President Joe Biden has appointed a Critical Race Theory activist from Nebraska to his Department of Education, the new federal staffer announced on her Facebook page Monday.
Newly-minted Biden official Precious McKesson once criticized a resolution to block CRT from being taught on University of Nebraska campuses as a systemic racism' and claimed Republicans wanted to 'drive a wedge between white communities and communities of color.'
McKesson, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party's Black Caucus, was sworn in to serve as a Special Assistant in the DOE's office of Communications and Outreach.
'Today I am happy to announce that I've accepted a position with the Biden Harris Administration,' McKesson wrote on Facebook. 'I am so honored to have been selected to hold this position, but I want to thank my family and friends for being a part of the process, keeping lifting up. To my fellow Nebraskans, thank you so much for the support over the last 3 1/2 years.'
'As you know, Omaha will always be home, but now I begin a new journey in Washington DC. Continue to uplift my family and me in prayer during this process.'
McKesson's appointment comes as the Biden administration cracks down on anti-CRT and anti-mask parents throughout the country over a spike in violent, politically-motivated outbursts.
McKesson announced her appointment on her Facebook page, which appears to be her only public social media page
McKesson (right) is a top Nebraska Democratic official and currently chairs the party's Black Caucus
McKesson previously worked with Biden as a campaign staffer in her state.
In 2020, she was the lone Biden-Harris vote out of Nebraska's five electoral college ballots. McKesson cast her ballot on behalf of the state's second Congressional district.
She was the first black woman to do so, and the first woman to cast her electoral vote for a Democrat.
A top Democratic operator, McKesson also served as Finance Director for her state party and even considered running for Congress.
Despite her appointment to the DOE most of McKesson's public activism has been centered on redistricting and gerrymandering in recent months.
Facebook, her only public social media platform, doesn't reveal much about her stance on students and the school system.
While her more recent activism centers on redistricting - what she referred to as Republican 'cheating' on Facebook last month - McKesson positioned herself as a strong proponent of CRT during a GOP-backed bid to have it censored on state college campuses.
Nebraska Board of Regents board member Jim Pillen, who is currently running for governor, introduced a resolution that would ban CRT from the University of Nebraska education system. The measure failed to pass a vote in August.
She was the only one of Nebraska's five electors to cast her electoral college ballot for Biden
A picture from the Nebraska Democratic Party Facebook page shows McKesson speaking with Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican
McKesson, along with Democratic Latinx and Native Caucus leaders Dulce Sherman and Colette Yellow Robe, penned an op-ed blasting the resolution as a 'red herring to erase history.'
They claimed Republicans didn't want students learning about the Trail of Tears or the Tulsa Race Massacre.
The GOP, McKesson claimed, 'made CRT a political boogeyman without actually knowing what it is.'
'Simply put, CRT examines social, cultural and legal issues as they relate to race and racism. Students would be taught about the systemic racism that still exists today and permeates our society,' the op-ed reads.
'One has to wonder why the Republican Party is now trying to frame all educational experiences that discuss diversity and equity with a negative partisan lens.
'From our collective experiences, the only answer is to create a wedge between white communities and communities of color, making us the villain rather than having Nebraskans see us as their neighbors and co-workers.'
They condemned Pillen by name, claiming his resolution was a 'direct assault upon the sovereignty of one's soul, mind and body.'
Members of the GOP have already stepped up to criticize McKesson's move to DC.
Republican Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana, who sits on the House's Education and Labor Committee, called her appointment a 'slap in the face.'
McKesson also worked on Biden's 2020 campaign
'The Biden administration claims CRT doesn't exist, then appoints a CRT activist to the Department of Education and sics the FBI on parents who oppose their poisonous ideology,' Banks told DailyMail.com.
'The backlash against CRT started because Democrats are obsessed with inserting politics in the classroom, where it doesn't belong. Appointing a political activist to an agency that's responsible for kids' education is a slap in the face to parents across the country.'
Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said Biden's decision was 'shocking but not surprising.'
'At a time when President Biden’s Justice Department is targeting school parents for simply voicing their concerns and objection to the teaching of radical curriculum in our nation’s schools, it is shocking, but not surprising, that they’ve moved to confirm another CRT advocate to a high rank within the Department of Education,' he said.
But State Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb lauded McKesson's appointment.
'Precious is a transformational leader,' Kleeb told the Omaha World-Herald. 'She will bring the same energy, excitement, and commitment to the people to the position at the Department of Education.'
Adding to the partisan tensions in American public schools is a recent Justice Department memo directing the FBI and local law enforcement to tackle the 'disturbing trend' of teachers being threatened or harassed.
'Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation's core values,' Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the announcement.
'Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.'
AG Merrick Garland issued this memo warning parents that they will face prosecution for protesting against schools and teachers in a way the government deems to be threatening
School board meetings and other normally tame parent-teacher forums have become a hotbed for ideological confrontations over CRT, vaccines and mask mandates.
The National School Board Association (NSBA) compared such activism to 'domestic terrorism.'
Yesterday anti-mask protesters disrupted a school board meeting in Lakewood, Ohio over the board's face covering mandate, video of the incident on YouTube shows.
Garland's announcement was spurred by the NSBA begging the Biden administration to intervene in the 'immediate threat' posed to education officials by anti-CRT and anti-mask protesters.
'Coupled with attacks against school board members and educators for approving policies for masks to protect the health and safety of students and school employees, many public school officials are also facing physical threats because of propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory within classroom instruction and curricula,' the letter reads.
House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy blasted Biden for 'weaponizing' the DOJ.
'There has been a disturbing trend in the Democrat Party that wants to silence parents, and prevent them from having a say in their own children’s education,' McCarthy wrote in a statement.
'Parents have a fundamental right to be lawfully involved in their children’s education. We should encourage family participation in our school systems, not baselessly attack opposing views because some liberal education officials and special interest groups see it as a threat to the power they want to have over what children learn in America’s classrooms.'
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