What Is Critical Race Theory?
Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic movement of civil-rights scholars and activists in the United States who seek to critically examine U.S. law as it intersects with issues of race in the U.S. and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice.
CRT views race and white supremacy as an intersectional social construction which serves to oppress people of color and marginalized communities at large (i.e gender and class).
CRT emphasizes that merely making laws colorblind on paper may not be enough to make the application of the laws colorblind; ostensibly colorblind laws can be applied in racially discriminatory ways.
The above snip is from Wikipedia. The map is from NBC News on June 17, somehow missing Florida.
CRT may seem benign at first glance, but it’s not. The third snip above holds one of the keys.
How activists and educators preach and teach CRT is the key to understanding how divisive the theory is in practice.
Activists claim America is fundamentally racist, math is racist, the SAT College Entrance Exam is racist, and Whites are racists simply by being White.
Critical Race Theory Poll
The above chart is from the YouGov report Just one-third of Americans have heard of critical race theory and believe they know what it means.
The chart says the poll was January 23-June 15. The Poll Data it says the survey was June 13-June 15 a more believable date range.
Critical Race Theory by Gender and Race
The above data is unweighted. The first chart reflects weighted data. Only blacks support CRT.
The poll lacks seriously needs a question regarding CRT as actually taught.
If more people actually understood what is going on, “bad for America” would soar.
Battle Over Critical Race Theory
With the above background set, please consider the WSJ article Battle Over Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory is the latest battleground in the culture war. Since the murder of George Floyd last year, critical race theory’s key concepts, including “systemic racism,” “white privilege,” and “white fragility,” have become ubiquitous in America’s elite institutions. Progressive politicians have sought to implement “antiracist” policies to reduce racial disparities, such as minorities-only income programs and racially segregated vaccine distribution.
The ideology has sparked an immense backlash. As Americans have sought to understand critical race theory, they have discovered that it has divided Americans into racial categories of “oppressor” and “oppressed” and promotes radical concepts such as “spirit murder” (what public schools supposedly do to black children) and “abolishing whiteness” (a purported precondition for social justice). In the classroom, critical race theory-inspired lessons have often devolved into race-based struggle sessions, with public schools forcing children to rank themselves according to a racial hierarchy, subjecting white teachers to “antiracist therapy,” and encouraging parents to become “white traitors.”
According to a recent YouGov survey, of the 64% of Americans who have heard about critical race theory, 58% view it unfavorably, including 72% of political independents.
That’s a major liability for the political left. Sensing that they are losing control of the narrative on race, left-leaning media outlets have launched a furious counterattack. Liberal pundits at the New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC and elsewhere have begun spinning a new mythology that presents critical race theory as a benign academic concept, casts its detractors as right-wing extremists driven by racial resentment, and portrays legislation against critical race theory as an attempt to ban teaching about the history of slavery and racism. All three charges are false.
The most successful campaigns have been led by racial minorities who oppose the manipulative and harmful practices of critical race theory in the classroom. Asian-Americans in particular have argued that critical race theory will undermine merit-based admissions, advanced learning programs and academic standards.
Left is Losing the Debate
The Journal notes that revolts against critical race theory training at high schools in liberal cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
I have commented on CRT previously, not necessarily by that name.
Racial Profiling
On May 16, 2019 I discussed College Entrance Exam SAT Score Racial Profiling where 964=1223.
To compensate for the fact that Blacks score lower on average than Asians and Whites, SAT to Give Students ‘Adversity Score’ and colleges are using that score. Numerous lawsuits ensued.
On December 9, 2019, diversity scores were in full swing as noted in Adversity Scores: The Latest Dumbing Down of US Education
I did not associate SAT racial profiling with CRT, but that is what’s behind it.
Political Interviews
Chicago Mayor Will Only Give 1-on-1 Interviews to Journalists of Color
I have my eye on the midterm elections. Extreme Wokeism, math is racist, and progressive nonsense will cost Pelosi.
Expect a midterm backlash.https://t.co/QNKsajyZCr
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) May 21, 2021
Math is Racist
On May 4, 2021, I noted To Promote Equality, California Proposes a Ban on Advanced Math Classes
Actual California Board of Education Statements
- The inequity of mathematics tracking in California can be undone through a coordinated approach in grades 6–12.
- Middle-school students are best served in heterogeneous classes.
- The push to calculus in grade twelve is itself misguided.
- To encourage truly equitable and engaging mathematics classrooms we need to broaden perceptions of mathematics beyond methods and answers so that students come to view mathematics as a connected, multi-dimensional subject that is about sense making and reasoning, to which they can contribute and belong.
The Woke Liberals Have a Bad Case of Progressophobia
The situation is so extreme that even Leftist Bill Maher has had enough.
In a scathing attack on CRT, Maher says The Woke Liberals Have a Bad Case of Progressophobia.
Please click on the link for a video and transcript.
To stop this nonsense in it tracks, six states have banned teaching CRT. It’s a case of 6 down 44 to go.
Whether voters understand the CRT name or not, they can see what’s happening.
Appellate Court Strikes Down a Piece of Biden’s Race-Based America Rescue Plan
On May 28, I noted Appellate Court Strikes Down a Piece of Biden’s Race-Based America Rescue Plan
The Court ruled: “The Way to Stop Discrimination on the Basis of Race Is to Stop Discriminating on the Basis of Race.”
I suspect a strong voter backlash against Biden’s radical attempts to appease Progressives and states efforts to promote race discrimination in the alleged name of justice.
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Mish
Your pale primate reparations check is in the mail.