Critical race theory is a red herring

 by Tom Maertens

Critical race theory is an academic theory that is promoted by Fox News as a way to stir up the rubes. The Washington Post wrote that “The concept has been around for more than 40 years, but it has become a major programming theme on Fox News only in recent months as parents, buoyed by conservative activists and groups, have vocally opposed the teaching of the theory — or something similar to it — in schools throughout the country.”

As columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. editorialized, “I’ve spent the better part of 40 years researching and writing about the history and dynamics of race in America — and 63 years living them. (He is Black.) I know this terrain well.

"Yet until maybe six months ago, I had never heard of ‘critical race theory’... (which) is this year’s War on Christmas. It’s sharia law, gay wedding cake and New Black Panthers,” he added.

The term “critical race theory” was mentioned just 132 times on Fox News shows in 2020. In 2021, it has been mentioned thousands of times, according to the media monitoring service Critical Mention, and recently more than 100 times per day.

Laura Ingraham says she’s against universal pre-K, according to MediaMatters, because teachers are “brainwashing toddlers” with critical race theory.

As Pitts said, “It is taught, if at all, in law school — not high school.” Or elementary school.

Nobel economist Paul Krugman asked in The New York Times: “What Underlies the G.O.P. Commitment to Ignorance? The current obsession with critical race theory is a cynical attempt to change the subject away from the Biden administration’s highly popular policy initiatives, while pandering to the white rage that Republicans deny exists. But it’s only one of multiple subjects on which willful ignorance has become a litmus test for anyone hoping to succeed in Republican politics.”

The American Bar Association wrote earlier this year that “CRT recognizes that racism is not a bygone relic of the past. Instead, it acknowledges that the legacy of slavery, segregation, and the imposition of second-class citizenship on Black Americans and other people of color continue to permeate the social fabric of this nation.”

Among Republicans, CRT has become a blanket term for anti-racism efforts across the spectrum, used to foment resentment at any mention of the racist history of the country, even though it is reportedly not taught in K-12 classes anywhere in the country.

Thomas Edsall described Trump’s “Animosity Coalition” in The New York Times:

“The Trump coalition is motivated by animosity toward Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims and L.G.B.T…. Warmth toward whites and Christians equally predict support for Trump, other G.O.P. elites, and the party itself.”

Robert P. Jones, chief executive of the Public Religion Research Institute, criticized white evangelical churches, who are now attacking critical race theory, for defending slavery, fanning the myth of the Lost Cause, and resisting the civil rights movement.

“Just as they erected thousands of Confederate statutes during post-Reconstruction to reassert white dominance, they once more seek to distort history in service of white supremacy. Their current mission is to rid schools of critical race theory, which is not actually taught in public schools, and echoes a similar effort to mis-educate children about slavery.”

To deny the fact that racism has affected generations of people of color is intellectually dishonest; there have to be reasons why Blacks are more likely to live in poverty, to struggle in school and to be incarcerated than white people.

The race a person is born into makes a difference in their financial prospects. The Federal Reserve found, based on a 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances that white families had a median wealth of $188,200, compared to $24,100 for Black families, and $36,100 for Hispanic families. That means, according to the Fed, a white family “has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family and five times the wealth of the typical Hispanic family.”

But “...the most explosive issue in American civilization,” according to the Washington Post, is “the historical centrality and complicity of law in upholding white supremacy.”

The U.N. has called for an end of ‘impunity’ for police violence against Black people. “In examining deaths in police custody in different countries, the U.N. found “striking similarities” and patterns — including in the hurdles families face in accessing justice. The report notes the patchwork of available data paints “an alarming picture of system-wide, disproportionate and discriminatory impacts on people of African descent in their encounters with law enforcement and the criminal justice system in some states.”

Tom Maertens worked at the National Security Council for both presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.