Critical Race Theory

Is CRT Too Progressive for California?

An Ode to the Pearl-Clutching American History “Purists”

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter demonstrations of 2020, many Americans wondered what we could do to heal our country. So, as anti-racism book recommendations circled the daily news, it was off to the bookstores to purchase Black literature. With our newly gained understanding of anti-racism, we could implement new policies, or that’s how I imagine the lexicon of these awakened folks went.

For example, California became the first state to move forward with ethnic studies additions to the K-12 curriculum. As a result, students will be able to engage in a “breadth of experiences” detailing the history, contributions, and struggles of Asian, Black, Latinx, and Native American peoples. The legislation of this model will also present students with more insight into Jewish, Armenian, and Sikh cultures.

California’s recent legislative win trails on the shadow of Burbank Unified School District (BUSD), where just last year, they removed the following race-based books from their core novels reading list: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; To Kill a Mockingbird; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; The Cay; and Of Mice and Men.

In essence, teachers cannot assign the above-mentioned books as mandatory for class lectures. It’s rather interesting that literature, which is a gateway into understanding and visualization, is still used to minimize tactic: silencing Black stories and Black voices. When students primarily engage with white literature in an academic setting, they never develop the capacity to genuinely connect to literature from other cultures.

The Diary of Anne Frank has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into 70 languages, but its personal accounts of the Holocaust engages its reader in the atrocities of the Nazi Regime. It is therefore difficult to downplay the experiences of Holocaust survivors because their personal narratives are made accessible to and studied by students.

Unfortunately, subjects such as slavery or even the Jim Crow Era do not receive the same treatment. The BUSD’s decision to remove Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry despite her conscious creative decision to “present a history of my family as well as the effects of racism, not only on the victims, but also on the racists themselves” serves as an unfortunate example.

While the Burbank Unified School District can reserve their beliefs that by removing such novels, they are aiding anti-racist efforts, they reveal the complicated nature of school districts not prioritizing the effective study of America’s ills in the classroom. The lack of district support leaves teachers incapable of fostering appropriate and necessary conversations about racism.

In the letter regarding the removed books, BUSD Superintendent Matt Hill wrote, “these books are problematic in the following ways: they repeatedly use the n-word, they cast Black people in negative, hopeless, and secondary roles; and all but one are written from the lens of a White author.” So I guess we’re to uphold the lie that enslavement wasn’t really bad, and the Black community didn’t exactly have it that hard.

Did Hill miss the generational necessity for Taylor to pen her award-winning children’s novel? Had he even picked up the 25th-anniversary edition of Taylor’s book, he would have noticed that she intended to share “a history not then written in books but one passed from generation to generation on the steps of moonlit porches and beside dying fires in one-room houses….” While this is a sentiment we all can relate to, Hill is an example of just how removed educators are from cultural storytelling.

What is Critical Race Theory?

Nationwide, conservative politicians attempt to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) and The 1619 Project in school curricula. I can only attribute backlash as clearly coming from conservatives who either didn’t read any CRT literature. Maybe they’re high-class illiterate because they elect to ignore the multitude of research behind racism’s effects since it doesn’t intrude on their day-to-day lives? Maybe they’re history deniers because their feelings got in the way? Or, they could simply have atrocious reading comprehension skills. Based on their rhetoric, CRT creates a world of fear. Now, how can we have a conversation on CRT and The 1619 Project without talking about what they are?

Plain and simple, in Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement, CRT “challenges the ways in which race and racial power are constructed and represented in American legal culture and, more generally, in American society as a whole” (Crenshaw et al., xiii). CRT is an intellectual framework and method of race-conscious scholarship. It was originally a theory used by legal scholars. The racial consciousness deriving from critical race theory allows its students to be cognizant that the social structure of race exists instead of the “post-racial” fairytale of colorblindness that developed after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Naysayers can comment about race not being real because it’s not biological. Race will always be a social construct. Through the human creation of this classification system, Black and Brown people have been negatively affected. Whether through unintended ignorance or haughty denial, it foregoes the ramifications of scientific racist tactics. This practice inspired legislative bans such as interracial marriage and interracial intimacy, thus establishing a system where politics and legality were intertwined with racial matters.

The 1619 Project is a journalistic account of America’s misunderstood past with slavery and slavery’s after-effects.

