Donld Trump incompetent cabinet includes wrestling diva Linda McMahon as - wait of it!- She is the "Education Secretary" OMG
Echo opinion and essay published in Medium
Linda McMahon had no idea.... by Allison Wiltz
Tusla Race Massacre: In 1921, one of the nation’s worst race massacres destroyed the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of Black Tulsans, in Oklahoma. The tragic events took countless homes and businesses and led to the destruction of one of the largest, most affluent and prosperous Black communities in America.
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| Linda McMahon, is known as the first lady of pro wrestling, but Donald Trump nominated her to be the Education Secretary❓ |
When it comes to anti-black racism, some White people claim they “see no evil, hear no evil,” and “speak no evil.”
This state of incompetence shields them from the social expectation to participate in the conversation in earnest.
This state of incompetence shields them from the social expectation to participate in the conversation in earnest.
Actually, it’s a strategy of evasion. Take, for instance, the congressional hearing in which U.S. Rep Summer Lee asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon whether lessons about historical events, such as the Tulsa Race Massacre, and figures, such as Ruby Bridges, would be considered “illegal,” given the administration’s anti-DEI mandate.
Rather than providing clarity, her response only served to muddy waters. McMahon seemed to know very little, if anything, about black history. Were this an official quiz in a class setting, it’s safe to say she would have failed. But it remains unclear whether she was genuinely unfamiliar with the content or feigned ignorance to dodge a discussion about the inclusion of these historical narratives.
Some doubted the Republican Education Secretary was genuinely ignorant of black history. Markus Batchler, the political director for People for the American Way, said, “While pretending not to know who Ruby Bridges was, or the impact of the Tulsa Race Massacre, she is working every day to ban books and curriculum that acknowledge the existence of Ruby Bridges and the Tulsa Race Riots from libraries and classrooms across the nation,” Batchler warned.
In deed, (incompetent) McMahon's public testimony contradicted her actions. Also, if you are removing materials because you claim they’re improper, you should be able to articulate, for the public, the logic underpinning this decision.
And, if you are unaware of black historical events and figures, then it’s implausible for you to have just cause.
During congressional hearings, Lee suggested, “when [you] call for removing equity and inclusion and diversity and accessibility from schools in favor of ‘traditional American values,’ it’s indistinguishable from… post-civil war south advocating to rewrite history with the Lost Cause narrative.” The preference for a favorable narrative over an honest one isn’t new. And yet, modern-day efforts to whitewash history are just as harmful.
Michael Harriot, a columnist and author who typically covers the intersection of race, culture, and politics, asked in his Contraband Camp newsletter, “Are White people dumb?” in his initial response to Education Secretary McMahon’s testimony.
Harriot wasn’t buying into pseudoscience that portrays one race as more intelligent than another. Instead, he was shining a light on the absurdity of some White people’s convenient ignorance on the topic of race. With access to articles, books, films, TV series, and the World Wide Web, it’s difficult to fathom how White adults, particularly those in government leadership positions, can say with a straight face that they’ve never heard of The Tulsa (Oklahoma) Race Massacre.❓❗💥
There are numerous incidents like this, such as the 1898, Wilmington Massacre, the 1920, Ocoee Massacre, and the 1923, Rosewood Massacre, each involving racist-driven attacks on black communities. And yet, for some Americans sheltered from the nation’s legacy of systemic racialized violence, these events may sound foreign. One report found that White Republicans are less perceptive of racism compared to White Democrats (Zell & Lesick, 2022). Separate from their political affiliation, those with knowledge of historical racism were more likely to perceive individual racism in the modern era. One study found White Americans’ ignorance of critical race theory predicted their opposition to it (Richmond et al., 2024).
If we’re to take McMahon’s testimony at face value, that she doesn’t know enough about historical events, like the Tulsa Race Massacre, to comment, then it reveals how academically shallow her department’s resistance to these narratives is.
