Critical Race Theory doesn’t teach discrimination. It teaches about discrimination.
The right to teach factual history, inclusiveness, and diversity is under attack. Critical Race Theory is an advanced theory in ethnic studies that examines how racial inequality is the result of unequal institutions from the past and the present. This theory says that racism and racial inequality is not caused by individuals, but by systemic oppression in racist institutions.
CRT is not a new theory but has been gaining attention since 2020 when news and media outlets began blowing up the conversation and reporting on far-right agendas to ban CRT in education. CRT has been wildly misrepresented as a divisive conversation that puts people of color against white people. In reality, the goal of CRT is to dismantle these claims, turn our attention to the ways historical U.S. racism shaped policies and institutions today, and promote justice.
K-12 education has been attacked by anti-intellectual propagandists who want to ban CRT. CRT is too advanced for K-12 students and does not get taught in these grades, yet there is so much focus on K-12 because CRT is used to inform educators on how to promote diversity and inclusion in their classrooms.
Banning CRT means banning factual history and diversity studies. Banning CRT is a way to rewrite history and restrict who gets to have their story told. It is the first step towards the weaponization and restriction of education.