Journalist Chris Rufo is one of the few people who can claim victory against Critical Race Theory in one of our major cultural institutions.
Over the last couple of years, nearly every public showdown over the creeping influence of CRT and other items on the woke agenda has left conservatives with little to show for their efforts. Major companies like Coca-Cola, Delta, and Citigroup, more afraid of leftists in their own ranks than their actual customers, shrug at the ire of Middle America and boycott Georgia for the mildest efforts to ensure a legitimate vote. The NCAA threatens to pull games from states that pass legislation to protect women’s sports. Razor companies drop advertising from conservative programs over a single LGBT complaint. Every instance brings a storm of bad press that leaves everyday citizens fuming. Yet little changes, and the storm passes, quickly supplanted by some new outrage.
But earlier this week, City Journal’s Rufo proved it is possible to face-off with a left-wing corporate agenda and win.
After Rufo reported on documents Disney employees had leaked to him regarding the company’s anti-racism training, the Mouse House first insisted he was mischaracterizing their program. Undaunted, Rufo hit back, detailing the pains he took to describe the “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative and place its requirements like, “Recognize…the ways in which the pandemic is disproportionately affecting the Black community” and “Do not question or debate a black colleagues’ lived experience,” in context.
In short order, Disney folded. Within 24 hours of Rufo’s revelations, the company removed the program and all related documents from its internal portal. How was Rufo able to put a notch in the “W” column? The key, he told The Daily Wire in an exclusive interview, is shining a blinding, specific light on woke practices that previously went hidden.
Because so many are afraid to come forward for fear of reprisal, Rufo says average Americans need leaders willing to speak up on their behalf. Disney employees told him they first reached out to him because of their “awareness of his reputation for leading the fight against CRT without fear” and his “demonstrated track record of getting things done.”
And when Disney tried to question his reporting?
“That strategy failed miserably, [because] … The documents that I exposed were so outrageous and divisive, the company was forced to act.” Without having primary source documents that he was able to lay bare to the world, it’s unlikely Disney would have backed down.
Rufo was also happy to share his revelations with other media outlets, taking his reporting to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. That, he says, “led to tens of millions of media impressions and an immense backlash against the company.” He adds that he hopes that Disney will take a long hard look at their programs in the future.
Rufo’s final lesson for Americans who would not see their country fundamentally transformed? “Fight back. One voice can have a tremendous impact—it just takes courage.”
Megan Basham (@megbasham) is the entertainment reporter for The Daily Wire. She’s a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic who was previously an entertainment editor and podcast co-host for World Magazine.