Lawmaker Demands Removal of Air Force Professor Who Promoted Critical Race Theory

‘If we allow this destructive ideology to be taught in our Military Service Academies, we will be responsible for this nation’s demise’

Jack Beyrer • July 8, 2021 10:58 am

House Armed Services Committee member Mark Green (R., Tenn.) is calling for an Air Force Academy professor to be removed from her position after she championed teaching critical race theory in service academies.

Associate professor of political science Lynne Chandler García penned an op-ed Tuesday in the Washington Post arguing the controversial theory should be taught to cadets because it helps them “identify the structural racism and inequality that has been endemic in American society.” Green, a West Point graduate and Army veteran, said García’s remarks amount to a “full-throttled attack on our country” and disqualify the professor from teaching at the Air Force Academy.

“Teaching our next generation that our country is fundamentally racist is not only propagandizing lies about our great nation, it will also undoubtedly leave an impact on our nation’s Armed Forces and national security,” Green wrote in a letter Wednesday to Acting Secretary of the Air Force John P. Roth. “This teaching is utterly incompatible with the principles in the Declaration of Independence and the Civil Rights Movement—not to mention illegal. … If we allow this destructive ideology to be taught in our Military Service Academies, we will be responsible for this nation’s demise.”

The Department of the Air Force did not respond to a request to comment.

Green’s letter comes after several Republicans hammered the op-ed for sowing discord within the ranks. Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), a leader in the fight to root out critical race theory from the armed forces, said the professor’s op-ed shows political indoctrination is occurring in service academy classrooms.

García’s op-ed also contradicts testimony given by Pentagon leadership. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told lawmakers in a June 23 hearing that critical race theory is not taught to servicemembers.

The professor’s column is only the latest in a spate of controversies related to critical race theory in the military. In May, the Space Force relieved an officer of his post for protesting the use of the divisive ideology in military diversity training. West Point and the Naval Academy are also incorporating critical race theory into their curriculum and admissions practices, the Washington Free Beacon reported in April. The report followed revelations that the chief of naval operations included books on “antiracism” on a reading list issued to sailors.