OPINION: Distorted views on Critical Race Theory
Capitol rally to "Stop critical race theory in Pennsylvania Schools" on July 14, 2021. Photo by Dan Gleiter.
Zach Richards is a junior studying history and an opinion writer for The New Political.
Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.
The right-wing media machine is focusing on yet another aspect in the culture war. With a sense of identity largely based around grievances, outlets such as Fox News and Newsmax tend to direct attention to individual media properties that sometimes seem absurd for 30% of the country to be getting mad about.
At first, narratives about topics such as Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head seem silly. In actuality, it is a great opportunity for right-wingers to perpetuate a narrative that left-wing social justice ideas are out of control, and woke corporations are trying to bring down and politicize every institution the left does not agree with. Many conservatives tend to use this idea to shift focus towards social issues they would not typically pay attention to. For example, men who would not be caught dead pretending to care about women’s sports will suddenly prioritize their sanctity when it gives them an excuse to attack transgender people.
That said, there has been one recent conservative moral panic that has lasted longer than a traditional news cycle, and that is the panic that teachers are teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) to students.
To oversimplify a complicated topic, Critical Race Theory is based on Critical Theory. Critical Theory is a form of philosophy with an emphasis on understanding human power structures and hierarchies in order to overcome them. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy gives extra details, saying “In both the broad and the narrow senses, however, a critical theory provides the descriptive and normative bases for social inquiry aimed at decreasing domination and increasing freedom in all their forms.”
Critical Race Theory then seeks to use Critical Theory with an emphasis on racial hierarchies. It’s a complex academic discipline primarily discussed at a college level, and for this reason, is not generally being taught in K-12 classrooms and probably never will be.
One big idea Critical Race Theory has to offer is intersectionality, the idea that people can feel oppression from multiple different sources or be oppressed while oppressing others.
Another essential idea of Critical Race Theory is to examine the ways systematic racism still oppresses people of color today. A lot of conservatives particularly object to this, thinking the current de jure equality under the law that all American citizens are guaranteed means that everyone has an equal shot to succeed in this country. Or they at least believe that a white person will not have an easier time than a Black person, all else being equal.
There is some debate to be had about the continued impact of discrimination on people of color (and Black people in particular). Critical Race Theory is a large part of that debate. Nevertheless, it seems absurd to suggest that after 250 years of slavery, plus another 100 years of Jim Crow laws in this country, we were able to eliminate systematic racism and all its lingering effects with just a couple of laws passed in the 1960s.
Fundamentally, Critical Race Theory is an ongoing process in academic circles, a process that’s been going on since the 1970’s. Kimberlé Crenshaw, who helped develop the idea of intersectionality, has said that Critical Race Theory is not a noun, but a verb.
Critical race theory has been around for decades, but recent conservative fear-mongering has led to chaos at school board meetings and statewide programs leading to the banning of the practice, and even proposals to monitor teachers to make sure schools do not teach the curriculum.
Many conservatives are leading these initiatives under the idea that Critical Race Theory is racism against white people. Conservative thought leaders believe that teachers teaching children Critical Race Theory means that they are teaching kids to hate white people and whiteness.
Teachers are beginning to teach many of these topics in the classroom to provide students with a better idea of how racial minorities have been and still are systematically oppressed. This is a good thing. It’s important that students learn about the history of race in this country, as the topic of race is so foundational to American history that students will not have a true understanding of the history of politics, education, culture, finance, religion, or even language in this country without understanding how racism has influenced and continues to influence it.
However, this gives many liberals the idea that Critical Race Theory actually is being taught in schools, leading to arguments about why that is good.
To put it simply, Critical Race Theory is not being taught in public schools because it is too advanced. If students are learning it, they are likely in an advanced college course.
At the end of the day, Critical Race Theory is an ongoing process in academic circles. Kimberlé Crenshaw, who helped develop the idea of intersectionality, has said Critical Race Theory is not a noun, but a verb. It’s an advanced academic discipline and, for that reason, generally is not being taught in public schools and probably never will be.
Critical Race Theory is not teaching that white people are evil, or a type of diversity training, or a different way of teaching American history.
Conservative thought leaders often spread false ideas about what Critical Race Theory is, and there is not much the general public can do about it. However, it is important that, at the very least, left-wingers have a comprehensive definition of Critical Race Theory. A recent poll showed just 5% of people familiar with CRT were able to accurately answer seven questions about it.
In some liberal circles, people are arguing that Critical Race Theory being taught in schools is good. However, that belief accepts a conservative premise of the argument, that Critical Race Theory is being taught at schools at all. Accepting this premise allows conservatives to claim that liberals are shifting the goalposts. Conservatives can point to liberals saying that CRT is being taught in schools and use it to say they were right all along when in reality they were wrong. CRT was not and is still not being taught in schools.
Ultimately, when it comes to CRT debates, liberals should make it a point to be on the side of truth. Left-wing activists can and should make an argument that things like redlining and the Tulsa Race Riots should be included in American history courses, but that is not the same as Critical Race Theory.