The 1619 Project and CRT are not propaganda.

On the contrary, The 1619 Project is a journalistic account of America’s misunderstood past with slavery and slavery’s after-effects. Project Founder, Nikole Hannah-Jones, collaborated with writers from The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine to present that since 1619, “Black Americans have also been, and continue to be, foundational to the idea of American freedom.” Through a collection of essays and a podcast, The 1619 Project’s team is not creating revisionist history. Instead, they are educating the masses about American history while utilizing tenets from the CRT framework. I guess, in an era where people believe in such concepts as alternative facts, Black history is bound to be considered “propaganda.”

In his book, Reclaiming the Black Past: The Use and Misuse of African-American History in the Twenty-First Century, author Pero Gaglo Dagbovie presents why Black history is essentially an American taboo. Our limitations for understanding history is because “most weren’t and still aren’t taught the value of ‘thinking historically’ or the benefits of unraveling a ‘usable past.’” (Dagbovie, viii). By default, this deficiency is why The 1619 Project is misconstrued and interpreted as anti-American by the conservative party.

On a macro level, our understanding of US History, and by extension, Black History, is due to our reliance on “popular culture, political pundits and politicians, Hollywood films, and, of course, information from the easily accessible Internet” (Dagbovie, ix) instead of historians. Both Hannah-Jones and Dagbovie are forcing us to reconsider what we don’t know about US History: the African American experience and its contemporary implications.

The part when “we” say, “oh, now I understand some theory”

The philosopher, Plato’s “Allegory for the Cave” presents a group of prisoners chained in a cave with a glowing fireplace. As expected, the fire casts figures of the prisoners’ shadows on the cave wall. The prisoners themselves are unable to move and do not question the shadows; this is their reality. How can anything else be true and exist? Only through leaving the cave would the prisoner be able to “look upon the sun itself and see its true nature,” so Plato muses.

In reality, through revision we “re-see” what has traditionally existed and make accurate restructuring.

To assess America, the weed-like entanglement of racism and racial illiteracy, it’s helpful to incorporate Critical Race Theorist Charles Lawrence III's words. In “The Word and The River: Pedagogy as Scholarship as Struggle,” Lawrence wrestles with the concept of “The Word… an articulation and validation of our common experience” (Lawrence, 336). For some reason, the term revision in the contextual conservative argument against CRT is being treated as if CRT calls for the uprooting of American history. But, facts are facts, and history should equally account for that.

Lawrence argues that we essentially employ language to craft our image at the minimization and erasure of another’s. When we take the dominant curriculum of history and literature, we exclude the richness of the experiences of other cultural groups. Thus, CRT principles serve as a response to reclaim those narratives and share them with the people for the sake of accuracy.

CRT: the antithesis of racism

To view The 1619 Project as “a disease to young Americans” and critique CRT as a “self-destructive America-hating anti-reality idea” is juvenile and racist. While deductive logic may appear to be a foreign concept to those who oppose CRT, I ask the following questions: should students learn a more inclusive history of America, what exactly is the worst that can happen? What is this “brainwashing” mechanism that has conservative pundits and frightened parents so mobile in stomping out this method of pedagogy and scholarship? The fluidity of an educational environment comes from the constant development and presentation of innovative research. These discoveries aid our retrieval of collective understanding, growth, and, ideally, camaraderie.

The problem with language is that it can serve as a weapon to memory. CRT is not in denial that the United States’ founding documents were revolutionary in inspiration, creation, and evolution. Yet, while the founding fathers can be celebrated for their efforts, it comes at the severe exclusion of the complexity of their humanity. They were still enslavers, and many wrote treatises arguing in favor of Black inferiority. In the desire to be respectable and “civilized,” we remove the shred of morality that prevents us from engaging in antiquated ramifications for the sake of preserving the hero’s bootstrap tale of America.

California and CRT: the questionable and the concerning

For some reason, some Californians believe the inclusion of ethnic studies and CRT will lead to “a model curriculum with inaccuracies and omissions, as well as themes, that will push students away from their individualities and into group think that focuses on oppression and marginalization as the primary ills of today’s society” (Hoover Institute). In response, those in favor of ethnic studies in school curricula vocalize that ethnic studies and CRT, while both are important, are not interchangeable terms or educational modules. But I ask the question, how effective is the current Californian curriculum without CRT and ethnic studies? Are our students more engaged, critical, compassionate, empathetic, and the like?

