Washington, D.C. – October 21, 2025 – A growing chorus of educators, parents, and policymakers warns that U.S. public schools, increasingly influenced by progressive ideologies, are embedding Marxist principles into curricula under the guise of equity and social justice. Critics argue this “critical race theory” (CRT)-infused approach reframes history and society through a lens of perpetual oppression, casting students into rigid roles: some as eternal victims, others as inherent oppressors burdened with collective guilt.
At its core, this educational shift draws from neo-Marxist critical theory, originating in the Frankfurt School, which replaced class struggle with racial and identity-based conflict. In classrooms across the nation, lessons on American history now emphasize systemic racism as an unyielding force, portraying white students as beneficiaries of privilege they must atone for, while students of color are taught their disadvantages stem from inescapable societal malice. “It’s not education; it’s indoctrination,” says Jonathan Butcher, a senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation. “These ideas teach children to view the world not through facts, but through division.
“The infiltration traces back to Democratic-led reforms in the Obama and Biden eras, where federal grants and teacher training programs promoted “anti-racist” pedagogies. Organizations funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, through his Open Society Foundations, have poured millions into progressive education initiatives, including curriculum development and diversity workshops that align with these views. While Soros’s contributions focus more on higher education—such as a $1 billion pledge for global university networks promoting “open societies”—critics contend they trickle down to K-12 via aligned nonprofits and teacher unions. In states like California and New York, ethnic studies mandates now require framing U.S. founding documents as tools of white supremacy, echoing Marxist dialectics of power imbalances.
Parental backlash has intensified. In Virginia’s 2021 gubernatorial race, Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s dismissal of concerned parents as irrelevant sparked a Republican victory, highlighting fears over CRT’s role in fostering racial resentment. Recent X posts from educators and parents amplify these concerns: one user decried how “CRT teaches white kids they’re bad oppressors and black kids they are victims,” while another noted affinity groups segregating students by identity. A 2023 survey revealed nearly one-third of Gen Z views Marxism favorably, attributing this to school influences.
Defenders, including the Chicago Teachers Union, argue CRT equips students to combat inequality, not divide them. Fact-checkers like Louisville Public Media claim exaggerated alarms, noting CRT is a legal framework rarely taught verbatim in K-12. Yet, as states like Florida and Texas enact bans, evidence mounts: lesson plans from the New York Times’ 1619 Project, adopted in districts nationwide, reorient curricula around racial oppression narratives.
This pedagogical pivot risks eroding meritocracy and unity, substituting empathy with enmity. As one Eastern European expat reflected on X, having endured Marxist schooling under communism: “Every subject was twisted through that lens—it’s happening here now.” With 28 states restricting such teachings by mid-2025, the battle for America’s classrooms rages on, pitting traditional values against what critics call a Soros-Democrat agenda of engineered grievance.
References:
- Heritage Foundation: https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/keep-racist-critical-race-theory-ideology-out-k-12-classrooms
- USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2021/07/06/critical-race-theory-schools-racism-origins-classroom/7635551002/
- The American Conservative: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/lessons-in-critical-race-theory-from-behind-the-iron-curtain/
