing side - Daily Kos - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- William Kolbe: Culture wars have a new recruit - Eagle-Tribune - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Smartphone addiction, culture wars and low birth rates are all byproducts of the Western world's modern success. - The Australian Financial Review - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Georgia Garvey: The ultimate culture clash at the root of rural rage - Northern Virginia Daily - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- On abortion culture wars, Britain takes a different path - POLITICO Europe - April 9th, 2024 [April 9th, 2024]
- U.S. culture wars reach anime with targeting of translators - Nikkei Asia - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Diversity programs vanishing from U.S. campuses amid culture wars - Japan Today - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- How NYC Schools Became a Battlefront in the Culture Wars - The New York Times - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Don't Let Electricity Become the New Front in the Culture Wars - Cato Institute - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Culture Wars and an Embattled Utah Monument Sierra Nevada Ally - The Sierra Nevada Ally - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Letters: Mel Stride's comments show Tory culture wars have gone too far - The Big Issue - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Amid post-Easter culture wars, Jesus still asks, 'But who do you say that I am?' - Fox News - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Diversity Programs Slowly Disappear From US Campuses Amid Culture Wars - NDTV - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- After CEO Bob Iger Claims He's Removed The Company From The Culture War, Disneyland Announced Disneyland ... - That Park Place - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Culture War Bills Mostly Fizzle on the Georgia Legislature's Last Day in Session - Flagpole - Flagpole Magazine - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- The Roadblocks to Biden's Electric Vehicles Plan - The New York Times - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Culture Wars and the Easter Bunny: One Author Fights Back - FOX News Radio - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Fiery debate over TikTok ban puts Americas culture wars in spotlight - South China Morning Post - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The Metamodern Shift in the Culture Wars - Quillette - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Messenger: Is Francis Howell school board election about teachers or culture wars? - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- DeSantis faces pushback in Florida as voters tire of war on woke - The Washington Post - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- Default masculine. How the Russian language has become a battleground in the countrys culture wars - . - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- Local Lightning Rods: Social media, national partisan divisions, culture wars have changed tone and tenor of local ... - Wyoming Tribune - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- Wright City schools manage to 'stay above the fray' of culture wars - Warren County Record - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- Hannah Gadsby on culture wars, pot-stirring and Picasso: I created that circus. I dont need to watch it - The Guardian - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- London Fidgets in the Culture Wars as Buenos Aires Reframes the Game - The New York Sun - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- Sydney Sweeney's 'SNL' Stint Has Become an Unlikely Focal Point in the Culture Wars - The Mary Sue - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- Are funerals the new culture war frontier? - The Catholic Weekly - March 9th, 2024 [March 9th, 2024]
- Changing church, culture wars: NCR's top 10 opinion articles of 2023 - National Catholic Reporter - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- Top 10 stories that shaped 2023: Trumps mug, Vogtles sticker shock and raging culture wars - Georgia Recorder - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- 2023s Inland Empire weird news: yellow dogs, Dodger tackles, culture wars - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- Top 10 stories that shaped 2023: Trump's mug, Vogtle's sticker shock and raging culture wars - Henry Herald - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- Top 10 stories that shaped 2023: Trump's mug, Vogtle's sticker shock and raging culture wars - Rockdale Newton Citizen - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- Bud Light and Target were hit with culture war backlash in 2023, but there are ways corporate America can navigate the consumer minefield in a pivotal... - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- Explosive DeSantis-Newsom Debate Reflects Nations Culture Wars - KFF Health News - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- Bob Iger of Disney on Culture Wars and Streaming - The New York Times - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- Outrageous: The History of Comedy, Culture Wars, and Kissing Contestants - The Saturday Evening Post - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- Two New Books Consider Comedy and the Culture Wars - The New York Times - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- Endless Culture Wars: On Kliph Nesteroffs Outrageous - lareviewofbooks - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- Sclerotic America The European Conservative - The European Conservative - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- Ohio Fails to Pass Restrictions on College Teaching About Climate ... - InsideClimate News - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- What Sandra Day O'Connor Could Teach Today's Supreme Court - POLITICO - December 2nd, 2023 [December 2nd, 2023]
- Book Review: 'Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars' argues history repeats itself - AOL - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- As the culture wars shift to school book fairs, please protect kids' joy ... - LNP | LancasterOnline - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Letter: Let's keep public libraries out of the right-wing culture wars - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- The Red State Brain Drain Isn't Coming. It's Happening Right Now. - The New Republic - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Do the right thing, like Tim Scott | Guest Commentary - Santa Maria Times - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Ashley Carter: Changing culture through simple acts at home - 1819 News - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Sex, Lies, and Science Wars SAPIENS - SAPIENS - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Responsible ESG investing in the Global South requires overcoming ... - The Conversation - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- The lasting legacy of the education culture wars may be a familiar one: school choice - The Boston Globe - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- When Republicans target K-12 parents in culture wars, they don't know who they're dealing with - Daily Kos - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Pennsylvania Voters Rejected the Culture Wars in School Board ... - Mother Jones - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- The culture war, version 2.0 - Inside Higher Ed - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Musk and AI: Less culture wars, more Star Wars - POLITICO - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Whats at stake in the culture wars? | Nigel Biggar - The Critic - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Kings Speech a culture wars dog whistle - Times Higher Education - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Rep. Vining: We can do better, and we should. - WisPolitics.com - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- The Election Day lessons of Polis, Youngkin and Coffman | HUDSON - coloradopolitics.com - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Around Town: siblings reunite, an electricity milestone and a ... - Palo Alto Online - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Last year's Kansas elections previewed results this year. Voters ... - Kansas Reflector - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Educators Celebrate Reelection of Kentucky Governor Andy ... - National Education Association - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
Tags: