six months before every school board meeting was about this, it happened in southlake in the spring. we're going to see more of it in the fall across the country and now southlake is at the next phase, now this election has happened and board members who were elected to stamp out critical race theory have taken power and those folks in the community are, you know, feeling emboldened. the district is trying to come up with policies that they think will appease those folks and it's leading to these moments of confusion and uncertainty about what you can teach without getting in trouble. >> it's astounding. it's really astounding and it's honestly quite sad to think about some of the kids that are going to have to come up in that school district and be subject to what they're being subject to right now. all six parts are available. you can listen for free whenever you get your podcasts. we'll be right back. ur podcasts. we'll be right back. knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. [ nautical horn blows ] i mean just becaus

one of the reasons to focus on southlake is along this whole time southlake is about six mofts ahead of the rest of the country in terms of this critical race theory battle. and six months before you heard that in school boards across the country they talked about it in southlake. before the school board races in the fall are all about critical race theory. that was the case in southlake and sitting down to talk with the superintendent it is like a preview of where this is all going and what you hear there is a paralysis of not being sure what you can say when the people in your community have spoken so loudly that they don't want to be talking about the issues. if you look back two years ago when the video came out everybody in southlake was willing to say racism exists. but now educators are in this position not just in southlake but the condition of what can i say? what can't i say in what's against the law now for me to talk about when it comes to racism? >> and the last episode that i just listened to today is incredible and gets to the heart of this. election night. emotional t

these issues in southlake have been building for years. and you can trace it back to, you know, charlottesville, the racial awakening that's happening across the country during the trump years. certainly after george floyd and what you see in this mostly white but diversifying suburban community is an effort to try to address these issues. the same kind of efforts that were happening across the country, especially in 2020 after george floyd with a plan to try to address racist bullying, to try to address curriculum that, you know, centered the perspective of white students and maybe not other cultures. and so now, since then, there's been a backlash. but that began in late 2020, into early this year, and it's just building and building and we've been tracing this story, that is a national story, in this one community that got a head start. >> yeah. >> and it kind of has offered us a preview of what's to come in other places. >> so, mike, that said, what was your reaction when you heard this latest, not only the fact that this administrator

i have a lot of friends that live in southlake. they have been having some racial problems there recently. i have talked with members of the pakistani community that live in southlake. and a lot of the kids there have told me that one of the reasons why they wanted to start addressing these racial issues is that they were going to school and they were being called terrorists every day. i know a african-american family that lives there, and they were speaking out against some of the racial issues at one of the school board meetings, and she went shopping a few days later and someone had come back and wrote the n-word with shoe polish on her car. there are a ton of issues in that particular area, southlake, colleyville. we had a black principal, the first principal in the school district next door to the southlake, and he lost his job over pictures that were taken of him and his wife enjoying themselves on the beach and he's black and she's a white woman. they said that he was trying to teach critical race theory at the school and so

it's the of the six-part podcast southlake. all episodes are now available wherever you get your podcasts. >>> with states like texas, tennessee and florida take aim at how race and history are taught in schools, a new documentary airing sunday takes a deep look at the core issues fueling those attempts to whitewash or erase america's atrocities. the film dives into how geography, race, history and tradition have shaped the stories americans tell or refuse to tell about slavery, the civil war and its aftermath. and how those narratives shape our believes to this day. >> no one on the civilian side of the confederate presidency was ever forced to concede and repudiate when they believed. and we allowed a group of people that waged against their government to build statues to their heroes. so that has kept it alive. we have never solved the core problem for civil war. >> joining us now is presidential historian michael beshloss. it's great to have you with us. when we're taught about the civil war, what do we keep getting wrong i

. >>> now to the community of southlake, texas which sparked the debate of what is critical race theory. the plot thickens. they are now in the middle of a firestorm after a top administrator was heard making these comments about the holocaust in a tape obtained by nbc news. >> make sure if you have a book on the holocaust, you have one -- >> holocaust -- >> believe me, that has come up. >> the administrator during a training session over which books teachers can have in classroom libraries which is a discussion required in texas after a ban on widely debated cultural issues. mike, thanks for being with us. first, get into this texas law that has educators going through their libraries. what's the deal? >> well, the texas law was one of many that has been passed around the country over the past year in response to conservative backlash to the racial reckoning of 2020 in which states have throughout the south and in conservative red states have passed laws targeting what conservatives branded as critical race theory. anything that fall under that umbrella are teachings about the legacy o

