here are the two battling to the line and allyson felix... simone manuel's above her trying to fight on, and above simone... getting an opportunity to show her stuff. nonstop, displayed at the highest performance level... finding something and the us takes gold! ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ - yes! ♪ ahhhhhhh ♪ ♪ dream until your dreams come true ♪

"don lemon tonight" starts right now with d. lemon. >> what you got for me? >> i got you a different suit, a different tie. help you out. make you not look like you're selling something. >> what are you talking about? >> you look like an ice cream salesman. >> really? >> yeah. >> i want the booth by the window and not in the back, maitre d'. what are you talking about? i wish i had my keys. i'd throw them at you. can you keep it parked up front, please? come on, sir. are you actually lecturing me about fashion? >> yeah. because my style is i have no style. i don't make it an issue. >> look at the pockets for everything. it's all good. hey, the president gave a speech today about truth, about voting rights. >> did more than that. he set a bar for himself that is the highest since he took office.

look, he came in, had to show he could be competent about the pandemic and get out the vaccine. i think he did that well. i think he's going to have a problem with crime that he's going to have to figure out. i think that's a democrat problem. but now he just said this is the test of our time. can he get the democrats in the senate and the house to come together to stop the voting rights restrictions that are fanning out all over this country? >> why do you think that's a democrat -- or democratic, as it should be said, problem? >> i think crime is going to be made politically into a democratic problem because of reforms that went too far, because of rhetoric that went too far, and because they are too slow to the punch. and the right will say it even if it's without basis because crime matters to people. and then they'll be late to the game once again. even though they can say it was on trump's watch and democratic presidents obama and clinton

before had had good crime policies and this soft on crime thing has never been the right rap, now they have the right rep. including in new york, where my brother is the governor. bail reform is important. people rot in jails wrongly. but did the reforms go too far? are judges' hands tied on discretion for gun crimes in a way and releasing people from prison in a way that is making things worse when it comes to shooting? they're going to have to defend the proposition. >> well, that's a discussion. especially the thing about bail reform. i know it's been said a lot. bill bratton, who i respect highly has been on the show. even during the pandemic, we had a town hall with police chiefs from major cities all across this country talking about those issues. so far, though, so far, and they could be right, i haven't seen any empirical evidence that it is bail reform. of course people who are violent criminals should not be let out. if someone commits a violent crime they should not be let out -- >> new york, chicago, and san francisco are all test cases of reforms that -- >> much has been anecdotal.

i want to see the research for the real results. i'm not saying it's right or wrong. >> covid's part of it too. it's not going to be one thing. but you had a lot of people in prisons in new york and in other big states and you have a lot less now, and you have a lot of people who get arrested for crimes where they're using a loaded weapon and they wind up being back out on the street. >> that's not good. and that should not happen. >> no, it shouldn't. >> as i have been saying all along -- listen, i've been on this for a long time talking about how silly i think the whole defund the police slogan was throughout -- >> that's something different, but i agree. >> no, but i'm going to go on and tell you. people get upset. you should cancel don, take his black card away whatever. i think it was dumb. i don't think it was a smart idea to do that. i've always been talking about -- >> wasn't even a whole lot of black people saying that. it was a lot more left wing democrats and many of them white who were saying defund the police. >> well, with you there are still people -- there are white people who want to take away my black card. you know how that goes.

>> no, i don't. >> the whole idea about defunding the police and the whole crime issue happening across the country, i've been saying, gosh, now for months even before they had all the candidates stacked up for mayor, as goes new york so goes the rest of the country. and so that the new york mayoral race was going to be a litmus test for the rest of the country. and it certainly has turned out to be that way. i tried to get the candidates on from the very beginning. it wasn't time for it because the rest of the country just was not interested in it, it wasn't close enough. but i knew this would be az said a litmus test for the rest of the country. and i think that this really exposed where democrats -- you say this is a democrat problem -- where democrats actually are on crime, where they are actually as a party. i think it exposed so much about the left and the rhetoric on the right. this one race in new york city, i believe, did that. >> you wind up having eric adams, who is a former cop, came

up hard, brooklyn borough president, had some controversies during the campaign, but he was fundamentally anti-democrat platform when it came to a lot of the woke talk. look, i know there's going to be eye rolling and i know you guys are going to come after me. that's okay. that's why we have these conversations. wokeness is a problem for you guys. and i'll tell you why. it plays into an attack narrative where they're going to use crime as proof of what happens when you make everything okay in a society, and where if anybody fights for the traditional values and what's supposed to happen in law and order and you say no, no, no, you're not woke enough, this is what you get, these crime numbers. i know that's unsophisticated. i know it's not a completely fair reckoning. but when is the last time that in politics everything had to be right dot for dot, point for point, for it to be influential? >> well, i'm not exactly sure i see the correlation between wokeness and -- >> wokeness leads to bail reform and a sense of leniency --

