Press Releases

Press Releases | July 26, 2022

Judicial Watch Sues for Naval Academy Critical Race Theory Records

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for records related to the United States Naval Academy (USNA) implementing critical race theory (CRT) in the training of naval recruits. (Judicial Watch. v. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:22-cv-02172)).

Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit was filed after the DOD failed to respond to an August 5, 2021 FOIA request seeking:

Any and all PowerPoint presentations used for training and/or classroom instruction discussing critical race theory, CRT (when used to represent critical race theory); and/or “white supremacy.”

Any and all emails referencing critical race theory, CRT (when used to represent critical race theory); and/or “white supremacy” sent between .mil and/or .gov email accounts and any of the following USNA officials: Superintendent VADM Sean Buck and/or Deputy Superintendent CAPT James Bates.

“Marxist critical race theory and its racial division have no place in the Naval Academy, which is training the next generations of Navy leadership,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “That the Pentagon has been unlawfully hiding these records for a year suggests something awful is afoot.”

On June 24, 2022, The Federalist reported that the US Navy, “issued an instructional video training its members to create a ‘safe space’ by using ‘correct’ pronouns. The video emphasized how service members must use ‘inclusive languages’ and not ‘misgender’ others.”

In June, Judicial Watch uncovered over 700 pages of documents revealing critical race theory (CRT) instruction at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. One training slide contains a graphic titled “MODERN-DAY SLAVERY IN THE USA” and many of the documents denounced “whiteness.”

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss these documents and the US Navy’s pronouns. In speaking about what Judicial Watch has uncovered in their investigation, Fitton warned:

They suggest that blacks are still the equivalent of slaves today, and they’re pushing queer theory, which is a “cousin” of the Marxist critical race theory.And so our military is being undermined from within. This is the type of Marxist revolutionary (agenda) that our military was designed, during the Cold War to try to protect this nation from. And now they’re on the inside.

Judicial Watch lawsuits and FOIA requests on critical race theory and other leftist extremism are extensive:

Judicial Watch in June 2022 further pursued litigation after a federal court decision dismissing a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of David Flynn, a Massachusetts father who was fired from his position as high school football coach after he raised concerns over Black Lives Matter/critical race theory being taught in his daughter’s seventh-grade ancient history class.
Records produced in April 2022 from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) show the government agency responsible for regulating credit unions required “inclusion and unconscious bias training” for the agency’s employees and contractors and offered advice on how to recognize and address alleged “microaggressions” in the workplace.
Records produced in February 2022from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) included a PowerPoint presentation titled “Race and gender based microaggressions” that was used for training at the organization.
Two sets of records obtained by Judicial Watch in November 2021 related to the teaching of critical race theory in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland’s largest school system, included a training course with information about a book titled “Antiracist Baby” that introduces the youngest readers to “the concept and power of antiracism,” and says it’s the “perfect gift” for “ages baby to age 3.”
Records from Loudoun County, VA, obtained in October 2021 revealed a coordinated effort to advance critical race theory initiatives in Loudoun County public schools despite widespread public opposition.
A training document provided to Judicial Watch in October 2021 by a whistleblower in the Westerly School District of Rhode Island, details how its schools are using teachers to push critical race theory in classrooms. The training course was assembled by the left-leaning Highlander Institute and cites quotes from Bettina Love, from whom the Biden administration distanced itself publicly after her statements equating “whiteness” to oppression.
Records produced in June 2021 by Wellesley Public Schools in Massachusetts confirmed the use of “affinity spaces” that divide students and staff based on race as a priority and objective of the school district’s “diversity, equity and inclusion” plan. The school district also admitted that between September 1, 2020, and May 17, 2021, it created “five distinct” segregated spaces.
Heavily redacted records obtained by Judicial watch in May 2021from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland included documents related to their $454,000 “Anti-racist system audit” and critical race theory classes. Students were taught that the phrase “Make America Great Again” was an example of “covert white supremacy.”