Kentucky state Representative Sarah Stalker of Louisville went viral this week after telling a legislative education committee, “I don’t feel good about being white every day,” while defending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in schools. Her remarks, made during the Interim Joint Committee on Education, instantly became fodder for critics who say the left has moved from legitimate discussion to outright self-loathing and race-based guilt.
Stalker doubled down in the hearing, calling Whiteness a “point of privilege” and saying that if she were a white man she would be “functioning from a point of even greater privilege,” claiming schools should give White kids the “opportunity” to reflect on how their skin color helps them move through the world. Those comments were framed as a defense of DEI, not an attack, but the effect was unmistakable: a lawmaker asking to institutionalize guilt rather than teach unity.
Republicans and conservative commentators reacted with deserved outrage, with state legislators and social-media users calling the rhetoric divisive and inappropriate for public education. Many pointed out that Sen. Lindsey Tichenor’s bill to end DEI in K–12 settings is exactly the kind of common-sense response voters want, and that forcing identity confessionals on children is a bridge too far.
This incident is not an isolated gaffe; it’s a snapshot of the larger left-wing project in schools that substitutes ideology for education. When elected officials openly promote making children “feel bad” about their heritage under the guise of inclusion, parents have every right to push back and demand curricula that teach factual history without ideological indoctrination.
For context, Stalker has represented Kentucky’s 34th House District since January 2023 and has been vocal about her support for DEI and other progressive priorities. Her own campaign materials make clear her focus on equity and inclusion, but what she revealed in that committee room — an eagerness to prioritize identity guilt over unity — will not sit well with mainstream Kentuckians.
Conservative Americans should see this viral moment for what it is: evidence that the woke movement remains alive and well inside state government, and that the fight to protect kids from political indoctrination must continue. Lawmakers who put ideology before children’s education should be held accountable at the ballot box and by concerned parents who want classrooms focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic — not race confessionals.
Hardworking Americans who value common sense and unity should be energized, not demoralized, by episodes like this. Stand up for your kids, support candidates who will defend neutral, fact-based schooling, and remember that patriotism and pride in our country are not something to be ashamed of — they are worth protecting.