>> that's not necessarily wokeness. that's a policy issue. i mean, wokeness is about who's -- where you stand on what should be taught in school and -- >> that's an aspect of it. but if i were campaigning against it i would say -- no, it's all of it, don. it's a cultural continuum of permissiveness, of no standards, of anybody can do whatever they want and -- >> no, no, no. i think you're completely wrong about that. that's not what wokeness is. if you want to talk about people and crime, i just don't think the two -- there's a complete correlation. >> every moment that you're arguing about what wokeness is and trying to tell me i'm wrong about it i'm winning, by the way. with voters, i'm winning. >> i'm not trying to tell you what wokeness is. you're trying to compare two things that are not necessarily comparable. >> with voters it will be one and the same for everybody except people on the left fringe. >> i don't necessarily agree with that. >> we'll see. >> and i don't think that crime is necessarily a democratic

crime in this country. i think it's an american problem in this country. it happens in cities all over, and not just cities run by democrats but it is a narrative the right will try to spin -- >> biden's rating on crime -- >> -- and most likely will work in their favor. >> what's biden's rating on crime? 38%. >> well, yes. >> it's a problem. >> when did it happen? >> why is it 38%? >> i don't know. what was trump's? >> why is it 38%? he's gone. >> is it real? >> we'll see. >> crime is at a historic low. it is creeping back up. >> not homicides and shootings in major cities. >> it is creeping back up and that is not good but it's still at an all-time low and it's not to the point -- >> depends on the category. shootings in new york state and new york city specifically -- >> are up from 2019 and 2020. >> huge. >> are up from 2019 and 2020. >> but not historic highs of '80s. >> how do people feel when you walk on the street? >> that's true, but that's how you feel. >> i killed you in this campaign. >> no, no, no, you're talking about perception. i'm talking to you about actual numbers.

>> remind me what wins an election. >> crime -- will you listen to me? crime is down historically. it is up from 2019 and 2020, and i do agree with you -- one is the actual fact and the other is that perception, yes, is reality, but it does not mean that crime is at an all-time high. >> doesn't have to be at an all-time high. it has to be surging and you have to be a problem. >> i understand. you're not listening to me. >> i am listening. it's just not that great a point. >> i'm trying to tell you what the facts are. what are the facts? crime is down historically. >> crime is up. >> but it is up from 2019 and 2020. >> that's all that matters. it's up. >> okay. but it's still down historically. >> it's not a history lesson. >> it is. >> we're running right now. we're on your watch and you lose. >> you're not listening to you. >> i am listening to exactly -- >> you're not making sense. you're telling me about perception and i'm telling you about reality. >> you just said it's up in 2019 and 2020. you're in control during that time. i'm campaigning against you. >> we're talking about two different things. i'm not saying that it's --

listen, crime is down historically. but from 2019 and 2020 the numbers are up. that is not a historic high. >> i never said it was a historic high. >> yes, you did. >> i said they're up and homicides and shootings are up in major cities and it has people nervous. >> not just in major cities. >> good, it's another good fact for me and bad for you. what i'm saying is -- >> i got to go. we're like ten minutes over. >> you got a little something here from this one. >> no, you got messed up. sorry. facts. facts. facts matter. >> d. lemon i'll tell you what matters, i love you. >> i know. sometimes you're okay. i love you. >> i'll take it. >> i'll see you later. >> this is "don lemon tonight." the question is, what's the end game? what happens now? it's kind of what chris and i were just talking about. what's reality and what's fact, right? where do we go from here? you heard president joe biden today. it was a hell of a speech in philadelphia, an angry

passionate speech calling out the nationwide assault on the right to vote, calling out the big lie. >> the big lie is just that, a big lie. [ applause ] >> will you deny the will of the people? will you ignore their voices? we have to ask, are you on the side of truth or lies, fact or fiction, justice or injustice? democracy or autocracy? that's what it's coming down to. >> so calling out all the lies spreading across this country, across our misinformation nation, lies on everything from covid to race to the vote, right? the president demanding to know whether republicans are on the side of truth or on the side of lies. calling out merchants of fear and peddlers of lies. >> make no mistake, bullies and merchants of fear, peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country. gives me no pleasure to say

