He is proudly black but a libertarian school-choice advocate Chris StewartBlack History Month will not be celebrated in February.
Instead, he is pushing for what he calls, “Uncomfortable Historical Month,” which means embracing the past and all of its contradictions, hypocrites, triumphs. His Substack Free willHe recounts the tale of Mary Turner who was 21 years old and pregnant. She protested her husband’s lynching in Georgia in 1918. Vandals destroyed a Turner statue that was built in 2010.
Turner’s tale is the kind of horrific incident that nearly every person would be afraid to tell.90 state and local education legislations are proposed—Stewart calls them “gag orders”—that would ban schools from teaching the grisly particulars of American history, including state-sanctioned and state-tolerated violence against racial, sexual, and other minorities. He is the former St. Paul, Minnesota School Board member and currently heads school-choice. brightbeamHas a radical vision to educational reform that sees public funding follow K-12 students while parents can freely select between secular, religious, or public institutions that will teach drastically different curricula.
Stewart’s libertarian philosophy is the direct inspiration for this vision. The “cardinal rule” states that no one can infringe on individual rights. The huge advantage that reformers have gained in response to the COVID-19 lockdowns failed K-12 is being wasted on culture wars. These battles are more about helping Republicans win by demonizing Critical Race Theory rather than fundamentally changing how schools work.
A wide-ranging conversation is had about how libertarians failed to win over Hispanics, blacks, and other minorities. We also discuss our support for reforming criminal justice and criticizing state power. Stewart discusses his issues with progressive leftists, including how he went from Ralph Nader and Jesse Ventura into libertarianism. He also explains why laws that criminalize speech are wrong everywhere and every time. The origins of and the aims behind Stewart’s book. Eight Black HandsListen to his weekly podcast with conservative, liberal and progressive black men about education and personal responsibility.
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