“Parents are — and must remain — the primary educators of their children,” writes Project 21 Ambassador Craig DeLuz in a commentary syndicated through InsideSources.

Craig says a recent parental rights case before the U.S. Supreme Court “is not about retreating from progressive educational mandates; it is fundamentally a defense of First Amendment rights, a defense of parents’ rights to be parents.”

He adds:

When parents enroll a child in a school, whether public or private, it should not be interpreted as a relinquishment of parental authority or the moral guidance essential to their upbringing. We must stand firm in defending parental rights against the encroaching ideologies of the education establishment.

Read Craig’s entire commentary below.

In the education landscape, the tension between parental rights and school curricula has become a contentious battlefield. It is essential to recognize that parents are their children’s primary educators. When they send their children to school — public or private — they do not surrender their rights or responsibilities. Yet, the education establishment has been increasingly encroaching on this vital paradigm.

Craig DeLuz

A case recently argued before the Supreme Court regarding Maryland parents’ rights to opt out of lessons that infringe upon their religious beliefs epitomizes this growing conflict. This is not about retreating from progressive educational mandates; it is fundamentally a defense of First Amendment rights, a defense of parents’ rights to be parents.

At the center of this controversy are the parents from Montgomery County, who assert a fundamental principle: the right to shield their children from exposure to sexual content that is inappropriate for their age while also steering their moral and ethical upbringing in alignment with their faith. 

When the local school board decided to introduce a curriculum infused with LGBTQ+ themes — often embracing controversial discussions of human sexuality and gender identity — without regard for age appropriateness, and, crucially, without permitting parents the option to withdraw their children, it raised profound questions about the role of public education in a democratic society. In their quest for inclusivity, these educators have overlooked an essential truth: promoting inclusivity should never infringe upon parental rights and the deeply held convictions that guide their families.

This matter goes beyond mere exposure — it veers into indoctrination when children are repeatedly confronted with concepts that clash with family values. “I don’t think anybody can read that and say: Well, this is just telling children that there are occasions when men marry other men,” said Justice Samuel Alito. “It has a clear moral message, and it may be a good message. It’s just a message that a lot of religious people disagree with.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised a crucial point, noting it is one thing to expose students to diverse ideas; it is quite another to present certain viewpoints as indisputable truths. By framing an ideology with the certainty of “this is the right view of the world,” educators risk indoctrination rather than enlightenment. This distinction is not merely academic but speaks to the essence of cultivating a truly informed citizenry.

Justice Elena Kagan expressed concern regarding the exposure of young children to certain materials in Montgomery County.  “I, too, was struck by these young kids’ picture books and, on matters concerning sexuality, I suspect there are a lot of non-religious parents who weren’t all that thrilled about this,” she said.

Chief Justice John Roberts aptly questioned the practicality of expecting young children to compartmentalize their beliefs in the classroom. It is unreasonable to expect 5-year-olds, still forming their worldviews, to reconcile lessons that conflict fundamentally with the teachings they receive at home.

What lies at the heart of these debates is a moral disconnect between the values held by many Americans and those promoted by the educational establishment. While the majority rightly argue that material containing controversial sexual content should have no place in our children’s classrooms, the education establishment continues to tout the necessity of exposing children to such content under the guise of inclusivity. This disregards the legitimate values held by the wider community.

Highlighted in this case is a crucial truth: parents must resolutely maintain their right to direct their children’s education according to their values. This struggle is not simply a skirmish; it reflects a broader movement aimed at reshaping education by privileging a state-sanctioned narrative while marginalizing dissenting voices.

We must assert, without hesitation, that parents are — and must remain — the primary educators of their children. When parents enroll a child in a school, whether public or private, it should not be interpreted as a relinquishment of parental authority or the moral guidance essential to their upbringing. We must stand firm in defending parental rights against the encroaching ideologies of the education establishment.

Craig J. DeLuz is a Project 21 ambassador and hosts a daily news and commentary show called “The RUNDOWN.” He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

“It is time to admit that after 60 years of the post-Civil Rights movement, American black culture has collapsed to a godless, lawless, and fatherless culture no longer able to self-govern even in cities where black leaders control many if not all the seats of power,” wrote Project 21 Ambassador Kendall Qualls in a commentary published at the Journal of Free Black Thought just before Easter.

However, “we have to analyze the situation through a wider aperture than race to determine what has been driving these disasters,” he said. For instance, “black immigrants and their descendants are thriving in the United States, mainly because they have not been indoctrinated to feel disempowered the way native-born black Americans have been for the past 60 years.”

Read Kendall’s fascinating commentary below.

As we approach Easter Sunday, it is time for native black Americans, especially descendants of American slaves, to conduct a self-reflection on the current state of affairs within black culture.

Kendall Qualls

It is time to admit that after 60 years of the post-Civil Rights movement, American black culture has collapsed to a godless, lawless, and fatherless culture no longer able to self-govern even in cities where black leaders control many if not all the seats of power.

