The ABCs of CRT
Dear Leading Ladies,
There’s a lot in the news right now about critical race theory (CRT). What is it and what is it not? And should it be taught in our schools?
As with many matters in our current media world, misinformation about CRT abounds on numerous platforms. In addition, organizations have sprouted up around the country, many planted by irate parents – No Left Turn in Education, SchoolhouseRights.org, Parents Defending Education, to name a few – and school boards have been stormed by protesters averse to what they fear is being taught to their children.
This week, we’d like to try to present some truths about the matter.
A young boy at the “colored” water fountain at the county courthouse in Halifax, North Carolina in 1938. Photo from CNN
What is Critical Race Theory?
The Harvard Law Record published the most concise and readable definition of critical race theory that we found. “Derrick Bell (1930-2011), a civil rights lawyer, a scholar-activist, and the first black tenured professor at HLS [Harvard Law School], helped found Critical Race Theory (“CRT”) in the 1970s...CRT scholars have three core tenets. First, racism and other forms of subordination are deeply embedded in the legal system and in the ordinary functions of our society. Second, both elite and working-class whites accrue benefits from this system and thus are often induced into helping to maintain it. This is known as interest-convergence theory. Third, racism and other forms of subordination are socio-political and economic constructs used to preserve the subordination of minority groups in an effort to preserve white supremacy.
“Accordingly, CRT rejects the traditional civil rights incrementalist approaches and questions theories of ‘color-blindness,’ liberalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law. Thus, CRT’s goals are to help lawyers, scholars, activists, and communities build social movements that are anti-oppressive and to dismantle systems of oppression rather than reform them.”
This definition makes it clear that critical race theory is an academic area of study at the higher education level. CRT is not taught to young children, although it may influence and inform elementary and secondary school curricula. Detractors of anti-racism efforts in the schools do not make this distinction.
What is NOT Critical Race Theory?
Detractors are banking on most people not knowing what critical race theory is. That way, they can rush in and offer a compelling negative definition, one that they hope will help them in the upcoming midterm elections, NBC investigative reporter Tyler Kingkade believes. To that end, newscasters on Fox News and News Max deride CRT as “Woke indoctrination” and “the road to death camps for white people,” among other untruths.
“The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory,’” Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, wrote. “We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans.” He vowed in another tweet to make the term “toxic” in the public imagination – to represent what many would find most reprehensible.
The presentation of CRT as a doctrine that undermines free speech, promotes Marxism, shames white students, and encourages sexual deviancy is false. CRT does none of this but, more important, CRT is not what is being taught in schools. In fact, “Virtually all school districts insist they are not teaching critical race theory, but many activists and parents have begun using it as a catch-all term to refer to what schools often call equity programs, teaching about racism or LGBTQ-inclusive policies,” according to Tyler Kingkade, Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins of NBC News.
What can we do?
Steve Bannon, well-known conservative, former Trump adviser, and critic of critical race theory, believes, “The path to save the nation is very simple — it’s going to go through the school boards.” Responding to a group of parents storming a school board meeting to protest what they claimed was the teaching of CRT to their children, Bannon said on his podcast, “We’re gonna’ take this back. This is going to come from the human agency of patriots taking back a school board and throwing the bums out.” He and others are calling for recalls of current school board members and elections of new board members who disapprove of CRT and any of the anti-racist, updated accurate history, or equitable practices that are now being called CRT.
Those running for local school board positions do not run along party lines; in other words, they do not run as Democrats or Republicans. They do, however, run with opinions and positions about curricula and school policies. Once elected, they also influence their district’s superintendent.
So let’s beat Bannon at his own game. Here’s how we can start:
Find out where your current school board members stand on these issues:
Are they committed to making education equitable for all children in their district?
Are they in favor of teaching about the complex past of slavery and the fates of the indigenous Americans; the roles of the North and South in the Civil War; the successes and failures of the post-Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights eras?
Are they committed to having authors of color represented in the books students read?
Are they committed to recognizing the achievements of people of color in all disciplines, including science, mathematics, literature, art, history, etc.?
Do they acknowledge the need for continuing learning and training for staff and faculty around issues that concern race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and other factors that may make some students feel marginalized?
Find out who is running in the next school board election in your community and where they stand on the above matters. Vocally support those who stand behind your values. If so-called CRT opponents are pressuring current board members to leave, fight for them to stay in their positions.
Lastly, ask your school district to articulate its understanding of critical race theory, including what its detractors are falsely calling critical race theory. Encourage the board to be transparent with the public about its efforts to address systemic racism; introduce curriculum innovations that reflect multiculturalism and correct historical inaccuracies as well as omissions; and provide training for staff and faculty to promote understanding of bias and sensitivity.
This week we recommend
Teaching Hard History: Short Videos about American Slavery from Learning for Justice
Stacey Abrams recently spoke about her ability to remain hopeful despite setbacks such as the recent failure of the Voting Rights Act in the Senate. She referred to her enduring patriotism and her faith that we are gaining ground. So, for her, hope is the only option.
We’re with Stacey.
Therese
Judy
Beth
Mary
Leading Ladies Executive Team
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org
leadingladiesvote.org