Critical Race Theory and American Education

By: Mildred Robertson

The buzz phrase among republicans and conservatives these days is “Critical Race Theory," (CRT) defined as “an academic movement of civil-rights scholars and activists in the United States seeking to critically examine U.S. law as it intersects with issues of race in the U.S. and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice.” Seems simple enough, right?  But the term has been weaponized to attack a national shift toward better understanding racism and how it is rooted in this nation’s history of slavery and the dehumanization of people of color.  

There is disagreement between liberals and conservatives about what is “critical race theory.”  In fact, CRT is just that, a theory of race and racism in America.  It is taught primarily in colleges and universities and is designed to help students examine race in America and understand how it has informed America’s societal norms and  public policy related to people of color. It is not, as many on the right proclaim, a way to make white children hate America.  The aim of the study is to examine American history and address the dehumanizing effects race has had not only on the Africans who suffered through slavery, but also on the slave owners who had to forgo their humanity in order to enslave another human being. 

The knee-jerk reaction of conservatives, and yes, racists, when one begins to examine slavery is to downplay the cruelty and inhumanity of the system, and paint it as a benevolent necessity for development of the New World. And it is true that America could not have thrived as it did without the free labor the system provided. But because of the brutality of the system, Europeans had to create a scenario to justify their actions. That is why the African was portrayed as a savage, less than human…not entitled to human dignity or human comforts. Public policy in America was then created based upon this concept of the innate inferiority of enslaved people. 

For instance, in the 1930s, government officials literally drew lines around areas deemed poor financial risks, often explicitly due to the racial composition of inhabitants. Banks subsequently refused to offer mortgages to Black people in those areas. Today the pattern continues as cities prevent affordable housing developments in majority white neighborhoods. These are not pleasant facts, but they are part of the foundation upon which this nation was built. In order to create a more just society, we must examine how America came to be and the integral part played by enslaved people in its building. 

It is alleged that the study of CRT will create a greater divide between whites and blacks, and will negatively impact the perception of America by white children exposed to it. However, there is a difference between CRT taught in colleges and universities, and the simple teaching of history in public schools. 

History is fact-based. It simply tells what happened, when it happened, where it happened, who it happened too, and sometimes examines why it happened. Our public schools must present students with historical facts as they occurred.  Public education should present an authentic retelling of this country’s history. 

Our storied history is a saga of good and evil. We offer our children a disservice if we do not present our authentic selves to them, and provide them the tools to build on the good and reject the bad. That is the only way to make our society better. We are not responsible for the bad decisions made centuries ago; but we are responsible for the ones we make now.

We can address the legacy of slavery that plagues our nation to this day by creating thoughtful, truthful, age-appropriate curriculum to address race in America. We can only do that, however, if we face the reality of our history and chart an informed path for our future.