this. i never thought in my entire career i'd ever have to say it. but i swore an oath to you, to god, to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution, and that's an oath that forms a sacred trust to defend america against all threats foreign and domestic. >> threats foreign and notice the emphasis on domestic. like the threat from trump supporting rioters, fueled by the big lie. attacking the seat of our democracy, hunting lawmakers, beating police, parading around with a confederate battle flag, putting up a gallows outside. and we've got new video tonight from that terrible day. the day that those peddlers of lies are still trying to cover up. well, this is how it really happened. we're not bleeping anything for you. okay? we're showing you the truth. you're going to see the trump

flags. you'll see the maga hats. you'll hear them chanting "treason." some rioters carrying stolen police shields. [ chanting "treason" ] >> so, the peddlers of lies president biden talked about, they call those people tourists. they say that they were peaceful, and the peddlers of the big lie are still at it today, like the kraken lawyers trying to throw out michigan's electoral votes, like the fraudit in arizona and another threatened in pennsylvania. so the president calling on republicans to stand up for democracy, demanding, have you no shame? >> i'll be asking my republican

friends in congress and states and cities and counties to stand up for god's sake and help prevent this concerted effort to undermine our election and the sacred right to vote. [ applause ] have you no shame? >> well, that's an easy answer. the thing is that they don't. they have no shame. you can't shame the shameless. you can't shame the peddlers of lies. mitch mcconnell, who buried the bipartisan january 6th commission that was supposed to get to the truth. kevin mccarthy who said the then-president bore responsibility for the attack and then turned around and scurried to mar-a-lago to kiss the ring. all those republican deniers who saw rioting and claimed they were tourists and peaceful patriots. this country is drowning in misinformation. perception is reality? actually, reality is reality. misinformation like the lies

from the anti-vaxxers over at the fox propaganda network. you can't shame the shameless. they're not going to be moved by a strong speech from the president. so, where do we go from here? the president calling for congress to pass "for the people" act and the john lewis voting rights act as the assault on the vote spreads. texas legislators who fled to washington to block republicans from passing the latest restrictive law saying this -- >> we can't hold this tide back forever. we're buying some time. we need congress and all of our federal leaders to use that time wisely. >> and then there's joe manchin, telling reporters tonight he'll likely meet with those texas legislators on thursday. but he says he won't back off on his support for the filibuster. asked what would get him to change his mind, the answer, one word -- nothing. where do we go from here? the president didn't mention the word filibuster in his speech,

noting that the "for the people" act, not the john lewis act, nothing is going to pass in the senate. that is essentially a bastion of minority rule, not if republicans don't want it to. and republicans across the country will keep going full steam ahead with the assault on the vote. the truth about the filibuster is it has a long disgraceful history of being abused to block civil rights and voting rights bills. former president barack obama speaking at the funeral of john lewis, who risked his life for voting rights, called the filibuster a jim crow relic and said it should be eliminated. >> and if all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another jim crow relic, in order to secure the god-given rights of every american, then that's what we should do.

>> that was president barack obama. listen to what dr. martin luther king jr. said about the filibuster in 1963. >> i think the tragedy is that we have a congress with a senate that has a minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting. they won't let the majority senators vote, and certainly they wouldn't want the majority of people to vote, because they know they do not represent the majority of the american people. >> the question is, what are democrats willing to do about it now? what's the end game? where do we go from here, and how do we protect our most sacred right, and that's the right to vote? this isn't just a walk up the stairs. when you have an irregular heartbeat, it's more. it's dignity. the freedom to go where you want,

knowing your doctor can watch over your heart. ♪ this past year has felt like a long, long norwegian winter. but eventually,

with spring comes rebirth. everything begins anew. and many of us realize a fundamental human need to connect with other like-minded people. welcome back to the world. viking. exploring the world in comfort... once again. that delicious scramble was microwaved? get outta here. everybody's a skeptic. wright brothers? more like, yeah right, brothers! get outta here! it's not crazy. it's a scramble. just crack an egg.

this may look like a regular movie night. but if you're a kid with diabetes, it's more. it's the simple act of enjoying time with friends, knowing you understand your glucose levels. ♪ president biden saying americans should be alarmed at the attack on voting rights, calling it the greatest threat to democracy since the civil war saying peddlers of lies are threatening the foundation of the country and calling out bogus claims of election fraud, saying the big lie is just that, a big lie. let's discuss now, matthew dowd, former chief strategist for george w. bush joins us. good evening. thanks for joining. let's talk about this speech that president biden gave. it was impassioned.

