Gov. Sanders Issues Executive Orders Addressing CRT, TikTok

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This week Gov. Sarah Sanders issued executive orders addressing critical race theory (CRT) in public schools and use of the Chinese-owned social media application TikTok on state networks.

In her executive order on CRT, the governor notes,

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness. It emphasizes skin color as a person’s primary characteristic, thereby resurrecting segregationist values, which America has fought so hard to reject; . . . The Constitution of the State of Arkansas and the Constitution of the United States of America recognize the equal value of every individual, and provide equal protection under the law, regardless of color, creed, race, ethnicity, sex, age, marital status, familial status, disability, religion, and national origin.

The order goes on to direct the state Secretary of Education to review the Department of Education’s rules and policies and remove anything that promotes critical race theory.

In recent years, parents have expressed concern about critical theory in Arkansas’ public schools and universities.

As we have written before, Arkansans should oppose racism, but critical theory isn’t the way to do it.

Critical theory wrongly teaches that those who have power always use it to oppress those who don’t have power.

According to critical race theory, institutions — such as the church, family, government, or law — are always tools of oppression.

When educators promote critical theory to students, the consequences for children are serious.

Gov. Sanders also issued an executive order prohibiting the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok on state computer systems, saying,

Within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this Order, the Director of the [Office of State Procurement], in consultation with the Director of the [Division of Information Systems], shall implement efficient and effective plans to uninstall, disconnect, and prevent the use of TikTok with respect to all state networks and state-issued devices . . . and to prevent all future installations, connections, or uses of TikTok on such networks and devices.

TikTok is the most popular social media platform in the world, with a billion users worldwide and 135 million in the U.S.

However, security experts are bothered by the application’s possible ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

If the Chinese Communist Party can exert influence over TikTok, the CCP may be able to harvest data and manipulate people on the world’s largest social media platform.

Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) have already filed S.B. 4 to restrict access to TikTok on computers, tablets, phones, and other devices owned by the State of Arkansas. The governor’s executive order addresses this issue as well.

It does not ban TikTok for every Arkansan, but it does eliminate TikTok on devices that belong to the State of Arkansas.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Little Rock Libraries Continue Hosting Pro-LGBT Events

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The Central Arkansas Library System continues to list pro-LGBT events on its calendar.

For example, one library in Little Rock is hosting a “delightfully queer craft circle” sponsored by Teens 4 InQlusion — a Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) for teens and young adults — this month.

Last year the Central Arkansas Library System defended its decision to host pro-LGBT programs geared toward youth, noting that the programs are funded in part by the Arkansas LGBTQ+ Advancement Fund at the Arkansas Community Foundation, the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Olivia and Tom Walton through the Walton Family Foundation, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.

Family Council previously reported that the Arkansas Community Foundation awarded a grant to the Central Arkansas Library System to set up a Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) for teens and young adults. The money is part of a $1 million fund that the Walton Family Foundation created to support pro-LGBT groups in Arkansas.

Unfortunately, public libraries in Arkansas have become a popular platform for promoting LGBT ideology and objectionable material to children and teens.

For instance, the Jonesboro public library has been at the center of multiple controversies — such as inappropriately hosting an LGBT Pride display in its children’s library, placing books with sexually-explicit images in its children’s section, and failing to adopt a policy that separates sexual material from children’s content.

That’s part of the reason voters in Craighead County voted to reduce funding for the library last November.

It should go without saying, but libraries don’t have to organize pro-LGBT events or promote inappropriate children’s books to be successful.

Public libraries are supposed to be a place where members of the community can enjoy books and learn about literature. These sorts of pro-LGBT activities are an unnecessary distraction for our public libraries.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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