
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Chair Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, released the following statement regarding an amendment to House Bill 1858 presented and subsequently withdrawn by State Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson:
“I take great pride in the way members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus handled this afternoon’s debate on an incredibly divisive amendment offered by a representative who himself has a history of making comments considered offensive by the Asian-American community. His language would do little more than threaten to censor essential aspects of American history, literature and scholarship — especially works produced by Black authors and thinkers — out of Missouri classrooms by suffocating our educators in bureaucratic red tape and the threat of legal action. The MLBC proudly stood against legislation that dismantles the First Amendment rights of our state’s students and teachers by limiting their ability to discuss uncomfortable but necessary topics. We do our children no favors when we coddle them away from controversies present in the real world and hide them from the truth of our nation’s past.
“While the amendment sponsor withdrew his amendment, he promised to return next year with an even harsher bill. We promise to stand even more united in opposition to it.”
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