A right-wing nonprofit media firm referred to as PragerU is going through backlash after a resurfaced video downplayed slavery amid talks that it may change into the brand new PBS.
The clip, that includes a cartoon model of Christopher Columbus, suggests the establishment of slavery was “as previous as time and has taken place in each nook of the world.”
Within the video, Columbus goes additional, stating:
“Being taken as a slave is best than being killed, no? Earlier than you choose, it’s essential to ask your self, ‘What did the tradition and the society of the time deal with as no huge deal?’”
This framing, packaged in a colourful cartoon format for youths, is a part of PragerU’s library of “academic” movies.
Indoctrination in Disguise
The Grio studies that PragerU co-founder Dennis Prager has been blunt about his mission, admitting the aim of the programming is to indoctrinate kids into right-wing ideology.
MSNBC provides that PragerU stated in its 2022 annual report that it brazenly stated it wished to battle it out with PBS and Disney.
“Arming mother and father and educators with the pro-America content material they’re craving — we’re going toe-to-toe with huge youth media firms like PBS Youngsters and Disney,”
Whereas the movies mimic the model of normal kids’s programming, the messaging has drawn heavy criticism. In accordance with The Grio, earlier PragerU clips have denied Native American historical past, dismissed Indigenous Peoples’ Day as “designed to make Individuals really feel guilt,” denied local weather change, and pushed Islamophobic rhetoric.
Ew.
State and Federal Endorsements
Regardless of the controversy, PragerU has gained official partnerships in states like Alaska, Louisiana, and South Carolina, with The Grio confirming Florida turned the primary state in 2023 to approve PragerU content material for public college curricula.
The most important endorsement but has come from the Trump administration. On July 24, President Trump signed a invoice slashing $1.1 billion in funding for the Company for Public Broadcasting — a transfer that threatens PBS, NPR, and greater than 1,500 native stations.
Simply sooner or later later, PragerU joined forces with the Division of Training to unveil a White Home museum exhibit titled “The Highway to Liberty.” The exhibit even used AI-generated “commentary” from the Founding Fathers that leaned closely into conservative speaking factors.
Museums Beneath the Microscope
This can be a continuation of Trump’s wider cultural push. Beforehand reported by BOSSIP, his administration has launched a “complete overview” of Smithsonian museums — together with the Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past and Tradition — with the acknowledged purpose to “have fun American exceptionalism, take away divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural establishments.”
The impression is already being felt. The Nationwide Museum of American Historical past quickly eliminated references to Trump’s two impeachments, whereas Nationwide Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet resigned after Trump claimed he had fired her.
The Larger Image
Let’s be clear: a cartoon Columbus attempting to persuade youngsters that slavery was “no huge deal” is just not solely disgusting — it’s harmful revisionist historical past. With PragerU circling as a doable substitute for PBS and Trump actively reshaping museums, we’re seeing an try to rebrand America’s darkest truths underneath the banner of “exceptionalism.”
If slavery could be dismissed as a minor inconvenience, what else may be “erased” subsequent?
#BanPragerU
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