Some doubted the Republican Education Secretary was genuinely ignorant of black history. Markus Batchler, the political director for People for the American Way, said, “While pretending not to know who Ruby Bridges was, or the impact of the Tulsa Race Massacre, she is working every day to ban books and curriculum that acknowledge the existence of Ruby Bridges and the Tulsa Race Riots from libraries and classrooms across the nation,” Batchler warned.
In deed, (incompetent) McMahon's public testimony contradicted her actions. Also, if you are removing materials because you claim they’re improper, you should be able to articulate, for the public, the logic underpinning this decision.
And, if you are unaware of black historical events and figures, then it’s implausible for you to have just cause.
During congressional hearings, Lee suggested, “when [you] call for removing equity and inclusion and diversity and accessibility from schools in favor of ‘traditional American values,’ it’s indistinguishable from… post-civil war south advocating to rewrite history with the Lost Cause narrative.” The preference for a favorable narrative over an honest one isn’t new. And yet, modern-day efforts to whitewash history are just as harmful.
Michael Harriot, a columnist and author who typically covers the intersection of race, culture, and politics, asked in his Contraband Camp newsletter, “Are White people dumb?” in his initial response to Education Secretary McMahon’s testimony.
Harriot wasn’t buying into pseudoscience that portrays one race as more intelligent than another. Instead, he was shining a light on the absurdity of some White people’s convenient ignorance on the topic of race. With access to articles, books, films, TV series, and the World Wide Web, it’s difficult to fathom how White adults, particularly those in government leadership positions, can say with a straight face that they’ve never heard of The Tulsa (Oklahoma) Race Massacre.❓❗💥
There are numerous incidents like this, such as the 1898, Wilmington Massacre, the 1920, Ocoee Massacre, and the 1923, Rosewood Massacre, each involving racist-driven attacks on black communities. And yet, for some Americans sheltered from the nation’s legacy of systemic racialized violence, these events may sound foreign. One report found that White Republicans are less perceptive of racism compared to White Democrats (Zell & Lesick, 2022). Separate from their political affiliation, those with knowledge of historical racism were more likely to perceive individual racism in the modern era. One study found White Americans’ ignorance of critical race theory predicted their opposition to it (Richmond et al., 2024).
If we’re to take McMahon’s testimony at face value, that she doesn’t know enough about historical events, like the Tulsa Race Massacre, to comment, then it reveals how academically shallow her department’s resistance to these narratives is.
How is it possible that someone is unaware of major historical events to somehow be qualified to determine which should be included in the curriculum❓ That would be like saying one car is more dangerous than another without identifying which safety features make it so. And whenever someone asks for more information, you claim you’ll have to get back to them. For instance, what makes a lesson about the 1780 Battle of Camden, where 1,050 American and 314 British soldiers died on the battlefield during the American Revolution, more appropriate for high school students than the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, where historians estimate hundreds were killed during the Jim Crow era? If mass casualty events were deemed inappropriate for class discussions across the board, they’d both be excluded. But it’s clear their criteria are race-based. It determines which class materials receive a gold star of approval from the administration and which are tossed into the reject pile. Claiming not to know about the Tulsa Race Massacre ensures discussions of this nature never bubble up to the surface.
While people often think of ignorance as harmless, when it is weaponized, it can become a frightful weapon. Indeed, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” In this case, some White Americans oppose the inclusion of black history without taking the time to understand it. As a result, their resistance is rooted in faulty logic. How can you say a narrative is dangerous when you cannot describe it? To dispel misinformation, here’s a summary: In the summer of 1921, White Tulsa residents destroyed 35 blocks of Black Wall Street, leaving between 100 and 300 dead, at least 8,000 homeless, and many more injured. This tragedy began with a lie, that a Black teenager, 19-year-old Dick Rowland assaulted a White teenager, 17-year-old Sarah Page.
