Haoua Saley
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Critical race theory has been a hot topic in the last few years. It is easy to get lost in the arguments getting thrown at by all different people. Nearly 80% of Americans have not heard of the term critical race theory or are unsure of whether they have. It is important to understand what critical race theory is?
Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The main idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies. The basic framework of critical race theory, or CRT, emerged out of legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s created by legal scholars Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado, among others. Today, critical race theory is used by academic scholars, and not just in law schools, to describe how racism is embedded in all aspects of American life, from health care to housing, economics to education, the criminal justice system and more. Those systems have been constructed and protected over generations in ways that give white people advantages. This has resulted in compounding disadvantages for Black people and other racial and ethnic minorities.
Recently Governor Ron DeSantis announced the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act, a legislative proposal that will give businesses, employees, children and families tools to “fight back” against woke indoctrination. “We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other. We also have a responsibility to ensure that parents have the means to vindicate their rights when it comes to enforcing state standards. Finally, we must protect Florida workers against the hostile work environment that is created when large corporations force their employees to endure CRT-inspired ‘training’ and indoctrination.” said DeStantis. He has banned the College Boards AP African-American Studies from being taught in Floridian classrooms. After heavy criticism from DeSantis, the College Board released an official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies, of which was stripped of much of the subject matter that had angered the governor and other conservatives. The College Board purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism. It ushered out some politically fraught topics, like Black Lives Matter, from the formal curriculum.
Since the decision to ban the curriculum in Florida many other states decided to follow suit. States like Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Virginia have made legislation to potentially ban CRT. The decision to review the curriculum in Virginia was met with condemnation by Virginia NAACP President, Robert Barnette. "AP Course African American History is American History. The good, the bad, and the ugly all need to be taught," said Barnette.
There are so many different beliefs and so many different opinions when it comes to critical race theory. But it is important, for this generation to become well informed citizens we must be well aware about American history.
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/us/college-board-advanced-placement-african-american-studies.html
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