Critical Race Theory
This topic is showing up on many news fronts. I have some thoughts in a summary form and some links of interest. I am very conflicted about what I read but ask that you consider as you read about it (conflict race theory) that it is messy. My reading found me thinking of the Arabian Nights metaphor: seven blind men asked to describe an elephant. The news shares in the metaphor ie being blind, and feeling the parts of the elephant on the posterior end but do not really get the total picture.
From an introductory Article on Critical Race Theory (CRT) by Richard Delgado:
Elements of CRT:
1) It examines and asks for reconsideration of the paths our (US) civilization has taken since the Enlightenment!!!! As in, the Declaration of Independence, a document of the Enlightenment: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—-noting that our American society never acted on that principle as it regards minorities, broadly defined (included blacks, women, most immigrants, native Americans, etc).
2) It questions the legal system and identifies flaws regarding its structure and processes. As in, constitutional amendments making people of color citizens but despite that unambiguous amendment, the legal system collaborated with the continuance of a second class citizenship to this day.
3) It questions the Liberal political order, both generally (western political thought over centuries) and specifically (US politics defining liberals since FDR, for example). As in passing laws and incremental legal changes don’t fundamentally fix the race problem.
4) It identifies Race as a Social Construct not based on genetics or any scientific principle. It holds that racism is ubiquitous, business as usual. As in, we can all be cited for our behaviors as they relate to intolerance of others who are different.
5) It seeks to rectify the harm done to people of color in the United States with an emphasis on the ancestors of former slaves. As in?????
6) It identifies the value of “storytelling” ie subjective narratives of people who have suffered with an eye on their credibility being unquestioned because of their status as minorities. As in, storytelling may not be scientific but nonetheless, it is necessary and powerful as a tool to address the racial problem.
Critical Race Theory is being debated in the Tennessee Legislature, with an eye on prohibiting its teaching in schools. No irony there, given it was just about a hundred years ago the same legislative body passed a law making the teaching of evolution illegal in Tennessee. Are they on the right side of history this time? Are some of the ideas in CRT getting traction and going to change the way our children and grandchildren think as opposed to how our parents and grandparents thought?
I read the following editorial (https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/i-refuse-to-stand-by-while-my-students) and it pushed a lot of buttons for me. I ran it by an old teacher from high school. His impression was that the school was a bad fit for that teacher. That seemed just a little terse—-I thought he would be more sympathetic if not, outraged. On reflection, I gathered that, as in my medical world, it is not uncommon to hear a story of violation on the part of a patient only to find, if one took the time by talking to the other parties, that the violation was not as presented. Were I an investigative reporter, I would really like to know more about this school, the curriculum suggested, and processes described by the author in more detail. If you have personal examples of what he is describing, please let me know!
A different approach to “teaching” about prejudice in school occurred in 1968, the day after Martin Luther King was assassinated. Wikipedia has a nice article on Jane Elliot who had a week-long experiment with third graders allowing for favor (better recess time, class room privileges) within her class room based on eye color. She reversed who was favored half way through the week. She found that kids actually engaged and enjoyed the process of being prejudiced. Imagine your third grader coming home now with the paper for you to sign consenting to have your child participate in such an experiment……..It was remarkable social science done on the fly.
The people who collaborated and developed the principles of CRT were not mainstream political thinkers. Their roots are predictably found in the organizing political thoughts flowing from the 1960’s. As such, for many people, they are automatically suspect. That culture war started way before the 60’s and is still with us. Whatever your political roots, your assumptions about our collective history, education, and race relations, consider your options had you been unlucky enough to be born black in Central Detroit in the 1950’s, and the world your children and grandchildren would be navigating today. Would CRT seem illogical to you?
More importantly, if CRT makes sense for some and not for others, what kind of dialogue and what actions are needed to move forward?
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