McAuliffe accused of calling parents racist after saying Youngkin is 'silencing the voices of Black authors'

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe accused Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin of trying to ban Black authors from schools, leading to charges McAuliffe was calling him – and parents speaking out against school boards' progressive agendas – racists. 

"Glenn is spending his final days of the campaign focused on banning award-winning books from our schools & silencing the voices of Black authors," McAuliffe tweeted Monday. "I know we can read between the lines and see these Trumpian dog whistles for what they truly are."

"On November 2nd, we must reject these politics of hate and divisiveness. But we can't do it if you don't get out and vote," he added in a follow-up tweet.

The books McAuliffe alluded to are "Genderqueer" and "Lawn Boy," both of which, some parents have complained, contain graphic images inappropriate for adolescents' eyes. Debate has also raged over teachers' use of Toni Morrison's "Beloved," which contains graphic depictions of sex, violence and bestiality, while describing the horrors of slavery. 

In response, the Youngkin campaign told McAuliffe they did not wish to get the book banned, but only to notify parents about the explicit text. Even the Washington Post, Youngkin noted, came to that conclusion.

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Some suggested McAuliffe was also calling parents racist by extension. Virginia parents have begun confronting school boards over what they deem to be inappropriate reading materials and have often sounded off against the teaching of critical race theory.

McAuliffe was already on thin ice with parents for suggesting at a gubernatorial debate they have no right to challenge educators and school boards regarding what their children are learning.

‘I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach," McAuliffe said, drawing sharp criticism. 

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President of Loudoun County GOP Women’s Club Patti Hidalgo Menders, a mother to six boys, called McAuliffe’s comments "just wrong." 

"Parents are the first educators of any child, and we do elect these local elected officials to represent us and our children, and what he said is that parents are not allowed to have a say on what our children learn, and that’s just wrong," Menders said.

Youngkin took the opposite approach and argued parents should be more involved in the decisions of local school districts. His campaign has since used the Democrats' words against him in campaign ads. 

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Polling shows the race is a dead heat with Election Day a week away.