Critical race theory argues that America is a systemically, irredeemably racist country and that everyone must work ceaselessly to deprogram themselves of the racism embedded within them. The concept currently is championed by race scholars-turned-celebrities such as Ibram X. Kendi and the widely debunked 1619 Project’s Nikole Hannah-Jones, but an overwhelming majority of people disapprove of this philosophy’s polarizing racial activism.
Despite its broad unpopularity, critical race theory has found its home in the American education system, with training beginning as young as kindergarten and reaching a crescendo in higher education. At Wake Forest University, the department of mathematics and statistics has begun implementing its “anti-racist math” coursework. In the spring 2021 semester, the University of New Hampshire launched its “racism in science” class. And the University of Pittsburgh’s medical school even recently added a vow against “systemic racism” to the 2,500-year-old Hippocratic oath.
American education, which once strived for a meritocracy without regard to race, has exchanged academic rigor for race-based social engineering. In many places, this shift has been state-sanctioned through public funding. Many states, however, are pursuing legislative and administrative means to stop this. The divide is a stark red-blue one, with Democratic-controlled governments pushing critical race trainings in public schools and other government agencies, while Republican-led states have sought to curb the use of taxpayer funds for such racially divisive purposes.
In March 2021, the California Board of Education approved an “Ethnic Studies” curriculum for students as young as 5 to, according to the Los Angeles Times, “guide how the histories, struggles and contributions of Asian, Black, Latino and Native Americans — and the racism and marginalization they have experienced in the United States — will be taught to millions of students.”
In the “Aloha State,” state legislators, 71 out of 76 of whom are Democrats, passed a bill that would, beginning in 2029, require “at least one semester course in ethnic studies while in high school,” a measure that was signed into law by Hawaii’s Democratic governor. Even as crime skyrockets in their largest city, Illinois Democrats found time to pass H.B. 2170, “the Education Equity Bill” calling for an “Inclusive American History Commission” and framework similar to the 1619 Project. Democrats in Oregon, Washington, and Massachusetts are working on comparable curriculums, while New Mexico legislators are considering a bill that would mandate “antiracism training public schools and the development of instructional materials about Black culture,” according to the Associated Press.
States led by Republicans are hoping to prevent similar fates. In April, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed into law legislation designed to “promote nondiscrimination in public education,” effectively prohibiting the instruction of critical race theory in publicly funded schools. Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, signed a bill that mandated no student, staff member, or faculty member of a public school or university be required to undergo discriminatory training.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to the creep of critical race theory by issuing an executive order reaffirming the state’s refusal to hire employees based on racial grounds. And in Arkansas, Republicans enacted legislation that barred state agencies from teaching divisive topics in government trainings, including the notion that America is an “inherently racist country,” the very foundation of critical race theory. Similar measures are under consideration in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
These debates aren’t exclusive to state governments. Recent local elections across the country have emphasized the red-blue divide on critical race theory and underscored just how unpopular it remains with the general public. In Southlake, Texas, Dallas suburban voters responded to attempts by local leaders to impose the ideology on schoolchildren by electing several conservatives committed to stopping race training in schools, with some candidates garnering more than 70% of the vote. In the Washington, D.C., suburb of Loudoun County, Virginia, six members of the school board now face a well-funded recall attempt by “Fight for Our Schools,” a group of concerned parents that has already begun a television advertising campaign.
Democratic lawmakers seem unbothered by the public’s disapproval of their educational agenda. Instead, they employ the logical fallacy of “Kafka-trapping,” using denials of ubiquitous racism as proof that it must exist. This often takes the form of accusations of “white fragility” or the insistence that “whiteness” is a cancer on our society.
But, as we’ve seen with unnecessary and prolonged school closures throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a grassroots movement of parents is pushing back to preserve and restore educational integrity in both red and blue states in the culture war that has been forced upon them. And while parents are putting kids, not politics, as the heart of their arguments, critical race theory among lawmakers remains a red-blue one.
With neither side willing to back down, America is on the precipice of a fundamentally fragmented educational system — red school districts, blue school districts — that teach very different curricula. And in a time when our social and political polarization seems more extreme than ever, critical race theory education is only bound to make it worse.
William A. Jacobson is a clinical professor and director of Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School and president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, which publishes a database of developments in critical race theory at criticalrace.org.