it was on protecting voting rights. he was clear. he says we're facing the most significant test for democracy since the civil war. what we didn't hear is any mention of changing the filibuster. if democracy is on the line, how can the president avoid that? >> well, don, thanks for having me. as you know, you and i have had this conversation for well over a month where i talked about it being a most perilous point since the civil war, and i'm glad to see the president has come to that position, the real reality position of where we are. this is the way i see the president right now, and much of the administration and probably most of the senate democrats is they have been going through the stages of grief of what the republican party fundamentally is. it took them a while. they were first in denial of what the republican party really was. they thought donald trump was the bad part, he'll be removed, they'll go back to normal. they didn't. then they went into this bargaining position as you go into the stages. okay, we can bargain, we can figure it out, we'll do that. and then i think they went into sadness like oh, my gosh, this

is not the party we thought it was. they've finally gotten to anger. the president's finally gotten to the point of anger, and i think the next thing, which i believe if the president's words are authentic, which i believe they are, and his anger is authentic, then they'll get to acceptance of this is who they're dealing with, this is the republican party, it's not what joe biden has worked with over the last 40 years, and they will get to that point i think because in the end you have to say -- and you know, you went over the history of the filibuster in the brief before the show, and before i came on, that it's always been used in a way to keep people from voting. it's always been used to keep people from civil rights and it's again being used to do that. so i think would i have preferred this to have happened a month ago or six weeks ago? don, yes. but i think the president's finally getting to the point of acceptance of who the republicans fundamentally are. >> do you think it's too late? just even for democrats. you have been saying as well,

we're not sure if democrats understand what's on the line or maybe they do understand what's on the line, but just what they're up against. because when you have a party that doesn't care about reality as we see or the truth or anything but winning or minority rule, then if you can't understand that then what do you do? you know what i'm saying? if you don't know what you're up against. >> that's what i think took a while for, i think, somebody like joe biden who's worked in the united states senate, was vice president, to work with republicans. it took him a while to finally come to the place of who he's fundamentally dealing with, and it's not the republicans he could cut deals with on things. it's not republicans he could trust supported the constitution. it's not republicans he could trust that were really interested in keeping our -- preserving our democracy in this point. i think he's getting there. as i said, i wish we would have been there six weeks ago or the president would have been there six weeks ago. i think he's getting there. i think all of us -- i think

tonight or today's speech was a four alarm fire speech by the way he gave it and what he says. you've never heard a president talk about the situation the united states was in like that except in 1861. go back through all the presidents' speeches, all of the presidents, what they faced. the last time a president gave a speech like joe biden did today was abraham lincoln in 1861. was the last time a president gave a speech like that. so my hope is we're now on the path to getting this resolved. i think they should easily carve out an exception on voting rights for the filibuster, so maybe not get rid of it totally but carve out an exception for voting rights. i think that's where we'll end up. i hope it's in the next month or two. we'll see. but i think all of us have to keep raising the idea that there is a four-alarm fire in our country and it's the most important issue every single person faces. us here in texas. you there. everywhere we face this problem with an attack on our democracy.

>> do you think republicans actually -- do you think they heard or listened to the president's speech, and if they did, did they do it with open ears? because he denounced republican efforts to restrict voting rights. at one point he asked, have you no shame? similar question to what i asked before. but i mean we know what the answer to that is. how do you shame the shameless? >> you can't shame them. do i think their ears -- the sound waves went into their ears? yeah. do i think their brain picked it up as anything they would respond to? no. i think they'll say biden is being dramatic, biden is overreacting, this is not the -- you know, they'll go into their whole spin cycle of all of this stuff that they say. so their ears received it, their brains didn't. that's the problem we're in today. i was thinking as you were talking to chris, who i think is great, and that whole issue of crime. that's another whole issue that's being spun in a way that's nonfactual, and i think chris has a responsibility to say not what they're going to do

politically but what's happening. let me give you a fact on crime. it just goes to this, how much spin goes on. every major city in ohio has a higher violent crime rate than new york city. amarillo and lubbock, texas, two republican bastions, has a higher crime rate than austin which everybody attacked because they were going to go sort of defund the police. >> st. louis. >> so the facts in this case on crime, on violence crime, is not what the republicans are presenting, like everything else. they're not a fact-based party anymore. >> it's as i said. listen, chris is not here to defend himself. i understand the point he was making when he said perception is reality. but actually reality is reality, and i think it's up for us to tell the truth about the numbers. as i said, historically crime is down. are there surges? yes. should we be concerned about it? absolutely. but it's not like -- look, you cannot -- the point i was trying to make about new york city is you don't bet against new york city. and there are many cities in this country you don't bet against. the real estate market will come back. the economy will come back. but you can't bring back a life.