While people often think of ignorance as harmless, when it is weaponized, it can become a frightful weapon. Indeed, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” In this case, some White Americans oppose the inclusion of black history without taking the time to understand it. As a result, their resistance is rooted in faulty logic. How can you say a narrative is dangerous when you cannot describe it? To dispel misinformation, here’s a summary: In the summer of 1921, White Tulsa residents destroyed 35 blocks of Black Wall Street, leaving between 100 and 300 dead, at least 8,000 homeless, and many more injured. This tragedy began with a lie, that a Black teenager, 19-year-old Dick Rowland assaulted a White teenager, 17-year-old Sarah Page.
During Jim Crow, it was common for lynchings to follow false accusations, often targeting Black men. In this case, local law enforcement deputized 500 White men and boys, enabling them to wreak havoc on an entire town of people. One reason this narrative should be discussed is so that history does not repeat itself. So citizens acknowledge the harm of racist presumptions.
At times, the denial of racism is a strategy to inflict harm by dampening resistance that would otherwise arise. In Ryan Coogler’s film, “Sinners,” a White character, Hogwood, sells property to the Black twin brothers, Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore. During their brief negotiation, the twins expressed concerns that members of the Klan would trespass on their property. Hogwood denied the existence of the organization in the region, referring to it in the past tense. Yet, he was the Grand Dragon, their local leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Hogwood’s goal was to make the new Black owners of the property feel comfortable making the sale and reassured that local racists wouldn’t attack them. Of course, this was a set-up, as the Klan planned to do just that. Not to give too much away, but luckily, the twins weren’t assuaged so easily. While this narrative is fictional, the phenomenon is all too real. White people who perpetrate racism often claim they do not know about the topic. They claim to see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. And yet, their actions often reflect the racism and bias they swear isn’t there.
Ironically, McMahon, the Education Secretary’s lack of knowledge, whether genuine or not, highlights another reason why these narratives should be included in the classroom curriculum. The fact that some White people are unaware of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 only affirms the relevance of such lessons. It’s a travesty that the persecution of Black Americans, while well-documented, may be considered inappropriate under the Trump administration’s anti-DEI mandate. Knowledge of historical racism is tied to racial attitudes in the modern era. So, if we want our future to be more equitable, it starts with the battle over what content makes it into the classroom. According to Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz of Columbia University, “racial literacy in English classrooms is the ability to read, discuss, and write about situations that involve race or racism.” However, laws and policies that discourage the inclusion of the topic impede efforts to expand this competency. For students and the public at large to enhance their racial literacy, they need to have safe spaces to develop these skills, to ask questions, and engage with others. Silencing this reflective process impedes social progress. As LaGarrett J. King noted in Social Education, “our teaching should center on how Black history improves our understanding of contemporary circumstances, and how it can stimulate us to improve our democracy.”
References
Bender, M. C. (2025, April 3). Trump administration threatens to withhold funds from public schools — The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/us/politics/public-school-funding-trump-dei.html
Gaynor, G. K. (2025, June 5). Education Secretary Linda McMahon doesn’t appear to know what the Tulsa Race Massacre is during the House hearing. TheGrio. https://thegrio.com/2025/06/04/education-secretary-linda-mcmahon-doesnt-appear-to-know-what-tulsa-race-massacre-is-during-house-hearing/
Harriot, M. (2025, June 6). Are white people dumb?. ContrabandCamp. https://www.contrabandcamp.com/p/are-white-people-dumb?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Jones, J. (2025, June 4). Education secretary Linda McMahon flubs basic facts in Senate hearing. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/linda-mcmahon-senate-math-facts-kennedy-reed-murphy-rcna210946
King, L. J. (2016). Teaching black history as a racial literacy project. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 19(6), 1303–1318. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2016.1150822
King, LaGarrett J. (2017). The status of Black History in U.S. schools and Society. https://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/publications/articles/se_810117014.pdf
Nelson, J. C., Adams, G., & Salter, P. S. (2013). The Marley hypothesis: denial of racism reflects ignorance of history. Psychological science, 24(2), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612451466
Richmond, B. S., Toosi, N. R., Wellman, J. D., & Wilkins, C. L. (2024). Ignorance of critical race theory predicts White Americans’ opposition to it. Journal of Social Issues, 80(1), 240–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12601
Sealey-Ruiz, Y. (2020). Racial literacy. https://ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SquireOfficePolicyBrief_RacialLiteracy_April2021.pdf
Zell, E., & Lesick, T. L. (2022). Ignorance of History and Political Differences in Perception of Racism in the United States. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211056493
At times, the denial of racism is a strategy to inflict harm by dampening resistance that would otherwise arise. In Ryan Coogler’s film, “Sinners,” a White character, Hogwood, sells property to the Black twin brothers, Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore. During their brief negotiation, the twins expressed concerns that members of the Klan would trespass on their property. Hogwood denied the existence of the organization in the region, referring to it in the past tense. Yet, he was the Grand Dragon, their local leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Hogwood’s goal was to make the new Black owners of the property feel comfortable making the sale and reassured that local racists wouldn’t attack them. Of course, this was a set-up, as the Klan planned to do just that. Not to give too much away, but luckily, the twins weren’t assuaged so easily. While this narrative is fictional, the phenomenon is all too real. White people who perpetrate racism often claim they do not know about the topic. They claim to see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. And yet, their actions often reflect the racism and bias they swear isn’t there.
