Gov. Kay Ivey is showing her truly racist colors again, this time declaring on Twitter Thursday that she has “permanently BANNED Critical Race Theory in Alabama.” The two faces of the governor—or at least the side that once publicly donned blackface—are showing again

When she ran for governor four years ago, Ivey denied she’d once donned blackface for a skit while still a student at Auburn University. Her team denied the event happened, as well. But in 2019, the governor sorta-apologized for the costume after a 1967 radio interview where she admitted to blackening her face went public. 

Go to AL.com to read the full pathetic apology, where she doesn’t remember anything but begs for forgiveness anyway. 

Fast-forward to Ivey today: Fighting tooth and nail against Critical Race Theory (CRT), a lesson plan never taught or intended for classrooms outside law class or graduate-level courses, but certainly, one that is important to teach.

Either Ivey is the blackface-donning racist she appears to be, or she doesn’t understand that teaching American history in its full and horrifying truth is important. 

According to the American Bar Association (ABA), and Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term “CRT”:

The governor added in her tweet that, “We’re focused on teaching our children how to read and write, not HATE.” What the governor should be focused on is public schools in Alabama, as the state ranks number 46th overall in education, according to a study by Wallethub.

But, Ivey, like so many in the GOP, has followed in the clumsy and bloodstained footsteps of two-time impeached and one-term former President Donald Trump who weaponized CRT and even ridiculously lumped it into diversity and inclusion training, even excluding federal contracts that offer diversity and inclusion training interpreted as containing ‘Divisive Concepts,’ ‘Race or Sex Stereotyping,’ and ‘Race or Sex Scapegoating,’” the ABA wrote. 

In Ivey’s mind, October was a winning month. The Alabama State Board of Education—over which Ivey presides as president—did pass a “permanent ban” on CRT, but since CRT isn’t taught in schools, it’s like banning people from walking on water. 

Alabama NAACP Chapter President Benard Simelton spoke during the public hearing held in August. He attempted to get through to school board members and explain the reality that the ban “has no merit.” But, when white people are on a mission to stop people from learning the truth, there’s no reason to be had. 

“I think the governor and board members who are supporting this resolution are speaking on behalf of other groups out-of-state,” Simelton told AL.com after the meeting. 

But, the truth and we all know it, is that CRT isn’t about anything more than race and white people terrified that folks in the Black and brown communities will learn the truth about subjects in their true, historical context.