How could the black community that for so long had a sense of self-respect and dignity despite the unfair hardships of the nation’s past descend from 80 percent two-parent families to nearly 80 percent fatherless homes in a single lifetime without one national initiative to reverse the trend?

Much like addicts, we won’t be able to solve this problem until we admit we have one.

Based on my organization TakeCharge’s own national polling data, a majority of black Americans believe that it is preferable for children to be raised with two parents and that adults should wait until after marriage to have children. In this poll, the majority of respondents do not believe their children are getting an education to prepare them for the future and they believe parents should have the ability to select the best schools for their children, allowing tax dollars to follow the child. This issue spans politics with most respondents self-identifying as Democrats.

Why the disconnect between the stated desires of everyday black Americans and the institutions that claim to represent them? One major reason is that the desires of black Americans are subordinate to the objectives of progressive elite leadership, many of whom are aligned with fatal socialist or Marxist ideology (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Our universities, particularly Education schools, are replete with self-identified Marxists, up to 40% according to some studies. Many of these professors proclaim openly that their objectives are to transform America and destroy capitalism. Bettina Love, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, is just one example out of many. According to a recent interview with her, “Destroying capitalism is a part of our freedom dream. It’s part of the long-term goal.” Education school professors like her indoctrinate America’s teachers who in turn indoctrinate America’s children to despise their country and to misunderstand and hate capitalism.

Many of these believers in socialism/Marxism see the destruction of the black family and the resulting social fallout as nothing more than the sacrifice needed to accomplish their objectives of transforming America and destroying the free-market system.

Unfortunately, most Americans, including black Americans, have no idea of the failures, evils, and mass killings resulting from communist ideology throughout history. The younger you are, the less likely you are to know the truth. Coincidence? (Figure 2).

Figure 2

When we look at the decades’ long destruction of urban centers where black people live, high rates of murder (often spilling out to the broader society), three times the rate of abortion compared to the general population, mass drug addiction, and failing public schools, we have to analyze the situation through a wider aperture than race to determine what has been driving these disasters.

Beyond the ranks of academia’s self-declared socialists/Marxists, when we evaluate members of the Congressional Black Caucus, many of whom have amassed wealth without ever having held a private sector job or started a business of their own, we find that they are some of the wealthiest people in some of the poorest districts in their states. This is the same group that visited the communist country of Cuba in 2009 and praised the country’s leader as “…one of the most amazing human beings [they’ve] ever met!”, completely ignoring the decades of human rights violations, lack of freedom, and imprisonment or killing of political opponents.

Ironically, in contrast, black immigrants and their descendants are thriving in the United States, mainly because they have not been indoctrinated to feel disempowered the way native-born black Americans have been for the past 60 years.

Only in the United States can a black man become a CEO of a chain of high-end Chinese restaurants. Nigerian born and naturalized American citizen, 37-year old Damola Adamolekun was CEO of P.F. Changs and has recently been tapped to revitalize the flailing Red Lobster chain. Adamolekun is not alone. Take Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, an immigrant from Jamaica who won statewide office to become the second in command of a former Confederate state. Before her political career, she was the President/Owner of Shenandoah Appliance Plumbing & Electric, the Director of a Salvation Army Women’s Shelter, and served as a Marine. She is currently running as a Republican candidate for Governor of Virginia.

Adamolekun and Sears represent two examples of a broader theme of black immigrants thriving while native-born black Americans are at the bottom rung of society. There are multiple factors involved of course, but the fact is that we simply do not see the same level of self-destruction and family breakdown in these communities that we see among native black Americans (Figure 3).

Figure 3

What is the ultimate solution to our woes?

Not surprisingly, it must begin with acknowledging our departure away from our Christian heritage. After 60 years of wandering through the desert following godless leaders, this Easter Sunday is a perfect time to chart a new course, resurrect our Christian faith, rebuild families, re-establish excellence in education for our children’s future, and embrace our American citizenship instead of despising it. As a first step on this path, consider reading and signing TakeCharge’s “Declaration of Revival and Redemption,” which articulates a renewed commitment to faith, family, and education.

Project 21 Ambassador Kendall Qualls is a Faculty-in-Residence at Crown College School of Business and Founder/President of the nonprofit foundation TakeCharge. Mr. Qualls is also a former candidate for governor of Minnesota. Mr. Qualls was raised in a broken home in poverty. He worked full-time to pay for college, and served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He earned his MBA from the University of Michigan and worked as a Global Vice President of Sales and Marketing at an $850MM business unit. Mr. Qualls recently authored a book, “The Prodigal Project: Hope for American Families.” He is also on the President’s Advisory Board of the Heritage Foundation and the Advisory Board for the National Medal of Honor Center of Leadership. His message has reached millions of people as a speaker and through his articles published in the New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Federalist, Real Clear Politics, The Christian Post, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. This commentary was first published in the Journal of Free Black Thought.