Louisiana State Rep. Says Declaration of Independence Racist, Teaching It to Kids ���Unfair���

Just when you thought you���d heard it all.

Louisiana state Rep. Valarie Hodges, a Republican, introduced a bill, HB 1035, in the Louisiana House that would require students in grades four through six to recite a portion of the Declaration of Independence in the first class of each school day. The bill made it through Committee (in this case, the House Education Committee) without issue, and landed on the House floor for debate. It is there, however, where it found itself tripped up by fellow legislator Rep. Barbara Norton, a Democrat, who had an interesting take on why the bill should travel no further.

It seems, according to Rep. Norton, that the Declaration of Independence is���wait for it���racist.

Of course it is. To most of us, the Declaration of Independence is a glorious piece of written history, but, clearly, not to everyone. Here, in her own words, is what Rep. Norton had to say about one of the nation���s most foundational documents, spoken on the floor of the Louisiana House of Representatives:���I���m not really sure what your intent is, but one thing that I do know is, all men are not created equal. When I think back in 1776, July the 4th, African Americans were slaves, and for you to bring a bill to request that our children will recite the Declaration, I think it���s a little bit unfair to us to ask those children to recite something that���s not the truth. For you to ask our children to repeat the Declaration stating that all mens [sic] are free, I think that���s unfair.���

Norton wasn���t finished.

���In 1776, Dr. King was not even born. African-Americans were in slavery, so since they were in slavery, in the Declaration of Independence say [sic], we were all treated eq ��� we were all created equal. We were not created equal because in 1776, July the 4th, I, nor you, nor any of us were born, nor was Dr. King born, so, we were in slavery. And to have our children to repeat, to repeat again and again documents that was not even validated [sic], I don���t think that that���s fair because we���re teaching them a lie.���

Well, there you have it. What did Rep. Hodges do? She pulled the bill from consideration, at least for now. HB 1035 is not officially dead yet, but that���s probably next. This is what happens when something���anything���finds itself characterized as ���racist��� nowadays in America; rather than fighting the charge, no matter how idiotic it may be in a given situation, too many cower in the face of the power the accusation carries with it, a power greatly enhanced by the PC crowd���s enablers in the so-called mainstream media���and, as a result, those who hit their knees give it even more power. Perhaps the Declaration of Independence will, indeed, soon be a thing of the past, in more ways than one.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large