Whistleblower: Texas State Department Requiring ‘Critical Race Theory’ Training for Employees

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) required training that incorporated key tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) for its employees, a whistleblower shared with Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines. The whistleblower, who opted for anonymity, provided materials associated with a required course for DFPS employees, “Knowing Who You Are.” Upon completing the course, employees were instructed to take a survey where they were rated based on how much they agreed with statements acknowledging institutional racism and white privilege, as well as their level of commitment to being a good social justice activist. DFPS has over 13,000 employees.

“A whistleblower inside the Texas government came to us to help end Critical Race Theory indoctrination that is being forced on state employees and is being paid for by you, the Texas taxpayer,” stated Huffines in a video. “They were told this was required as part of their employment [….] The people pushing this crap need to be fired, and on day one of my administration.”

While the training materials do not explicitly say “Critical Race Theory,” they do incorporate some of its tenets. Summarily, the course pushes the idea that race and ethnicity are essential to every aspect of life. It taught that the most improper level of racial and ethnic identification (REI), “relative unawareness,” doesn’t prescribe meaning or importance to racial or ethnic differences and doesn’t identify in a particular racial or ethnic group, while the most proper level of REI, “commitment,” is keenly aware of racial and ethnic differences, identifies as a member of a particular racial or ethnic group or groups, and understands that each group has its own positive and negative aspects. 

The employee training also focused on shaping the perspectives and attitudes of children. It taught that the “building blocks” for creating a healthy REI in youths are promoting racial and ethnic pride, developing multicultural competence, and preparing them for facing racism and discrimination.

The course also claims the existence of institutional or systemic racism. In making its point, the course claimed that race and gender determine everything, including wages, home loans, welfare reliance, and even length of stay in foster care.

The ongoing resources and opportunities advertised to employees included “Woke Wednesday!” and “Implicit Bias in Child Protection Webinar.”

A TedX Talk video within the required training was a 2014 presentation titled, “Allegories on race and racism” given by Dr. Camara Jones, an anti-racism activist that helped pioneer the idea

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