so the crime issue is really important. is it the way that republicans are framing it? no. should we accept that framing? no. we should tell the truth about it. and it's not just a democratic problem or as the right would say a democrat problem, which is not correct grammar, which is used in a pejorative way. so i think it's up to us folks in the media to tell the truth about what it is so that people can make up their own minds about it on factual information. zblon, i couldn't agree with you more. part of the reason the last five years we got into this problem is not enough people, many of us included, clearly and fiercely sang out the truth, clearly and fiercely told the truth, and not treated politics just like a game like oh, there's a and there's b. we have to clearly and fiercely say the truth and say one political party is an autocratic party, the republicans, and one political party is the last party we have to protect our republic. that's a fact, and i say that as somebody who's a former republican. >> listen, there's so much -- we

criticize both democrats and republicans in this. there's also something that i think i want to talk to you about next because i don't have time. i want to get to this whole thing i'm going to do on critical race theory. and that's about -- i think we sort of missed the mark in the media about where the democratic party is. because before trump, you know, when he was running the first time, we need to understand where the trump voter is. we sent all these people out and we did the trump voter. during trump we need to understand the trump joert. now biden is in the white house, we need to understand republicans and the trump voter. where is all of that understanding of the democratic voter and where democrats are now? and i think what exposed that was actually eric adams and other moderate democrats across the country being elected and it exposed a weakness in the media that we weren't actually reporting on where democrats actually were. >> i would love to have that conversation. one point on that is the center of the democratic party is closer to the center of the country than the republican party is. the center of the democratic party. >> there you go.

we'll save it for the next time. thank you, matthew. i appreciate it. i'm sure you're hearing about it. we have been talking about it on this show. critical race theory becoming a political rallying cry for the gop with passions running so high. shouting matches breaking out at school board meetings. but what are the facts? what's the truth? the most in-depth look to date at what this battle is all about. you do not want to miss it. that's next. fine, no one leaves the table until your finished. fine, we'll sleep here. ♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win.

(man) eye contact. elbow pump. very nice, andrew. very nice. good job. next, apparently carvana doesn't have any "bogus" fees. bogus?! now we work hard for those fees. no hundred-dollar fuel fee? pumping gas makes me woozy. thank you. no $600 doc fee? ugh, the printing, the organizing. no $200 cleaning fees. microfiber, that chaps my hands. you know, we should go over there right now and show 'em how fees are done. (vo) never pay a dealer fee. with carvana. (man) i've made progress with my mental health. so when i started having unintentional body movements

called tardive dyskinesia... ... i ignored them. but when the movements in my hands and feet started throwing me off at work... i finally had to say, 'it's not ok.' it was time to talk to my doctor about austedo. she said that austedo helps reduce td movements in adults... ...while i continue with most of my mental health medications. (vo) austedo can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, behaviors, feelings, or have suicidal thoughts. common side effects include inflammation of the nose and throat, insomnia and sleepiness. don't take austedo if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, restlessness, movements mimicking parkinson's disease, fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, and sweating. (man) talk to your doctor about austedo... it's time to treat td. td is not ok. visit askforaustedo.com you know when your dog is itching for a treat.

itching for an outing... or itching for some cuddle time. but you may not know when he's itching for help... licking for help... or rubbing for help. if your dog does these frequently. they may be signs of an allergic skin condition that needs treatment. don't wait. talk to your veterinarian and learn more at itchingforhelp.com.

here are the two battling to the line and allyson felix... simone manuel's above her trying to fight on, and above simone... getting an opportunity to show her stuff. nonstop, displayed at the highest performance level... finding something and the us takes gold! ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ - yes! ♪ ahhhhhhh ♪ ♪ dream until your dreams come true ♪ all right, so have a seat on the couch or grab your pillow. get the remote, hit the record button or text a friend and tell

them to tune in or if you're in the car turn up the sirius satellite radio. because this is something you need to hear, watch, see, and keep for future reference and share. i'm sure you're hearing things in your community about how we should teach race in schools and the phrase that's taking over the conversation is critical race theory. conservative politicians and the right wing see it as an issue that riles up their base, and they're right. school board meetings turning into screaming matches. parents raising concerns there. still, most people don't necessarily know what it is and what it isn't. so here it is, cnn's sarah sidner. >> just because i do not want critical race theory taught to my children in school does not mean that i'm a racist, damn it! >> reporter: if you have seen and heard -- >> this is an unlawful arrest. >> reporter: -- the impassioned

