become a lightening rod across the country. at its core the theory holds that racism is systemic and institutional in u.s. society. school boards across the country have taken to banning the teaching of it even though it s rarely as part of any grade school curriculum. the latest in mississippi where lawmakers are trying to ban it, but it turns out the teaching of it it is getting support from an unlikely source. nick valencia has the story. reporter: this is mississippi state senator chris mcdaniel, and if he gets his way critical race theory will be banned from being taught in the state, which rarely happens anyway, but we ll get to that in a second. critical race theory is the concept of seeking to understand and address inequality and racism in the united states. the namework of crt. reporter: mcdaniel recently coauthored senate bill 2113 which says no schools should direct or compel any students to affirm race, sex, ethnicity or national origin is inherently
well. what is your message for the folks were going to head into that hearing tomorrow and for the president in terms of what really needs to be done? do what works. it happened in the late 80s, early 90s. by we i mean the american people. the federal government to the right thing. advertisers to the right thing, school teachers and principals to the right thing. we got the messaging right. you have to get after china and mexico for the importation of fentanyl and heroin. you have to get dealers off the street. it does make a difference, the supply. if you have more of the stuff coming and it s cheaper and more people get addicted. that s step one. step two, the prevention. that s a big part of the message. advertising, the president has to leave with the bully pulpit and the advertisers have to step in. messages in schools, grade school curriculum for my wife as presented and other folks have worked. all of this is important. the president s leadership is critical, i gave them my r