A committee of state lawmakers created to study civics education in Georgia’s public schools is being viewed with skepticism by some before it starts its work, thanks to the recent selection of a committee member who’s made controversial statements on slavery and the Civil War.
Rep. Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson, was named on Friday as one of three House Republicans to serve on the committee that is supposed to make recommendations to schools about how to teach students civic literacy.
Benton has said the Ku Klux Klan “made a lot of people straighten up,” and he tried to get the state to formally recognize Robert E. Lee’s birthday and Confederate Memorial Day as official holidays, in response to efforts to remove or minimize public displays of Confederate flags or symbols.
“The Ku Klux Klan did not make a lot of people straighten up,” said Atlanta NAACP president Richard Rose. “It was a group that strung people up.”
You can read more details about this appointment and what some are saying about it on myAJC.com
Read investigative reporter Chris Joyner’s blog post about those who appointed Benton.
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