arguments over critical race theory -- >> you cannot tell me what is or is not racist. look at me. >> reporter: -- but don't know quite what it is, you're not alone. what is critical race theory to you? >> it's important to describe what it's not. >> there are five tenets of it. i do not know all of them. >> reporter: do you think people understand what critical race theory actually is? >> that's a good question. >> reporter: it's become a political rallying cry. [ chanting "shame on you" ] >> critical race theory is bigoted, it is a lie, and it is every bit as racist as the klansmen in white sheets. >> reporter: but critical race theory, or crt, is not a new idea. the theory's origins actually date back to the 1970s. >> the real evil was racism, the determination of white america to remain dominant over black america, and that could take all kinds of forms. >> reporter: harvard's first tenured black law professor, the late derek bell, is considered one of the originators of the academic study.

>> both history, my experience, current events as we read them, all point to one conclusion about racism in this society, and that is that it is permanent, it is an essential, it is not an aberration. >> reporter: at least the encyclopedia britannica defines it as a socially -- used to repress people of color and the law and legal institutions are inherently racist because they have functioned to create and then maintain social, economic and political inequalities between whites and non-whites. now, the academic theory once predominantly taught in law schools has become a social and political lightning rod. >> excuse me! >> reporter: so, how did we get here. >> conservatives need to wake up that this is an existential threat to the united states. >> reporter: christopher ruffo, a research fellow for a conservative think tank and filmmaker, is credited with injecting critical race theory into the american consciousness

in 2020. after researching some of the diversity trainings being held for federal government employees. >> i call on the president to immediately issue this executive order and stamp out this destructive, divisive, pseudoscientific ideology at its root. >> reporter: just a few days later, then president trump denounced critical race theory. three weeks after ruffo's fox segment trump signed an executive order banning critical race theory trainings in the federal government. >> critical race theory is being forced into our children's schools. it's being imposed into workplace trainings. and it's being deployed to rip apart friends, neighbors, and families. >> reporter: and thus a political talking point was born. according to media matters, a liberal group which tracked its mentions, this year so far it was debated more than 1,980 times on fox news. but rufo's critics accuse him of purposely distorting the

true nature of critical race theory. >> you tweeted that it is, you are going to create something toxic when it comes to the way people think about critical race theory. that's what you yourself tweeted. isn't that bad for america? >> that's wrong, that's inaccurate. critical race theory is intrinsically toxic. i'm merely revealing it, and i'm merely exposing it and i'm merely creating a framework for people to understand it. but it's not that i've turned critical race theory toxic. >> reporter: but that is not what he tweeted in march. his tweet? "we have successfully frozen their brand, critical race theory, into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. we will eventually turn it toxic. as we put all the various cultural insanities under that brand category." judging from what is happening in some school districts across the country, the debate has turned toxic. but the school districts suddenly being targeted say they are not teaching critical race theory.

>> there's no evidence of critical race theory in this resource. >> is racism a problem in this country? >> of course it is. we should absolutely be talking about race. >> how? >> we should absolutely be teaching about the history of racial injustice. but you can do all that, surprise surprise, without critical race theory. >> reporter: rufo and other parents insist crt is being taught without calling it by name. the movement against it is in full swing. >> we can try to ignore -- >> reporter: conservative groups are putting out ominous videos, this one from the heritage foundation. >> like a cult, critical race revolution enslaves the minds of the people who adopt it and the concept is blatantly and unapologetically racist. >> reporter: in this part black lives matter marchers are juxtaposed with what appear to be an authoritarian regime's army. more than a dozen state legislators have proposed banning teaching critical race theory. a few state legislatures have already banned it. this is all happening in the wake of huge protests demanding a racial reckoning in america.