Ironically, McMahon, the Education Secretary’s lack of knowledge, whether genuine or not, highlights another reason why these narratives should be included in the classroom curriculum. The fact that some White people are unaware of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 only affirms the relevance of such lessons. It’s a travesty that the persecution of Black Americans, while well-documented, may be considered inappropriate under the Trump administration’s anti-DEI mandate. Knowledge of historical racism is tied to racial attitudes in the modern era. So, if we want our future to be more equitable, it starts with the battle over what content makes it into the classroom. According to Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz of Columbia University, “racial literacy in English classrooms is the ability to read, discuss, and write about situations that involve race or racism.” However, laws and policies that discourage the inclusion of the topic impede efforts to expand this competency. For students and the public at large to enhance their racial literacy, they need to have safe spaces to develop these skills, to ask questions, and engage with others. Silencing this reflective process impedes social progress. As LaGarrett J. King noted in Social Education, “our teaching should center on how Black history improves our understanding of contemporary circumstances, and how it can stimulate us to improve our democracy.”
References
Bender, M. C. (2025, April 3). Trump administration threatens to withhold funds from public schools — The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/us/politics/public-school-funding-trump-dei.html
Gaynor, G. K. (2025, June 5). Education Secretary Linda McMahon doesn’t appear to know what the Tulsa Race Massacre is during the House hearing. TheGrio. https://thegrio.com/2025/06/04/education-secretary-linda-mcmahon-doesnt-appear-to-know-what-tulsa-race-massacre-is-during-house-hearing/
Harriot, M. (2025, June 6). Are white people dumb?. ContrabandCamp. https://www.contrabandcamp.com/p/are-white-people-dumb?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Jones, J. (2025, June 4). Education secretary Linda McMahon flubs basic facts in Senate hearing. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/linda-mcmahon-senate-math-facts-kennedy-reed-murphy-rcna210946
King, L. J. (2016). Teaching black history as a racial literacy project. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 19(6), 1303–1318. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2016.1150822
King, LaGarrett J. (2017). The status of Black History in U.S. schools and Society. https://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/publications/articles/se_810117014.pdf
Nelson, J. C., Adams, G., & Salter, P. S. (2013). The Marley hypothesis: denial of racism reflects ignorance of history. Psychological science, 24(2), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612451466
Richmond, B. S., Toosi, N. R., Wellman, J. D., & Wilkins, C. L. (2024). Ignorance of critical race theory predicts White Americans’ opposition to it. Journal of Social Issues, 80(1), 240–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12601
Sealey-Ruiz, Y. (2020). Racial literacy. https://ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SquireOfficePolicyBrief_RacialLiteracy_April2021.pdf
Zell, E., & Lesick, T. L. (2022). Ignorance of History and Political Differences in Perception of Racism in the United States. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211056493
Labels: Allison Wiltz, Jim Crow, Medium, Republicans, Tulsa Race Massacre
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