The Classroom Crisis: How Education Reforms Unleashed Minnesota’s Violence

Minnesota’s cities now endure relentless cycles of violence, with countless lives lost. Americans are asking how such a descent into chaos unfolded.

Many shocked by recent protests and deadly confrontations blame federal fraud and corruption in social programs or aggressive immigration enforcement. But these are symptoms—not the root cause.

Minnesota is not an outlier; it’s a case study of what happens when institutions that once upheld moral restraint abandon their role. The true source traces back decades to what was termed the “long march through the institutions”—a phrase coined by Marxist student leader Rudi Dutschke in the late 1960s.

Dutschke’s strategy, distinct from Mao Zedong’s military campaign, aimed to transform society by infiltrating core institutions: universities, schools, media, courts, and even churches. The goal was to shape societal norms so that political outcomes would become inevitable.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) recently referenced Abraham Lincoln’s quote—“The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next”—when addressing the British Parliament. This insight explains why classrooms have been pivotal in this long march.

To advance Marxist ideology, obstacles like religious practices had to be removed. Prayer and Bible reading were stripped from public schools in 1962 and 1963. Without God’s moral restraints, lawlessness fills the void—creating fertile ground for Marxism.

Over time, the march spilled into streets. Confrontations in Minneapolis—whether involving George Floyd or Alex Pretti—have become routine. The rule of law relies on shared moral boundaries; once eroded, force alone cannot restore order.

Yet this is not the end. Efforts are now underway to reverse the long march. Just last week, I observed officials from Louisiana and Texas arguing in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals about laws placing the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

Ten years ago, such moves were discouraged by a distorted “separation of church and state” ideology. But the fruits of this march—lawlessness and chaos—are undeniable.

As a result, courageous parents, pastors, and officials are rising up. With constitutional authority and faith-based courage, they are working to restore what has always been essential: if we are to be one nation—under God.

Restoration begins not in Washington but in classrooms, courtrooms, churches, and homes.

Tony Perkins is president of Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand.