By Mitch Kokai, Carolina Journal

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is backing a national group's fight against "anti-American indoctrination," including critical race theory, in public school classrooms. The group 1776 Action released a video this week with Robinson explaining his support for the campaign. The group released the video on Twitter.

“We're thrilled to have the support of @markrobinsonNC in our fight to stop anti-American indoctrination in our K-12 classrooms. We hope you'll sign The 1776 Citizen Pledge & join us today: https://t.co/mjGi49hz57 pic.twitter.com/Bzru5EEEWL

— 1776ActionOrg (@1776ActionOrg) July 7, 2021 “

Robinson tells the story of his family's response to early struggles. He emphasizes his mother's success in raising a family after his alcoholic father died.

"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," Robinson says in an address directly to the video's audience. "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," Robinson added. "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," he said. "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."

1776 Action routes viewers to a webpage tied to Robinson's name. It asks people to sign a "citizen pledge."

Underneath a photo of Robinson, the page says:

As a citizen, I believe that:

• The United States of America is an exceptional nation whose people have always strived to form a more perfect union based upon our founding principles. Our Founding Fathers – including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson – as well as leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. were among the greatest Americans to ever live, and they deserve to be honored as heroes.

• Our children and grandchildren should be taught to take pride in their country, to respect our founding principles of liberty and equality, and to have a sense of American history that is both truthful and inspiring.

• Civics education should focus on the serious study of our founding documents and principles – not coerce students into engaging in extracurricular political action on behalf of contemporary policy positions.

• Our young people should be taught to view one another not according to race or gender, but as individuals made in the image of God.

• Teaching children to hate their country and each other is immoral and deeply harmful to our society and must be stopped.

"Therefore, I pledge to help replace elected officials, school board members, education commissioners, principals, deans, and university presidents who promote a false, divisive, and radical view of America and our fellow citizens with new leaders who respect our history, our values, our rights, and the God-given dignity of every person," the page adds before seeking signatures.

At the state level, Robinson has instituted the Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students, or FACTS, task force. The group formed in March gives parents a forum for sharing concerns about indoctrination in N.C. schools.