DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — Activist and minister Paul Scott spoke outside Thursday night’s Durham school board meeting about critical race theory, asking that more cities across the triangle, state, and country follow in Durham’s footsteps when it comes to teaching the curriculum.

The battle over critical race theory and whether it should or shouldn’t be taught in schools continues to intensify.

According to Education Week, 25 states have taken steps in recent months to limit discussions on racism and sexism in the classroom or introduce bills restricting teaching critical race theory, including North Carolina through House Bill 324, limiting how teachers address race and sex in class.

The Durham School board approved a resolution opposing that bill, saying the lessons will continue. and that they hope other school districts follow suit.

“It’s critically important that we are able to teach the truth about what’s happened in our history. We serve a student body that’s majority students of color and we want to make sure our students and their families are represented in the curriculum that we teach,” said Bettina Umstead, Chair of the Durham Public Schools Board.

Some critics argue that the curriculum will make children of other races feel badly about their own race.

However, activist Minister Paul Scott, the Durham Black Messiah Movement founder, says it’s just the opposite. Scott spoke to the community outside the Durham school board meeting Thursday to encourage these teachings in more places than Durham, to avoid repeating troubled parts of the country’s history.

“There’s a lot of violence in Durham and if we teach our young people the atrocities that were done on their ancestors they’ll think twice before they do it to themselves, and we want to see that duplicated across the country,” said Min. Scott.

Scott says he plans to continue speaking out and teaching people about the importance of critical race theory across the Triangle.