Thursday, Jul 24, 2008
The state Legislature casts him in the same league as Hitler. A science educator says it's going to be a rough year for evolutionists.
May 4, 2001 | According to a measure before the Louisiana Legislature, one of the towering figures of modern science is also responsible for the racist ideologies of the late 19th century and for Adolf Hitler's persecution of Jews. Louisiana state Rep. Sharon Broome, D-Baton Rouge, who sponsored the resolution condemning Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, said it would "shine a light on the history of racism."
"Be it resolved that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby deplore all instances and ideologies of racism, and does hereby reject the core concepts of Darwinist ideology that certain races and classes of humans are inherently superior to others," reads the Legislature's statement, which was approved 9-5 Tuesday by the state's House Education Committee. It will soon go before the full House.
Among Broome's pet peeves, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate, are that Darwin "teaches that some humans have evolved further than others." That he "holds that people of color are 'savages,'" and that in doing so he has "provided the main rationale for modern racism."
The resolution, which does not rise to the level of law and would not necessarily change the curriculum of public schools, nonetheless urges the state's education system "to address the commonalties of people groups and the weaknesses of Darwinian racism." Sponsors say their next step will be to press for evolution disclaimers in textbooks.
Critics say the race card is only another ploy by creationists to remove evolution from public education and replace it with the religious concept of divine creation.
Joseph Graves, a professor of African-American studies and evolutionary biology at Arizona State University, criticizes Broome's interpretation of Darwin's writings, arguing that history has shown the scientist to be "one of the good guys, not one of the bad guys." He also warns that the measure would open up the state to ridicule. "This type of thing would never happen in the Northeast," he says.
Yet Louisiana is not alone. Since the beginning of the year, a handful of states -- including Montana, Washington, Georgia and Michigan -- have proposed legislation and other measures against the teaching of evolution, using tactics that have taken a number of twists and turns.
The National Center for Science Education is a nonprofit organization that has fought to keep the teaching of evolution science in public classrooms. Executive director Eugenie Scott spoke with Salon about the latest efforts of creationists to make it more difficult to teach the theory of evolution.
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