The US Department of Education has hung large banners in front of its building in Washington DC, including one with an image of the late far-right commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, who was shot and killed last September while speaking at an event on the Utah Valley University campus, co-founded the conservative nonprofit organization Turning Point USA, which advocates and promotes conservative politics among young people, particularly on college campuses.
Photos show that Kirk’s likeness has been displayed in the Department of Education building along with banners honoring Catharine Beecher, a prominent 19th-century American educator and advocate for women’s education, and Booker T Washington, an influential educator and writer who championed educational opportunities for black Americans in the post-Civil War United States and became the first principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School in Alabama, now Tuskegee University.
A banner next to the three figures reads: “Empower our states to tell the stories of our heroes in American education.”
The Department of Education said in a statement: “We are proud to honor the visionary leaders whose contributions have shaped the future of education for generations.
“Their work reflects Benjamin Franklin’s timeless belief that ‘an investment in knowledge is in the best interest,'” he said, adding that “as our country marks a 250th historic milestone, this moment invites us all to join together in the pursuit of fostering educational opportunities that empower every student to grow, contribute, and help shape a better future for generations to come.”
The banner featuring Kirk has drawn criticism as the commentator was a polarizing figure who had made inflammatory and often racist and sexist comments during his career. Some online users also noted that Kirk had also called for the abolition of the Department of Education last year.
Although he once called the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a “mistake,” described abortion as “worse” than the Holocaust, and argued that “it is worth the cost of, sadly, a few gun deaths each year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights,” Donald Trump and his allies have praised Kirk as a “great American hero” and a “martyr” for freedom. In October, Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.
The new banners follow the unveiling last month at the Justice Department headquarters of a large banner featuring Trump’s face.
