By Paul S. Gardiner

Many Americans (especially parents of young children) believe that the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT), including its many derivations, to the nation’s school children is a serious problem. Simply stated, CRT is nothing less than Marxist/communist ideology couched in terms of race rather than social class. Children are taught that ALL white people are oppressors and that blacks and other minorities are the oppressed simply because of their skin color.

A few states recently have outlawed the teaching of CRT to children in both public and private schools. In some school districts (there are over 13,000 county and city school districts throughout the 50 states), it is possible to recall school board members who promote and sanction the teaching of CRT to children, but this is not always possible.

To assist parents, teachers, and other concerned citizens in their efforts to not have children exposed to CRT, various support organizations have arisen — most being local — in providing assistance. Parents and others are offered training and education on how to effectively approach and interact with school boards controlled by radical, far-left members.

An important exception to providing only local assistance is an organization called No Left Turn in Education (NLTE). This organization, initially consisting of a small group of parents, teachers, and other patriotic Americans, has emerged as the leading nationwide grassroots organization combating the harmful and destructive teachings of CRT to children in hundreds, if not thousands, of America’s public and private schools.

Since its inception in 2019, NLTE, an all-volunteer organization, has established operating chapters in 22 states with “boots on the ground” volunteers in each state. On April 1, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service classified the organization as a 501(c)(3) (i.e., tax-exempt) public charity.

The founder and president of the organization, Dr. Elana Fishbein, has been interviewed numerous times on national television about the efforts of her organization to combat and overcome the dictates of radical school boards, including interviews with Dana Loesch, Tucker Carlson, Rick Anthony, and Laura Ingraham.

Dr. Fishbein, a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces, eventually immigrated to the U.S. She earned her doctorate degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. She attended the Wharton School of Business specializing in management and program evaluation.

The NLTE website describes how she removed her children from a private school where her children were being indoctrinated with CRT emphasizing, among other things, that America was illegitimately founded and that children should judge other children based on skin color.

NLTE volunteers indicate that hardly a day goes by when one or more of the 22 state chapters are not called by a parent/teacher/citizen group wanting assistance in combating and overcoming the policies and actions of far-left-controlled local school boards. Sometimes a school board presses ahead with its Marxist agenda, regardless of objections from parent/teacher/citizen groups, requiring teachers, in one way or another, to instruct their students (some as young as first graders!) in the tenants of CRT. In these cases, legal representation is often required for the parents and other people opposing the school board’s actions.

NLTE is a most worthy organization performing a bona fide, urgently needed public service. The organization deserves ongoing support to continue performing its essential service on behalf of America’s youth.

Paul S. Gardiner is a retired Army officer, Vietnam veteran, and lover of America. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Alabama, and the U.S. Army War College.