As Mildred D. Taylor once said: racism is offensive.

There are too many embarrassing interviews where the conservative camp stutters and confidently shows that maybe it’s not even CRT or The 1619 Project that they have a problem with. Their issue is actually with ethnic studies programs altogether, but they don’t want to admit that. After all, the true depth of CRT is a legal theory and therefore not studied in K-12 schools. Yet, some ethnic studies programs may utilize a holistic implementation of CRT to assess the social sciences and humanities, i.e., history, literature, psychology, etc.

According to The American Revolution Institute, “there are better ways to teach students about the history and ordeal of slavery — an important subject that deserves our finest efforts.” Without curriculum inclusion of these truths in conjunction with what currently exists in California classrooms, students will continue to remain deficient in their scholarly understanding of American history.

The understanding of racism in America is imperative. The subject itself is not meant to be easy. Slavery is the economic structure that allowed the United States to thrive. As Mildred D. Taylor once said: racism is offensive. For conservatives and BUSD to engage in a fantasy that there’s a better way to teach these subjects when they have not done any proactive work to create as well as implement an effective alternative method is quite erratic.

…a history not then written in books but one passed from generation to generation on the steps of moonlit porches and beside dying fires in one-room houses… — Mildred D. Taylor

You can’t have conservative opposition without Christians

Regardless, self-appointed internet research aficionados toss around the words Marxism and Socialism as if they truly understand the concepts as they allegedly claim they relate to The 1619 Project and CRT. In an article laced with hearsay and cardigan sweatered pearl-clutching, Christian Post concludes three reasons why CRT is a detriment to California, aside from its alleged blatant “Marxism”: CRT offers different views of humanity, sin, and salvation than Christianity. Since CRT does not utilize sin or salvation in any of its tenets, I’m confused as to how it can possess an opposing view than Christianity since it does not express those views in the first place. Second, CRT dabbles in the study of racial power. Isn’t that similar to Christian doctrine that presents varying parables about oppression? But, instead of early American Christians being crafted in God’s image, through Manifest Destiny, they crafted God into their image.

Maybe putting their own Christian theoretical houses in order might be better for them.

Interestingly enough, the inclusion of CRT tenets would greatly aid the same California curriculum that teaches elementary school students a pseudo-harmonious relationship between Catholic priests and California’s Indigenous Peoples with the California Missions. While the California Mission project that I did in the fourth grade was interesting, there was an air of ominous disconnection when I walked the grounds at San Gabriel. Something never quite felt right, and I did not begin to understand why until years later in AP US History.

This tradition of the California Mission project, whether through crafting a diorama or visiting the actual mission (sometimes for extra credit), wasn’t amended from the K-12 curriculum until 2017 after many arguments from California’s Indigenous Peoples. In essence, the project glossed over the atrocities and slave labor that Indigenous Peoples experienced. It’s quite ironic, though. When it comes to CRT, many Christians can ban together to declare the theory unbiblical. At the same time, their sects disagree on how to interact with the LGBTQ+ community and Jesus’ teachings. Maybe putting their own Christian theoretical houses in order might be better for them.

Driving it all home

We must praise those who so passionately argue against CRT. In doing so, they have done what many CRT Theorists may have attempted to do: normalize CRT to the point that it’s on the evening news and stimulating dinner conversation in American homes.

By learning the scholarship of CRT theorists, students will begin “employing narrative to create framework, setting, and tone that are inclusive, not exclusive” (Lawrence, 346). Thus CRT broadens one’s ability to be more empathetic and critical of humanity. Yet, how would someone still maintain an individualistic viewpoint after deeper exploration in CRT?

There are those who do not want to remember the past, or who do not want their children to know the past, and who would whitewash history… I do not understand trying to prevent a child from learning about a history that is part of America… — Mildred D. Taylor, Foreword to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

Honestly, it feels like part of the criticism is because it uses that dreaded r-word. Whenever race and racism are included in the discussion, there’s a collective eye roll from post-racial believers. “I’ve lived through MLK!” many of them exclaim, and yet they remain blissfully unaware of the intersectional mechanisms behind King’s activism.

