North Carolina's lieutenant governor backs anti-CRT effort: Kids should understand 'greatness of this nation'

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North Carolina's first African American lieutenant governor is throwing his support behind a nationwide initiative to challenge what's being called racial "indoctrination" in schools. 

A video released Wednesday shows Republican Mark Robinson discussing his upbringing and why the fight against critical race theory (CRT) is so important to him.

"Growing up poor here in North Carolina, our family saw many struggles … my father was an alcoholic," Robinson said in a video posted by the anti-CRT group 1776 Action. 

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"We saw a lot of domestic violence in our house," he added. "My mother had a fifth-grade education when my father passed away. I was 12 years old – but my mother took on the task of raising us and she did it quite well."

"The reason why is because she had an overwhelming faith in God and she knew that she lived in the greatest nation on earth – and that all opportunities were open to her and to her children, and she told us so. Because of that, because she passed those things down to us, I'm now living my dream."

"America's still the place of dreams for everybody. it's still the greatest nation on earth. We want to teach that to our children. We want to make sure that our children understand the greatness of this nation, they understand the greatness of their founding documents, and those who founded the nation as well."

"That's why ending indoctrination in schools is such a passion of mine. We have got to ensure that things like critical race theory are not creeping in and causing our children to hate the nation that they live in."

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The group 1776 Action, which has received support from GOP stars Newt Gingrich and Ben Carson, has been pushing for political candidates to sign an anti-CRT pledge as the issue has grown in political importance. 

Across the country, parents and teachers have risen up to oppose what they see as highly divisive materials on race, gender and other aspects of students' identities. 

Defenders argue that CRT-type training helps enhance dominant groups' understanding and empathy of what the oppressed experience on a regular basis. These types of trainings have also been promoted as ways to "dismantle" or weaken alleged structures imposing burdens through bias and discrimination.

School districts like Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) have similarly defended so-called "equity" or "anti-racist" materials, which critics say perpetuates racism. 

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Earlier this year, major GOP gubernatorial candidates signed onto 1776 Action's anti-CRT pledge and others followed last month. 

The group was inspired by Carson's and former President Trump's 1776 Commission, which was created at the end of his administration to combat ideas like CRT. Shortly after his inauguration, President Biden repealed the measure as well as Trump's ban on the practice in trainings for federal employees.