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Are you a Democrat? Let me ask you a question: What percentage of Republicans believe “it’s important that every American student learn about slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation”? Let me follow up. What percentage of Republicans believe that “schools should teach both our shared national history and the history of specific groups such as Black, Hispanic and Native Americans”?
Are you a Republican? Let me ask you a question: What percentage of Democrats believe “all students should learn about how the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution advanced freedom and equality”? Let me follow up. What percentage of Democrats believe that when students learn about American history, they “should not be made to feel personally responsible for the actions of earlier generations”?
It might surprise you to know that Democrats and Republicans are wildly wrong in their assessments of their political opponents’ beliefs. Democrats estimate that only 32 percent of Republicans believe that students should learn about slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation. The real number is 83 percent. Democrats believe that only 30 percent of Republicans think schools should teach the history of specific groups. The real number is 72 percent.
Republicans believe that only 45 percent of Democrats think schools should teach how the Declaration and Constitution advanced freedom and equality. The real number is 92 percent. Republicans believe that only 43 percent of Democrats think students should not be made to feel personally responsible for the actions of past generations. The real number is 83 percent.