teachers in southlake, texas asked about teaching opposing views of the holocaust. asking teachers to pair books about the holocaust with other, quote, perspectives. the doj discusses a despicable surge of threats. one florida school member has had it making waves for calling out harassment she has faced for supporting science. >> i don't reject people coming here and speaking their voice all the time. i don't reject them standing outside my home. i reject them following me around in my car and saying that they are coming for me and i need to beg for mercy. i reject that when they are using their first amendment rights on public policy, they are going behind my home and bran dishing weapons to my neighbors. i have to take a dcf investigator to her play date and check for burn marks. that's what i'm against, which is a credible threat. >> jennifer, thank you for being with us. what was the moment you were like, enough, i can't stand by and let these people to continue to harass me, i have to say something? >> i decided on that school board meeting where i spoke out i

in this case, the law to limit teaching has manifested in a group of southlake, texas parents fighting for more than a year to block diversity and inclusion programs in the district. something which antonia hylton's podcast has been covering. nbc news has obtained audio from the classroom library training session from a staff member who secretly recorded it. here is the guidance from the executive director from curriculum instruction. gina petty. >> we are in the middle of the political mess and you are in the middle of the political mess. so, we just have to do the best we can and we're going to go and we're going to do -- are you going to do what you do best. that's teach kids. >> i think we are all really scared. >> i think you are terrified. i wish i could take that away. i do. i can't. i can't do that. >> try to remember the concepts of 3979 and make sure if you have a book on the holocaust that you have one that has opposing -- >> how do you oppose the holocaust? >> believe me, that's come up. >> make sure you have a book with an opposing perspective to the holocaust. that's the

you're about to hear a recording from the southlake texas school district where they're under pressure to police the books in the school libraries. a fourth-grade teacher there was reprimanded for having a book about anti-racism, for example. the district sent down an order to vet all books and avoid anything with a singular narrative that could be considered offensive. the voice you'll here was recorded during a training session with teachers. the speaker you're going to hear is gina petty, the director of curriculum, talking about the effect of this new texas law. >> we are in the middle of a political mess, and you are in the middle of a political mess. and so we just have to do the best that we can, and so we're going to go and we're going to do, you're going to do what you do best, and that's to teach kids. >> i think we're all just really terrified. >> i think you are terrified, and i wish i could take that away. i do. i can't. i can't do that. you are professionals. we hired you as professionals. we trust you with our children. so if you think the book is okay, then let's go wit

make sure to check out their original reporting which is phenomenal in the six part podcast series southlake, and don't forget to download the latest episode of my podcast "why is this happening," this week's guest is author darren byler, it is really an eye opening conversation. the rachel maddow show starts now with ali velshi in for rachel. >>> rachel has the night off, she will be back on monday. let's start with an update on the health of the former president bill clinton who was hospitalized on tuesday. a spokesperson announced clinton will remain hospitalized overnight in california far urinary tract infection that has spread to his bloodstream. his doctor said today that he's on the mend, in good spirits and that all of his health indicators are quote trending in the right direction. today the former secretary of state hillary clinton once again visited her husband this the hospital. president clinton also received

make sure to check out their original reporting which is phenomenal in the six part podcast series southlake, and don't forget to download the latest episode of my podcast "why is this happening," this week's guest is author darren byler, it is really an eye opening conversation. the rachel maddow show starts now with ali velshi in for rachel. >>> rachel has the night off, she will be back on monday. let's start with an update on the health of the former president bill clinton who was hospitalized on tuesday. a spokesperson announced clinton will remain hospitalized overnight in california far urinary tract infection that has spread to his bloodstream. his doctor said today that he's on the mend, in good spirits and that all of his health indicators are quote trending in the right direction. today the former secretary of state hillary clinton once again visited her husband this the hospital. president clinton also received a call from president biden who says he looks forward to seeing president clinton soon, and he wishes him a speedy recovery. we're going to keep you updated on this story

recently, the carroll independent school district in southlake, texas, had special training after the school board, in response to a parent's complaint, voted to reprimand a fourth grade teacher who had kept an anti-racism book in her classroom. nbc news obtained an audio recording. take a listen to what is an unbelievable conversation in the unite of america in 2021. the woman you hear, gina, is the district's executive director of curriculum and instruction. >> we are in the middle of a political mess, and you are in the middle of a political mess, and so we just have to do the best that we can, and so we're going to go and we're going to do, you're going to do what you do best, and that is to teach kids. >> i think we're all just really terrified. >> i think you are terrified and i wish i could take that away. i do. i can't. i can't do that. you are professionals. we hired you as professionals. we trust you with our children. so, if you think the book is okay, then let's go with it, and whatever happens, we will fight it together. we will. >> as you go through, just try to remember