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Gwinnett County Public School Board Chair Everton Blair expressed his dismay about dialogue about critical race theory and the passing of resolutions to limit discussion on race in a on Facebook early Friday morning.

Blair stated while the U.S. has a history of racism, there is nothing in the state of Georgia’s social studies or history curriculum that is critical of race. He stated the debate on whether or not the state is racist is manufactured and misses the point of educating others.

“To preoccupy ourselves with a debate on whether our current state is or is not racist misses the educative point altogether,” Blair stated. “It also centers our pride and desire for exceptionalism instead of contending the ways in which we can acknowledge past harm and move forward in making things better.”

Blair’s statement follows the passing of a resolution to limit class discussions on race in classrooms across the state by the Georgia Board of Education Thursday. 

“Masking our fear of confronting the truth by rejecting only the elements of which we are ashamed teaches our children that they can cherry-pick data, falsify evidence and fabricate reality,” Blair stated on Facebook. “It further fails to recognize their potential as learners who are capable of complex, intersectional thought.”

In his post, Blair acknowledged that his statement may cause anger and indignation for people who are against teaching critical race theory, but he said schools “must maintain a standard of comprehensive and complete truth-telling” in order to move forward.