Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become the main target of this country’s book burners, racism-deniers, and memory-killers. It’s targeted precisely because it offers a radical and challenging perspective that reveals how racism shapes the everyday reality of the world; from law courts and prisons to the economy, schools, media, and health care.
CRT is the latest dog-whistle being painted as “anti-white propaganda” by white supremacists and demagogic right-wing politicians, starting with former President Donald Trump. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The real value of CRT is that it enables us to see racism not just as “prejudice” or as a set of wrong ideas held by (mainly poor and working-class) white people but rather as a system of laws, policies, culture, and relationships that were implanted in this country beginning with slavery in 1619 and continued with reforms and modifications to this day.
The retrograde trend in public education
“Critical race theory, the 1619 Project, and the crusade against American history is toxic propaganda, ideological poison that, if not removed, will dissolve the civic bonds that tie us together. It will destroy our country.” — Donald Trump
In Florida, a slew of bills has been advanced attacking everything from diversity rights, abortion protections, and free speech in schools, in addition to a proposal that would legally shield white people from feeling “discomfort” over the state’s racist past. Gov. Ron DeSantis is currently pushing a bill that would ban discussions of all sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
Christina Cauterucci at Slate writes:
But it is not necessarily the point of these laws to be read and followed precisely as written. Instead, the lawmakers who advance them intend to create a chilling effect, such that teachers and school administrators are too afraid to teach LGBTQ history, discuss relevant current events, or offer support to queer and trans students, lest they run afoul of a vaguely written law.
DeSantis is even planning to run for president in ‘24, using anti-CRT as his platform in much the same way that Alabama Gov. George Wallace ran four times between 1964 and 1976, using the slogan "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." The slogans, faces, and dog whistles have changed but the reactionary forces they represent remain the same.
Whether we like it or not, teaching/learning is often an uncomfortable, challenging, enterprise. Race and sex are probably the most discomforting topics, both for parents and teachers.
Critical Race theory and other forms of anti-racist curricula may be discomforting for some as well as challenging, exciting, and provocative for many others. But that discomfort, excitement, and provocation lie at the very heart of education.