I am more than slightly amused and agitated by the current political climate and what is being made of Critical Race Theory. After all, who knows anything about CRT? Apparently not many know much about it. Then, if that’s the case, who is talking about it as a big deal? Apparently, many people all the way from the White House to the halls of congress to the state house to my friends and neighbors, and yours as well. It has become synonymous with race and slavery and other such words and notions. It has been weaponized by some folks over on the right to beat up folks over on the left. It has left school teachers in a quandary as to how to teach the history of America in these polarized and polarizing times.
The Short Verse
The short verse, for people who like to look at short summaries of things I write, goes like this. The concept of Critical Race Theory was developed in a law school setting as a way of organizing a massive amount of information around race, racism, systemic racism, laws, oppression, and the like. It is not something that is taught in middle schools or high schools. It is taught in political science departments as what it is, a theory that organizes information. In the world from which I come, psychology and marriage and family therapy, “theory drives practice,” and the converse, “practice shapes theory.” CRT developed as a way of making sense out of complicated systems that impact people of color. It became weaponized in 2020 when a researcher was interviewed on Fox News. President Trump watched the interview and called the writer to his office a couple of days later. Soon thereafter, the President signed the executive order, “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,” as a reaction to sensitivity trainings that were being held at various federal entities around the country. At the same time, religious folk caught wind of it and began to make a big to-do of it which led to the Southern Baptists and their decree against it in favor of the Bible taking primacy in matters of race and racism. From there, various state legislatures in Republican dominated states took up the mantel and wrote laws outlawing CRT, despite the fact that CRT had never been taught in those states, even lifting key points from the list inside the executive order.
So, much ado about nothing. Something that academics think about has now been foisted upon the schools and teachers of our country out of a reactionary stance that will lead to downplaying the significance of race, slavery, oppression, and all manner of things that are important in this history of our country. Besides, no one teaches CRT to elementary, middle school, or high school kids. To assume such is ridiculous. Teach them the truth of America and let them know that we are a democracy, a work in progress, still ongoing and yet unfinished.
For Those Who Want More Detail, Please Read On
I am a family psychologist. I have a doctorate in counseling psychology and am licensed as a psychologist and marriage and family therapist in Texas. In my work with families, I am guided by several theories: family systems theory, general systems theory, and by a basic set of models with their theoretical orientations and assumptions. The mantra is “theory drives practice” and “practice shapes theory.” Rather than just going on and doing stuff with individuals, couples, or families, students are taught theoretical orientations and the techniques and interventions that are consistent with those orientations. They learn what the assumptions are for those theories. There are with each theory assumptions about universalities as well as idiosyncrasies.
I have spent my academic life learning, teaching, supervising, and practicing from a number of theoretical orientations with their assumptions and interventions. I love that stuff.
In terms of Critical Race Theory. Notice the second word and the third word. Those are important. RACE. THEORY.
Some people do not know what they are talking about and their ignorance shows.
For instance, here is a politician from Colorado who seems to get a lot of traction with CRT. Lauren Boebert, @laurenboebert, who tweeted on May 20, 2021:
“Critical race “theory” is a complete farce. Anyone familiar with the scientific method would know you need a hypothesis before a theory. They use pseudoscientific terms to try and make people fall for their racist delusions.”
Her tweet is ludicrous on so many different levels. It does not merit a response other than "she needs to go back to school and attend some basic science and social science classes."
One of my questions is this: how did a theoretical frame from an academic environment, specifically originating in a legal environment, generally taught to upper division undergraduate students, or first year law students, come to be a tire-tool for politicians and people on the right end of the spectrum? This article chronicles the story. A reporter, Christopher Rufo, did his research and appeared on the Tucker Carlson show. President Trump heard the interview, called Rufo to his office, and then on September 4, 2020, he signed an executive order. https://religiondispatches.org/where-did-white-evangelicalisms-hatred-of-critical-race-theory-really-begin/
This, however, is
only one thread. Pastor John MacArthur, a minister of some renown, had been
speaking and writing about the evils of CRT for some time. Southern Baptists
then took it up at their national convention and approved a resolution
denouncing doctrines related to Critical Race Theory.
The table was set. That which we know nothing about is now spouted in the highways and the bi-ways of life in America in print and across various social media platforms.
And then I got to thinking, “What do I know about Critical Race Theory, and how far back does my limited understanding go? I had to go no further than an article published by Hinson and Robinson in 2008.
I actually stumbled onto the concept by accident somewhere prior to 2008. Dr. Edward Robinson and I had been writing an article about African American farmers and their struggles with land loss and the USDA. Sandra Jones-Havard (2001), a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, a person with whom I correspond on occasion, had written materials that were game-changing for me. She helped me understand the political and economic machinations of the county committee system across America and how it had been co-opted into taking land from Black farmers.
