Critical Race Theory?
The new hot tea of 2021 in the parental suburban world is whether “critical race theory” should be taught in schools. I know that every millennial that is reading this right now is likely cracking up, but I swear you guys. This is a real-life discussion. The question is…is “critical race theory” the best way of understanding how American racism has shaped public policy, or a divisive discourse that pits people of color against white people? In other words, is critical race theory a way to understand the wrongs that racism and enslavement has caused in American society, or are we just guilting the whites? Liberals and conservatives are in disarray. Let me put it into sports terms: the conservatives are Deontay Wilder in one corner and the Dems are Tyson Fury in another. Both parties are coming with the heat, but the Dems are slightly in the lead because critical race theory is now being taught in most schools.
A slew of conservative backlash popped up when The New York Times published The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones’, who is currently in the process of starting a Center For Democracy and Journalism at Howard University. The discussion has gotten even bigger now that kids are back in school. Now, numerous state legislatures are debating bills seeking to ban critical race theory in classrooms. As of late August, 27 states have introduced bills or taken other steps that would restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism, according to an Education Week analysis.
So what exactly is critical race theory?
Critical race theory is an academic concept that is about 40-years old. The basic framework for critical race theory, also known as CRT, derives from legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s by legal scholars like Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado. The core idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but something embedded in legal systems and policies. Yall know a love examples so here is a good one: gerrymandering. In the 1930s, government officials went full blown Picasso and drew lines around areas deemed poor or at-risk. Banks subsequently refused to offer mortgages to Black people in those areas. Hence, racism isn’t necessarily just white people disliking black people, it’s about policies that prohibit black people from advancing financially in society.
Here’s another one *dj Khaled voice.* Cities are raising the base-rent in certain neighborhoods that are predominately black or cities with a large re-entry population (people that have re-entered into society from prison). The majority of black people cannot afford those incomes, so they are forced out of their neighborhoods and replaced with white people that can afford it. Then they build a Whole Foods or a Chick-fil-A. It effects the re-entry population even more because if they can’t afford the rent, they may go back to the money-making habits that got them into prison in the first place and boom…another black person in jail. See, this is what we mean by systematic.
Did yall see the news article about a white mom arguing to ban critical race theory from school’s because her daughter came home asking if she was “born evil?” I’m not arguing for an eye for an eye here, but I wish you all could hear some of the things I came home asking my parents after a long day of being taught that my ancestors were slaves and that I was 3/5ths a person. It’s truly traumatizing. I didn’t understand why society had previously viewed me differently and honestly, no one could convince me that they didn’t view me differently now. The weirdest part was, my parents intentionally tried to shield me from that information because they didn’t want me to feel different from my classmates. But it was being shoved down my throat at school.
In all honesty, the past year has been insane, but it has increased public awareness about things like housing disparities, the impacts of criminal justice policy, and the legacy of enslavement for Blacks. But we still can’t come to an agreement about the government’s role should be in righting these past wrongs. Add children and schooling and things get even more dicey.
Moral of the story: You cannot teach the history of slavery in America without teaching critical race theory. If you want to teach young black kids that their ancestors were enslaved, then you need to teach young white kids that their ancestors were enslavers – and how that enslavement affects America today. The two go hand in hand in regard to helping kids understand the history of America. Once again, your favorite literary socialist has just given you this information for free. You’re welcome.