I would be shocked if I found his final book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? on their bookshelf. But, until these naysayers can theoretically explain the cultural geography behind the inner cities or why the literary canon has a tremendous deficit of literature by Black, Indigenous, and Writers of Color, I’ll try not to hold my breath for the day they finally “get it.”

Maya L. is an avid reader, skilled essayist, and poet. She’s the host of The Renegade Professor Podcast, where she aims to minimize the confusion surrounding race while inspiring listeners to become more racially literate. Follow her on Twitter for updates and stay tuned for her upcoming publication, The Renegade Voice.

Works Cited:

Agrawal, Nina. “California Approves Ethnic Studies Curriculum for K-12 Schools after Years of Debate.” Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-18/ethnic-studies-finally-approved-california-schools

Asmelash, Leah. “After Years of Debate, California Finally Adopts Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum.” CNN, CNN, 22 Mar. 2021, amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/03/22/us/california-ethnic-studies-high-school-trnd/index.html?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQHKAFQArABIA%3D%3D#aoh=16224298254906&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2021%2F03%2F22%2Fus%2Fcalifornia-ethnic-studies-high-school-trnd%2Findex.html.

Burt, Greg. “Critical Race Theory Has Infiltrated California’s Public Schools.” The Christian Post, The Christian Post, 1 Oct. 2020, www.christianpost.com/amp/critical-race-theory-has-infiltrated-californias-public-schools.html.

“California Ethnic Studies Curriculum Imposes ‘Critical Race Theory,” Excludes Martin Luther King Jr.” World Socialist Web Site, www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/03/20/ethn-m20.html.

“California School District Considers Ban on Classic Books: UPDATED.” National Coalition Against Censorship, 19 Dec. 2020, ncac.org/news/california-book-challenge-2020.

“California’s Education Department Chooses Critical Race Theory Over 100,000 Objections.” Hoover Institution, www.hoover.org/research/californias-education-department-chooses-critical-race-theory-over-100000-objections.

“California’s ‘Ethnic Studies’ Opens Door To Critical Race Indoctrination.” The Federalist, 12 Apr. 2021, thefederalist.com/2021/04/05/californias-ethnic-studies-opens-door-to-critical-race-theory-indoctrination-throughout-public-schools/.

Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo. Reclaiming the Black Past the Use and Misuse of African American History in the Twenty-First Century. Verso, 2018.

“The Fatal Flaw of the 1619 Project Curriculum.” The American Revolution Institute, 26 Sept. 2020, www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org/fatal-flaw-of-the-1619-project-curriculum/.

Fensterwald, John. “A Final Vote, after Many Rewrites, for California’s Controversial Ethnic Studies Curriculum.” EdSource, EdSource, 18 Mar. 2021, edsource-org.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/edsource.org/2021/a-final-vote-after-many-rewrites-for-californias-controversial-ethnic-studies-curriculum/651338/amp?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQHKAFQArABIA%3D%3D#aoh=16224298254906&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fedsource.org%2F2021%2Fa-final-vote-after-many-rewrites-for-californias-controversial-ethnic-studies-curriculum%2F651338.

Goldberg, David Theo. “The War on Critical Race Theory.” Boston Review, 9 June 2021, bostonreview.net/race-politics/david-theo-goldberg-war-critical-race-theory.

Hannah-Jones, Nikole. “America Wasn’t a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/black-history-american-democracy.html.

“Introduction.” Critical Race Theory: the Key Writings That Formed the Movement, The New Press, 2010, pp. xiii-xxxii.

Keierleber, Mark. How California’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum Got Sucked Into the Culture Wars, www.the74million.org/article/ethnic-studies-could-be-the-low-hanging-fruit-of-american-education-reform-but-california-showed-how-creating-a-curriculum-can-get-sucked-into-the-culture-wars/.

Lawrence, Charles R. “The Word and the River: Pedagogy as Scholarship as Struggle.” Critical Race Theory: the Key Writings That Formed the Movement, The New Press, 2010, pp. 336–356.

Paredes, Lisa, et al. “Burbank Superintendent Bans Use Of N-Word In Schools, Makes Five Books Non-Mandatory For Classroom Work.” MyBurbank.com, 24 May 2021, myburbank.com/burbank-superintendent-bans-use-of-n-word-in-schools-makes-five-books-non-mandatory-for-classroom-work/.

Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Thorndike Press, 1976.