>> george floyd! >> reporter: after the police murder of george floyd -- >> black lives matter! >> reporter: -- school districts nationwide began looking at ways to have deeper conversations with children about racism in america. >> what could be the motivation for going against diversity and inclusion? >> reporter: that's where the controversy enters. in an elementary school in cupertino a third-grade class was asked to determine their social identity, race, gender, age, and then determine which parts of their identity hold power and privilege that they benefit from. the class was stopped after parents complained. in pennsylvania's lower merion school district as the district came up with new curriculum for cultural proficiency lessons teachers would use this book to teach racism to fourth and fifth-graders unless parents opted out. on page 58 it says whiteness is a bad deal, it always was. the next page, a devil-like figure appears holding a contract saying, contract binding to you whiteness. you get stolen land, stolen

riches, special favors. the author says it was misunderstood and is about justice and love, not hate and division. ultimately the district says the book was not chosen for the school's curriculum. critical race theorist professor gary peller sympathizes with parents who worry their children are going to be deemfliesed just for being born white. >> telling any individual that they are essentially part of the oppressive or victim class because of their skin color is not critical race theory. >> reporter: the panic over these kinds of teachings has inspired conservative groups to do some teaching of their own. just a few miles away from where george floyd protests erupted last year, we attended this seminar against critical race theory. >> it is a revolution to change society culturally and socially. >> reporter: catherine rigfall is on a 17-stop anti-crt training tour across minnesota with the conservative center for the american experiment organization. >> we're not saying that slavery and racism, discrimination and all of the evils of our past and

the evils that do continue on in society today shouldn't be taught. >> reporter: the audience took photographs of slides and diligent notes on her presentation. >> i have a question. >> reporter: when protesters shouted out during and after the event -- they were confronted with chants. when you do read a cabal of progressives want to rewrite how students learn about their american heritage, that's pretty tough language. and you can see someone being really upset about some of that. what about the role of you all in this as well, making it more vitriolic? >> i would say what would be a better way to frame that that gets the point across of how serious all of this. >> reporter: activist and educator raj sekiwaju attended the meeting and thought it was racist. >> critical race theory fundamentally asks the question where does our loss come from and how it is informed by our racialized practices. racist practices. why are we not questioning that?

>> reporter: but most attendees we talked to thought it was spot on. >> it really breeds hate more than unity. and at a time when our country needs to work on unity -- >> the racists in the country who do the wrong things, but our country is not racist. that's the difference. >> this crt stuff is going the wrong direction for our country. >> reporter: the phrase "critical race theory" was coined in 1989 by kimberly crenshaw. the legal scholar says what you're seeing is not about critical race theory, it's about america's racial anxiety. >> this is a classic situation where people have an itch to scratch. the itch is this concern about people of color demanding too much. the concern is about the consequences of the reckoning that happened last year after george floyd. so this is a reaction, a backlash to the growing conversation about racial inequality. >> this is a sipical, manipulative effort to take words that they've kind of poll

tested as being scary, critical race theory, and to use it to exploit the anxiety of many white parents. >> reporter: it's not just white conservatives, though, now raising red flags. harry jackson was so determined to keep critical race theory out of his children's virginia school district he campaigned and then became the first black president-elect of the parent teachers association. >> advocates for critical race theory are even arguing that marriage is even racist. they argue that math is even racist. >> reporter: what is it that you're worried about in these policies? >> i am worried about the coming down of the curriculum. i am worried about forced equality. >> reporter: when you talk about forced equality, some people say why shouldn't equality be forced? this country, its whole tenet, right? is that we are equal, born equal. >> i believe in equality, equality of opportunity. forced equality i think we're going into marxism. >> reporter: the fight has become so vitriolic in the state

of virginia one school board meeting current violent. >> it wouldn't be inaccurate to describe it as a riot. >> reporter: college professor julia holcomb was there and disturbed by the anti-crt crowd. she's convinced it's no mistake it got out of hand. >> we're arguing about this because there are political forces that want us to be arguing about it. >> and sara sidner joins me now. sara, just looking at the meetings in your report we can see how parents all across this country are up in arms about critical race theory even though they have been provided complete misinformation about it. this has really turned into a political weapon. >> it has. in a word, it has. and i want to give you an example just to let you know kind of how this is playing out now. we talked about some of those groups that are going around and teaching people about crt and telling them they need to be against it. and there's actually talking points. you know, this pamphlet right here, it has talking points like you know, they say this and you

respond this way and it tells you kind of how to respond. if someone says there's systematic racism in this country. but i do think we need to recognize and folks need to look at how parents are feeling because some of the language that has been used to try and teach children, some of the new things that are being tried has really rattled people, not just white parents, not just conservative parents but parents across the board. and one of the things we talked about is that book, which is not critical race theory but a book for fourth and fifth-graders that said whiteness is a bad deal. imagine if that was flipped around and it said blackness is a bad deal. so you can see how parents would be very concerned. and the biggest concern, don, it really is fear. it's fear their children, particularly white children, are going to be demonized just for being white. and most people we talked to said they don't want to see anything like that. but this reminds them of something. it reminds them of the fight in

