In May 2016, Norton received national attention when she announced her opposition to a bill which would require that the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] , written by [[Thomas Jefferson]], be taught in Louisiana public schools. She declared the Declaration "[[racist]]" because it did not apply to [[Slavery|slaves]]. "For the Declaration of Independence, only [[Caucasian]]s [were] free. And for you to bring a bill to request that our children will recite the Declaration, I think it's a little bit unfair."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/05/28/louisiana-state-representative-barbara-norton-declaration-independence-racist|title=State Rep: Declaration of Independence Is Racist|publisher=[[Fox News]]|accessdate=September 1, 2020}}</ref> | In May 2016, Norton received national attention when she announced her opposition to a bill which would require that the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] , written by [[Thomas Jefferson]], be taught in Louisiana public schools. She declared the Declaration "[[racist]]" because it did not apply to [[Slavery|slaves]]. "For the Declaration of Independence, only [[Caucasian]]s [were] free. And for you to bring a bill to request that our children will recite the Declaration, I think it's a little bit unfair."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/05/28/louisiana-state-representative-barbara-norton-declaration-independence-racist|title=State Rep: Declaration of Independence Is Racist|publisher=[[Fox News]]|accessdate=September 1, 2020}}</ref> |