One can love America and simultaneously be critical of the ways that structural racism has perpetuated racial inequities such as in health care, a fact acknowledged in a recent article by the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
There is nothing insidious or anti-American about acknowledging this fact. Critical race theory reminds us that on matters of race, America remains far from perfect and still a work in progress. Perhaps people need to be reminded that the first 15 words of the Preamble – “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union” – suggests that the Founding Fathers understood that America was a work in progress.
It appears that the ultimate goal of anti-critical race theory efforts is to prevent any discussion about racism that presents America as less than perfect. I provide students examples of how messages of Black deficiency, pathology and inferiority are embedded in school practices (e.g., disproportionately criminalizing the behavior of Black boys and girls). While I have never explicitly taught critical race theory, I do teach about how the systemic racism of American society and the perpetuation of anti-Black messages were factors that led to the creation of the Association of Black Psychologists. In some instances, accusations of teaching critical race theory are simply teachers teaching about racism. It doesn’t matter if schools actually teach critical race theory.
This characterization is a politicized misrepresentation of the theory that prevents and penalizes any discussion of the idea that systemic racism is, unfortunately, still very much present in American society.Ĭritics of critical race theory use it as an umbrella term to describe any examination of current systemic racism. There is now an energized conservative movement fueled by activists and politicians who claim critical race theory is divisive, hostile and anti-American, obsessed with race and “hateful lies,” and teaches kids to hate each other.Ĭritical race theory is not hostile, divisive or anti-American. Negative reactions to critical race theory have reached a fever pitch, with news stories depicting emotional parents at heated forums decrying what they believe to be the ills of critical race theory. Recently, Texas became the fifth state to pass a critical race theory bill, House Bill 3979, which states that “a teacher may not be compelled to discuss a particular event or widely debated currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.” If teachers choose to teach this type of material, they must “to the best of the teacher’s ability, strive to explore the topic from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.” More than a dozen other states are also considering critical race theory bills. Not surprisingly, critical race theory has become a target of America’s ongoing culture wars. Many of these efforts have been linked to the academic concept called critical race theory, which posits that racism is not simply acts of individual bias or prejudice, but rather is embedded in institutions, policies and legal systems.
The murder of George Floyd and other high-profile killings of Black people last summer prompted a surge of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to provide more education about racism and its harmful effects.