the '60s and '70s over sex education. >> interesting. listen, i have to say that calling everything remotely intertwined with the nation's racial issues, calling it critical race theory, it's just not helpful because that's not what it is. i mean, is my podcast about tough conversations over race? is that critical race theory? don't the people you spoke with realize how important it is to learn about racial divides in this country sxpt true history of the country? >> yes. and they do argue, many of them, that look, with he do have to look at racism in this country and it still does exist. we heard that from christopher rufo himself, who brought this into the american consciousness. and we heard that from one of the people who were training other parents and grandparents, how to get rid of crt from their schools. but there is a conversation that is very difficult in this country, how to teach children and how to teach parents how to

talk about racism in our current history, in the now, and that's where a lot of this consternation is. >> sara sidner, great reporting. thank you so much. >> sure. >> republicans not leapletting n their assault against critical race theory. why is it resonating with so many people? we'll discuss next.

icy hot. ice works fast. heat makes it last. feel the power of contrast therapy, so you can rise from pain.

delicia: this is where all our recycling is sorted -- 1.2 million pounds every day, helping to make san francisco the greenest big city in america. but that's not all you'll find here. there are hundreds of good-paying jobs, with most new workers hired from bayview-hunter's point. we don't just work at recology, we own it, creating opportunity and a better planet. now, that's making a difference.

the manufactured outrage over critical race theory has become a real concern among some parents. so what do we do now? let's discuss now. cnn's senior political analyst kirsten powers is here as well as astead herndon. kirsten, you just heard sara's report. the gop appears to be winning this messaging. they're twisting the facts, though. so why is this resonating so much?

>> well, i think it's really important to be clear that it's a political strategy first and foremost. the republicans don't have anything to run on. what would they run on? they haven't done anything. so what they have to do is they have to gin up their base with some sort of manufactured controversy, which is what they specialize in. and they've decided to make it critical race theory, and they have misrepresented what critical race theory is, which is what they do in all of these manufactured controversies. they find something that maybe has a little grain of truth to it, and then they build a whole story around it, whether it's the new black panthers are coming for you or fast and furious or transgender bathrooms, or it was undocumented immigrants who have diseases and are in gangs are coming for you. this is what they do to get everybody all amped up and agitated so they have something to vote for. >> you forgot acorn and antifa. >> exactly. so, you know, yeah. and the democrats are socialist

and now they're marxist and they take words that have meanings, and they apply them in a way that has no connection to the actual meaning of that word. >> yeah. astead, the former president's adviser and first campaign manager steve bannon told politico that the fight over critical race theory is the tea party to the tenth power. is he right? what do you know about the movement behind this fight? >> yeah. i think what bannon is saying is what we all implicitly know, which is that the fight over critical race theory that's been happening over and over in modern politics. it's the fight over power. it's the fight over control. it's about over whose voice is the defining one in culture and politics. and what they are banking on, republicans with this controversy, is the fear among a lot of their base that they're losing political and cultural power. it's the same thing that's happening in other segments of society also. i think what we're seeing is a political strategy that tries to

play on the fears of the grassroots and the voters, and whether it will be successful remains to be seen. but we have seen this work for republicans specifically in the past. >> astead, kirsten, thank you very much. i appreciate it. president biden making an impassioned plea in support of voting rights, saying we should all be alarmed by the gop's attacks on one of our most sacred rights. (vo) the subaru crosstrek. dog tested. dog approved. facing collagen that's all hype? olay collagen peptide 24 with derm recommended peptides. hydrates better than the $400 cream.

for visibly firmer skin. olay. face anything this isn't just a walk up the stairs. when you have an irregular heartbeat, it's more. it's dignity. the freedom to go where you want, knowing your doctor can watch over your heart. ♪ is your cleanser doing enough for your sensitive skin? cetaphil gentle skin cleanser defends against 5 signs of skin sensitivity, and actively hydrates as it cleanses. cetaphil. dermatologist recommended. complete care for your sensitive skin.

you know when your dog is itching for a treat. itching for an outing...

or itching for some cuddle time. but you may not know when he's itching for help... licking for help... or rubbing for help. if your dog does these frequently. they may be signs of an allergic skin condition that needs treatment. don't wait. talk to your veterinarian and learn more at itchingforhelp.com.

president joe biden calling out republican attacks on voting rights in america, saying those rights are under assault and that we're facing the most significant test of our democracy since the civil war, as he slammed the big lie. >> the big lie