Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-02) blasted the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Wednesday after signing on to a letter sent by 44 Republican lawmakers to the federal government organization, which recently placed “harmful content” labels on historical documents including the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
“We must stand together against those who wish to destroy the foundation of our American values with their ‘woke’ agenda,” he told The Ohio Star. “We must educate future generations on all aspects of our past – celebrating the good and acknowledging our failures. Those who seek to weaken the timeless truths and foundational texts seek only to erase our shared history. We cannot stand by silently.”
In the letter, which was addressed to Archivist of the U.S. David Ferriero, the Republican lawmakers accused NARA of demonizing America’s history.
“The role of the National Archives should be to preserve our shared histories and educate future generations, not to deny, change, or demonize our past,” the letter said.
News of the new warning labels made headlines two weeks ago, angering conservatives.
“NARA’s records span the history of the United States, and it is our charge to preserve and make available these historical records,” the group said on its website. “As a result, some of the materials presented here may reflect outdated, biased, offensive, and possibly violent views and opinions. In addition, some of the materials may relate to violent or graphic events and are preserved for their historical significance.”
Specifically, NARA warned:
Some items may:
- reflect racist, sexist, ableist, misogynistic/misogynoir, and xenophobic opinions and attitudes;
- be discriminatory towards or exclude diverse views on sexuality, gender, religion, and more;
- include graphic content of historical events such as violent death, medical procedures, crime, wars/terrorist acts, natural disasters and more;
- demonstrate bias and exclusion in institutional collecting and digitization policies.
The Star previously reached out to Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-17) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and asked the pair whether they thought America’s founding documents were somehow offensive. Ryan is also running for U.S. Senate.
Neither responded to The Star’s comment requests.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
