In testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, Asra Nomani, a parents’ rights activist who grew up in India before emigrating to the U.S. at the age of four, lambasted woke zealots for indoctrinating schoolchildren into Critical Race Theory.
Nomani started her testimony by noting that she grew up in West Virginia — a mostly white state — yet was welcomed and became successful in America.
“I was affirmed; I was supported; I was able to grow up a girl who knew not a word of English when I arrived to become a reporter for The Wall Street Journal,” she recalled, before blasting those accusing parents’ rights activists of being representatives of white supremacy. “I’m sitting here before you today, apparently the face of white supremacy,” Nomani said.
She also drew attention to the shirt she was wearing, which she said was “inspired by the gown hat Representative Ocasio-Cortez wore to the Met gala,” which was emblazoned with “Tax The Rich.” The shirt contained names that Nomani said she has been called during the course of her advocacy on behalf of parents.
“Things like ‘domestic terrorist,’ ‘white supremacist,’ ‘QAnon moms.’ What is it that we, the parents, have dared to stand up against in the United States of America over the last couple years?” Nomani told the panel.
She answered her own question by holding up a copy of a Critical Race Theory book.
“It is a divisive ideology expressed through this book. … It is a book that is taught in law schools but it is translated into our school systems with books like this: ‘Not My Idea.’ A Book About Whiteness,” she said.
“The trickle-down effect of the demonization of any human being because of their race is books like this,” she declared. “Where does this book take us as an idea? It takes us to this very simple idea: An idea that is a new hierarchy of human value. There is no doubt that the hierarchy of human value that was about white supremacy is illegitimate. Every single person is opposed to the idea of white supremacy. But we cannot replace an old hierarchy of human value with a new hierarchy of human value that demonizes children with this book.”
She quoted from the book: “Whiteness is a bad deal. Filing a contract with the devil.”
“The message is the shaming of human beings,” she said harshly. “No child should be shamed.”
“This is an ideology that I call the ‘Woke army,’” she stated. “It is an ideology of activists who are going through America’s school districts and our communities and what they are doing is a threat to democracy.”
After pointing out the poor school records of students in Raskin’s and Michigan Democrat Rashida Talib’s districts, she asserted, “Our children are in a crisis today, and the idea that we the parents are now the agents of white supremacy is unacceptable. All of these books that I have here today are the indoctrination that is being put into the minds of our children instead of the fundamentals that are critical to make them educated enlightened citizens that protect our democracy.”
Dems control the House so @oversightdems got 5 witnesses v. 1 witness (me) invited by @gopoversight @nancymace. I wasn't scared. My argument: we must not replace the old hierarchy of human value with the Woke Army’s new hierarchy of human value! @iwn @iwn pic.twitter.com/DVQd7qmNAz
— Asra Nomani – Living in "somebody else's country" (@AsraNomani) December 13, 2022
Later, Nomani tweeted, “Hello @RepRaskin, I was the only Muslim who testified at the @OversightDems @GOPoversight hearing on Tuesday. The only Asian American. Maybe the only immigrant? It’s illiberal and regressive that you erased me from your press release with the list of witnesses who testified.”
Hello @RepRaskin, I was the only Muslim who testified at the @OversightDems @GOPoversight hearing on Tuesday. The only Asian American. Maybe the only immigrant? It’s illiberal and regressive that you erased me from your press release with the list of witnesses who testified. pic.twitter.com/9wMLLyw7Uh
— Asra Nomani – Living in "somebody else's country" (@AsraNomani) December 15, 2022