Critical Race Theory: Crucial for Our Young Leaders
Some conservative lawmakers have spoken out against critical race theory. Taken from Twitter.
The question of why critical race theory, an idea that has been around since the 1980s, has been making so many headlines in the media today is a particularly salient one. The debate originated when Derrick Bell, a Harvard Law professor, wrote an important work that brought up the role of racism in American life and history. Students protested the lack of diversity within the Harvard faculty and sought to understand the history of racial inequality and hierarchies in America. Critical race theory has recently made headlines in the news due to several events which have exposed racial inequality in the United States, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. After insurgents stormed the capitol in January, more conversations about systemic racism and white supremacy have led to a greater amount of attention, but also debate, around critical race theory.
Recently, the teaching of critical race theory to American students from grades K-12 has been heavily contested by state governments, for both legal and ethical reasons concerning what knowledge is acceptable to teach to students. Critical race theory has been discussed heavily in schools as well as on the national level. In many town and municipal meetings, people have spoken out about this policy. For example, the Chandler Unified School District in Arizona defended themselves against the false reports of the district using critical race theory by saying that “Neither the Board nor Administration have had any discussions related to the exploration, adoption or implementation of the Critical Race Theory…” The debate over critical race theory has thus not only been a national hot topic, but also one that directly affects the education of children.
Multiple Republican legislators have proposed bills to control the amount of attention towards issues like racism and social justice; specifically, much of this legislation is engineered towards the eradication of teaching critical race theory. Additionally, opposition to critical race theory is centered around the fear that it will generate racist beliefs towards white people. The text of a Texas bill, for example, focuses on banning the act of inflicting guilt upon white students, as well as forbidding any teaching that implies “meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist.”
According to legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, critical race theory “critiques how the social construction of race and institutionalized racism perpetuate a racial caste system that relegates people of color to the bottom tiers.” Critical race theory does not deem a certain group of people racist but rather acknowledges that all sorts of people can perpetuate racism in their daily lives unintentionally. The reason that there is heavy contention around the theory in education is because it can bring up the concept of race too early or cause students to feel guilt. However, critical race theory is important to teach because it exposes students to the blatant inequalities which are rampant in the current system. For example, there is inequality in the segregation of Black and Latinx populations in schools. Furthermore, there are countless racial disparities in education: fewer educational resources, such as computers and teaching materials, are found in school districts with predominantly low-income students of color. This disparity is due to many reasons, including the amount of money schools receive. In Arizona, for example, impoverished white districts receive about $19,000 per student whereas low-income districts with predominantly people of color receive around $8,000. Furthermore, in states such as Oklahoma and Colorado, state tax limits prevent districts from receiving adequate funding for each student.
Many actions have been taken to halt critical race theory from entering schools. Some conservative decision-makers, in particular, have opposed terms such as “structural racism” or “internalized white supremacy” as they do not wish for it to be a part of education or job training. For example, Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma signed a bill that prohibited educators from advocating that racism could be an inherent trait and banned teachers from discussing race- or sex-based guilt. Furthermore, this past June in Texas, Governor Greg Abbot signed a piece of legislation that barred the teaching of critical race theory in schools without any explanation of the theory itself. The law instead included a ban on discussing controversial current events and training based on sexual and racial discrimination, among other things. Opponents of critical race theory tend to take a colorblind approach to the matter, preferring to proclaim that race ought to be a non-factor in one's judgment of someone else. Some find critical race theory to be threatening because they interpret it to have an anti-patriotic tint: when speaking on critical race theory, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the idea was “basically teaching kids to hate our country and to hate each other based on race,” noting that he wanted “content of character to be the most important thing” rather than race.
However, many of those opposed to critical race theory misunderstand it. Critical race theory should be taught in schools because, according to the scholars who helped develop the term, it does not actively deem all white people as racist or spew racist ideas that should lead to fear among school districts. For example, critical race theory could be used to re-examine systemic racism in education. In Brown v. Board of Education, for instance, the achievement of illegal segregation in education did not address racial inequality post civil rights era or outline a detailed plan for integrated education. Underlying problems of racism are embedded within American social systems such as healthcare and the criminal justice system. For example, Black Americans make up 47% of the criminal justice system’s false convictions. Furthermore, in our healthcare system, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that ethnic and racial minority groups are more likely to risk getting the disease. Moreover, “essential workers” in America are disproportionately members of racial and ethnic minority groups, leading them to be more exposed to the risk of COVID-19.
Critical race theory gives students the framework to understand the structures of inequality that affect marginalized people every day. Instead of teaching American exceptionalism, we should challenge its ideals. American history was often unkind to people of color, women, and other minority groups; when we don’t teach important topics such as critical race theory, we ignore the experiences of oppressed groups. We must address all parts of America's past in order to create real, positive change.
In addition, some of those opposed to critical race theory quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a way to justify that we should not bring any unnecessary consideration to color. In Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” for example, he states that he wishes his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Some argue that this illustrates that we should not draw attention to race, as we are all equal as human beings. However, those who make these arguments do not realize that Dr. King’s words align with the ideas of critical race theory. For example, in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King writes about the unjustness of police brutality in Birmingham. In his nonviolent campaign, he addresses that people must have a “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist.” Thus, King believes that we must better understand why laws and systems of white power in the United States are unjust. King’s focus on inequality indeed encourages us to look into how racism in America occurs, and his works do not necessarily provide ideas that support those who oppose critical race theory.
School curriculums and government officials should reconsider the inclusion of critical race theory in the nation’s K-12 education system. In order to grow as a society, we must introduce the crucial topics of race, privilege, and diversity to our future leaders. This will allow them to bring about change by addressing and working towards solutions regarding racial discrimination. Furthermore, the teaching of critical race theory will give a platform to the experiences of racial minorities and how they have been impacted by America’s legal system throughout history. By teaching critical race theory, we will open up the possibility of changing America, giving us hope for a better future.
Anna Qiang (CC’25) is a staff writer for CPR. She is interested in political science and international law.