RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) On this second day of Black History Month, an editorial cartoon published on WRAL.com, owned by Capitol Broadcasting, had Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson so upset he called a news conference. Depicting the first Black lieutenant governor as Ku Klux Klansman. It s something we cannot stand for, folks. It s something I m not going to stand for, Robinson said. What I want to know from WRAL is that who you are? Is that who you want to represent yourself to be in this state?
The cartoon by Dennis Draughon stems from the state board of education s upcoming meeting regarding K-12 social studies curriculum.
The battle boils down whether to include three concepts:
Systemic Racism
Gender Identity
Board members supporting the proposal of the language believe the words are factual and not up for debate, saying that children need more well-rounded lessons to process historic inequities.
But Robinson, the first Black person to serve as Lt. Governor in the state of North Carolina, and also sits on the state board disagrees. He believes the words could make students develop anti-American feelings. To call our system of government racist, that is an untruth as far as I m concerned. I truly believe that is an untruth as far as history is concerned and it does a disservice to our students. It puts the idea in the mind of our children that they live in a nation that has promoted racism, Robinson said on Thursday.