May 13, 2026
Arizona schools direct students to SPLC’s ‘hate map’ to condemn Christian, conservative groups
‘Using the recently indicted Southern Poverty Law Center as an authority on extremism has become a way to discredit and marginalize viewpoints that the Left opposes,’ said AFA Action CEO Walker Wildmon
TUPELO, Miss. — The Lake Havasu Unified School District in Arizona discovered a lesson from Savvas Learning Company that recommended teachers direct their students to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) “hate map” to avoid the resources of “hate groups.” SPLC has been under attack for categorizing mainstream conservative and Christian groups — PragerU, Turning Point USA, Alliance Defending Freedom and others — on a “hate map” with chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. According to the curriculum audit, named “Creating Inclusive Classrooms,” “Students are thus directed to organizations accused of far-left advocacy and who attack critics of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
Walker Wildmon, CEO of AFA Action, the governmental affairs affiliate of the American Family Association, is urging parents to demand accountability when their children’s education begins to look more like indoctrination than education.
“When schools circulate materials that lump mainstream Christian and conservative organizations alongside actual hate groups, parents have every reason to be alarmed,” said Wildmon. “Groups like American Family Association, Turning Point USA and Focus on the Family are being targeted not because they promote hate, but because they challenge the godless ideological agenda dominating many educational institutions. Using the recently indicted Southern Poverty Law Center as an authority on extremism has become a way to discredit and marginalize viewpoints that the Left opposes. Students should be taught how to engage ideas critically, not handed a political enemies list in the classroom. Parents are right to demand answers when education starts looking more like activism.”
AFA Actionis a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to advancing biblical family values in society and government by shaping public policy through education and advocacy.The mission of AFA Action is to inform and mobilize individuals to strengthen the biblical foundations of America by persuading individuals with the truth of the Gospel, challenging the lost to repent, promoting societal values that are consistent with Scripture, restraining evil and exposing the works of darkness, motivating people to take a stand on cultural and moral issues, and encouraging Christians to bear witness to the world the love of Jesus Christ. Find AFA Action Alerts here.
For more information on the American Family Association, visitwww.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or X.
For more information on AFA Action, visitwww.afaaction.net or follow AFA Action on Facebook or X.
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To interview an AFA or AFA Action spokesperson, contact Hamilton Strategies, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.
