Fighting "Wokeness"

Senator Blackburn believes that under the Constitution, all Americans must be treated equally. Yet, the radical Left is doing the exact opposite by pushing their “woke” agenda on the American people. From forcing divisive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives on companies, to pushing Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools, reimagining Title IX to punish real girls, and implementing soft-on-crime policies in our communities, the Biden-Harris administration has sought to impose their radical social justice ideology on the nation.

The United States has come a long way in its effort to promote equality, and these “woke” initiatives seek to reverse our nation’s incredible progress. 

What Senator Blackburn Is Doing to Stop “Wokeness”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

DEI is an initiative that has been co-opted by the radical Left to lead Americans to believe it will reduce discrimination and quell bias. In reality, the Left has hijacked DEI as part of their hidden agenda to pit Americans of different races, religions, and genders against each other.

Studies show that DEI programs accomplish the exact opposite of what the Left wants Americans to believe they do — a report by Harvard Business Review details how most diversity programs fail to increase diversity, and studies indicate that DEI can activate bias or spark a harmful backlash against workers. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission even reported a 20% increase in discrimination charges in FY22. In cases related to K-12 education, there was a 144% increase in complaints since 2021.

After President Biden sought to unfairly force taxpayers to foot the bill for federal DEI initiatives that do nothing but divide Americans, Senator Blackburn co-led the Dismantle DEI Act to eliminate federal DEI funding. 

Since Biden took office, the U.S. military has spent at least 5,889,082 man hours on DEI-related activities among other programs, and the Air Force spent at least $68 million on DEI initiatives in 2021 alone.

To combat this, Senator Blackburn introduced two measures to make the U.S. military less “woke” by ensuring our military is focused on combating Communist China rather than accommodating servicemembers’ neopronouns, along with preventing military children from being indoctrinated by Department of Defense teachers. Yet, Senate Democrats blocked these measures. 

Critical Race Theory in Schools

Critical Race Theory is a radical school of thought used by the political Left to assign racial significance to objectively neutral concepts like history and mathematics. This dangerous agenda insists that America is a racist country and teaches that all individuals are either oppressors or victims.

CRT creates a false narrative of division that pits Americans against each other. In many public schools, activists and teachers unions are demanding CRT lessons be taught in the name of social justice. Against the will of parents and teachers, proponents of CRT have made it their goal to inculcate this divisive mentality in our children. These lessons are disguised as “anti-racist,” but in reality they sow racial division.

Tennesseans believe in equality and opportunity for all. Students should not be discriminated against on the basis of race under any circumstances. Senator Blackburn has been a leader in pushing back against this harmful ideology. In 2021, after the Department of Education proposed federal funding to support the teaching of radical and divisive curriculum like CRT, Senator Blackburn joined more than 30 of her Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution to condemn the use of CRT in K-12 schools and teacher training programs. 

Senator Blackburn has also pushed for legislation to prohibit federal funding for the “1619 Project.”

Erasing “Women” from The History Books

Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris administration has sought to undermine the integrity of women’s sports and Title IX — the landmark civil rights law that codified protections on the basis of sex. 

Particularly, Title IX opened the floodgates to allow women in sports by requiring equal resources for facilities, training, recruitment, and scholarships for female athletic programs. Because of Title IX’s passage over 50 years ago, women’s sports were revolutionized, and the number of female high school and college athletes exploded.

In response to the Left’s assault on real women, Senator Blackburn co-sponsored the Women’s Bill of Rights, which would legally define basic sex-based terms and protect single-sex spaces for women, including rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, athletic teams, locker rooms, and sororities.

Senator Blackburn also led over 25 of her Republican colleagues in introducing a resolution to recognize October 10 as ‘American Girls in Sports Day’ to celebrate the contributions made by women in changing the world of athletics. She also led over 20 of her Senate colleagues in sending a letter urging National Collegiate Athletic Association President Charlie Baker to update their student-athlete policy to ensure only biologically female students can participate in women’s sports.

Furthermore, Senator Blackburn has stood up to efforts by the radical Left to erase the word “woman” from the history books. Most notably, during Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2022, Senator Blackburn asked the judicial nominee a simple question: “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman?’” Judge Jackson’s failure to answer the question sent shockwaves through the nation, indicating a belief that “woman” is too controversial a term for the Left to define.

Read more about Senator Blackburn’s efforts to support women here.