Critical Race Theory is increasingly becoming a point of American contention.
It seems we’re in the midst of a cultural revolution, but there’s opposition afoot.
As CRT gets infused into corporate training and school lesson plans, citizens become more vocal, for or against.
And at California’s Saddleback College, the president’s speaking out.
In an open letter commemorating Juneteenth, Dr. Elliot Stern offers a curious comparison.
The president claims, “Critical Race Theory is the new Communism.”
The interesting thing: He means it as a compliment to CRT.
As you surely know, on June 17th, Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday.
Not everyone was in favor of the federal move.
And 14 House Republicans voted against.
Tiffany says House Democrats "created" the holiday to divide the country. Juneteenth started in Texas in 1866 to celebrate the end of slavery. The House vote to make it a federal holiday was supported by 195 of the 209 Republicans. https://t.co/Rr6YjwRFCF via @aligarfield_
— Mark Treinen (@MarkTreinen) June 17, 2021
For his part, Dr. Elliott’s glad to see it come to pass.
In the letter, he calls slavery “our nation’s greatest sin.”
And Elliot welcomes the “opportunity for us to reflect upon the depth and breadth of the stain the horror of slavery has left upon our society.”
“Racism has its roots in American slavery and vice versa,” he says.
There’s been tremendous talk about “institutionalized racism” as of late; Elliot says the scourge has been accomplished by slavery.
And because of the blight, now some black children can’t conceive of becoming president…or doing advanced math:
“[T]he stain of slavery is carried in the souls of even the youngest African Americans who question how they can be president or successful in Algebra when the deck has been stacked against them by a society that enslaved their not-so-distant ancestors…”
Today, the nation treats its black citizens with zero respect or worthiness of being equal:
“[America] continues to view and treat them as unworthy of respect and equality.”
It’s a dark time:
“The dimmer switch of emancipation has brought light to the room, but it is still dim, and hate and violence hide in the shadows.”
In fact, the way Elliot sees it, racism is at a relative all-time high:
“Race-based hatred and anger has never been as pronounced in my lifetime as it is now, and various movements in our country fan those fires and exploit our divides (and racism) to further political aims.”
He lays out the dreariness of the day:
“Voting rights are under attack despite no increase in evidence for fraud. Inequitable policing and attendant brutality by a malevolent few among the benevolent many go on in the aftermath of murders despite protests around the world.”
Saddleback’s president wants Martin Luther King Jr’s dream fulfilled:
“We have not realized Martin Luther King’s vision of equality 58 years after he articulated that vision in ‘I Have a Dream’…
And how do we conform to the ideals expressed by MLK?
Evidently, it’s through Critical Race Theory.
Elliot laments CRT being unjustly feared. If I understand correctly, such a tragedy’s due to phonies in government pulling a fast one on the dim-witted:
“Politicians create bogeymen of scholars of race study and are passing laws to prevent schools from teaching widely acclaimed scholarship. Critical Race Theory is the new Communism.”
As for that ferocious fearmongering, some legislatures are indeed preventing CRT from being taught in schools.
At least 21 states have banned or limited its employment.
This past week, Republican Wisconsin Rep. Glenn Grothman proposed a bill that would prohibit all of the following from being furthered in D.C. schools:
- One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.
- The United States is fundamentally racist or sexist.
- An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.
- An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex.
- Members of one race or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex.
- An individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex.
- An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
- Any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex.
- Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race to oppress another.
Back to Elliot, he’s for CRT — as well as for people being judged, not “by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Accomplishing both, it would appear, may be difficult.
Meanwhile, Dr. Elliot’s asking all “to commemorate Juneteenth by doubling down on the contributions we make toward the furtherance of equality.”
To that end, he and the college will continue to…
- Serve as a center of intellectualism, scholarship, free speech and rational discourse for our community and our students
- Ensure that all students who come to us for a credential walk away with information literacy, critical thinking, and appreciation of diversity so that they will know when their baser instincts and fear are being harnessed for political or economic gain
- Be an inclusive and welcoming home for all students and colleagues, where the lights are fully on, the hate is banished from the shadows, and our students are supported and loved–because they are all worthy
At Saddleback, he says, “The hate is banished from the shadows.”
Lastly, Elliot promises, the school will “continue to close and eventually eliminate race-based equity gaps in student completion.”
Saddleback’s not the only one trying to do that:
Stanford's New Research Lab Calls Out Causes of America's 'Racial Hierarchy': Public Education and Ostensible Meritocracy
https://t.co/JsEk8R6vs3— RedState (@RedState) March 9, 2021
Arizona State University Dean Pens 350+ Page Book on How Grading Writing is White Supremacy https://t.co/cjciFenGxt
— RedState (@RedState) March 6, 2021
And the upgrade continues.
But fear not — don’t fear Critical Race Theory, and, perhaps, don’t fear communism.
-ALEX
See more pieces from me:
Bill Maher Puts Celebrity Apologies on a Stick — They’re ‘Why ‘People Hate Democrats’
Legal Journal Publishes Plea for Hate Speech Laws Protecting Animals
Find all my RedState work here.
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