Professor Jones-Havard made this assertion:
“In this instance, I posit that critical race theory provides a basis for understanding how flawed representational democracy presents an example of political space and its consequences. In other words, critical race theory provides a basis for examining the construction of race as a neutral, accepted dominant norm. While there is a tendency to view what is really a failed attempt at power sharing between the federal and local government as successful cooperative federalism, I argue instead that the geographical space (the county) defines the political space (who becomes representatives or members of the county committee). The all-white composition of those committees turned the race-neutral process of determining loan eligibility into one of domination and subordination (337).”
In my vernacular, I have said for years publicly and privately, “The County Committee System is the best of democracy and the worst of democracy. We get to vote, a right of a citizen of our country, and we get to vote our prejudices.” And sometimes those votes and prejudices become power and a reflection of institutional racism because the system allows itself to continue.
To back track a tad, “What is Critical Race Theory and where did it come from?” Lauren Michelle Jackson, in her article in The New York Times, chronicled the development of CRT by Professor Derrick Bell and his work in civil rights and working for Thurgood Marshall. His text, “Race, Racism, and American Law” is generally considered pivotal to the development of CRT. These things happened in the mid-1970s, not really that long ago. They happened in a law school setting, not in grass roots America. Here is the article here.
Critical Race Theory is Defined
“Critical Race Theory, or CRT, is a theoretical and interpretive mode that examines the appearance of race and racism across dominant cultural modes of expression. In adopting this approach, CRT scholars attempt to understand how victims of systemic racism are affected by cultural perceptions of race and how they are able to represent themselves to counter prejudice.
For those who want
to read some more, try this one as it explains the path CRT has taken from an
academic to a weapon of the right, the story is found here.
The Southern Baptist statement is here.
The President’s Executive Order, the White House to the State House
So, Trump wrote, or rather signed, an Executive Order in September, 2020. It was clearly written by lawyers and all. It provides a huge section of background, all explaining the error of our ways if we use this theoretical formulation to draw any practical conclusions. His document then lists a number of “divisive concepts,” all of which in my opinion are grossly overstated and appealing to a particular segment of our society, e.g., his supporters. See the entire document here.
A number of states like Texas and Tennessee have developed language which mimics the Executive Order. Here is one from Texas.
Here is the one from Tennessee.
Here is what I find most fascinating when looking at the Executive Order, Texas’ bill, and Tennessee’s bill: the bills appropriate the language of the Executive Order, and sometimes the precise language is followed. Some additions are made, but by and large, the template was laid out by the president for state legislatures to perpetuate legally. In academic circles that is called plagiarism, but I guess it’s called something else when it comes from the White House to the State House.
All of these create “straw figures” against which to fight. All of these illustrate extraordinarily shallow thinking about the history of our country, racism, slavery, Jim Crow, the mistreatment of First Nations people, and all manner of other things. They all assume that if we critique our country, that we will hate it. The opposite might actually be true. So, let’s get legislators involved in the teaching business and tell them what to teach and how and what the consequences will be if they don’t. Seems like we left out the notion that teachers are prepared and know how to teach what.
So, What is America Afraid Of?
One thing that the Texas bill includes that is not in the Executive Order nor in Tennessee’s bill, is a list of topics and key authors. Yes, Native Americans, slavery, and other key topics, along with key persons like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and numerous others such as Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings (wow!!). MLK, Brown v. Board of Education, Cesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony, the history of the KKK, the civil rights movement, and many others. It is curious that the lists are not exhaustive. Other materials can be included. Teachers, however, are limited in their ability to respond to difficult topics. They must discuss all sides of an issue, something that I think is a good idea anyway, and the topics more often than not must be student initiated. Some thing that the laws will dampen teachers’ abilities to teach. I hope to find out how it works out for teachers in my area of Texas.
So, a theory which originated in a law school setting has now been placed into law in several states and the theory has become a tire tool for which one party can beat up on another party. A legal theory that helps us to understand how we got to where we are, what we need to change, and what the future holds if we do has become overblown and taken way out of context.
So, if you ever hear me speak publicly or read what I write about the USDA and its mistreatment of minority farmers and women farmers, especially Black farmers, you’ll understand that Critical Race Theory undergirds what I’m saying or writing, but you will likely not hear me use the term. Using the term is not necessary. Where I speak and write are not law schools. That which is embedded into our laws and our systems within the US are indeed, in my opinion, based upon the color of whiteness and not just whiteness but maleness. And, it’s time for us to make sense out of these things and work toward change and equity for all of God’s children.
I think white America is afraid that it is losing ground to a brown America. Republicans are afraid of losing their footholds in American life and politics. Look at all of the voter suppression laws that are proliferating across the country. That’s a blogpost for another day.
So, What is Critical Race Theory?
The next time someone pulls this out as a tool to bash someone with, politely ask them, “Can you tell me what Critical Race Theory is all about?”
Then, sit patiently and wait.
