Why Should Lawmakers Legislate Against Critical Race Theory?

After the killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, riots raged in numerous cities and gripped the attention of the nation. According to an article published at The Daily Signal by Jonathan Butcher and GianCarlo Canaparo, critical race theory also gripped the nation. “According to Google Trends, the search term peaked in June 2021, then interest tapered off going into 2022.” However, “the radical philosophy has not disappeared from public life.” 

What is critical race theory? It claims that “racism is the cause of every negative event in politics, education, economics, and culture.” It teaches “ideas such as diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI]; microaggressions; and white privilege.” These “creatures of critical race theory … trace back to the Marxist claim that the world is defined by racial power struggles.”

K-12 education remains a crucial part of the national conversation on how the theory is teaching young people to consider themselves victims instead of individuals responsible for their own choices and decisions.

For example, policymakers in California and Minnesota have made “intersectionality” – critical race theory’s idea that we are oppressed in intersecting ways, based on our race, sex, and other immutable characteristics – a central component of their states’ ethnic studies curriculum.

This is horrible! Children should be taught that choices and decisions have consequences and that they can overcome “victimhood” by making good choices. However, this teaching is strategic: “The now-deceased critical race theory scholar Derrick Bell wrote that he hoped the theory would inspire academic ‘resistance’ to America’s ideals of freedom and equality under the law, which would lead to wide-scale ‘resistance.’”

In other words, Bell was hoping that critical race theory would undermine and lead to the destruction of the Constitution of the United States. I do not believe that most Americans support such a terrible idea, particularly if they truly understand what it is and its purpose.

Not all state lawmakers are allowing this radical movement to march through their educational institutions, however. In a review of the laws adopted in 14 states since 2020, we found staunch rejection of the use of critical race theory in K-12 schools. The work is not finished, even in many of those states, however. Earlier this year, a federal judge overturned a law adopted by New Hampshire officials that was meant to prevent the theory from spreading racial discrimination in the state’s elementary and secondary schools. The judge said that key provisions in the law were not well-defined, sending lawmakers back to the drawing board.

State lawmakers should continue to pursue proposals that reject critical race theory, but they must be specific about what they are prohibiting.

State policymakers should prohibit the application of the theory in the form of compelled speech and mandatory racial affinity groups and other clear examples of racial discrimination….

Lawmakers should prohibit school officials from forcing students and teachers to defend, affirm, or profess ideas that come from critical race theory as a condition of enrollment, course completion, hiring, retention, or promotion.

State policymakers should also ban the sort of discriminatory conduct that critical race theorists deem appropriate – but that are, in fact, racist – to fulfill their discriminatory aims….

A law is on much stronger legal ground when it protects someone from being forced to say something that it is when it prohibits them from saying something. Instead of “banning” critical race theory from classrooms, state education officials should update K-12 academic standards to discuss the institution of slavery in 19^th century America, the failure of Reconstruction efforts after the Civil War, ad the Jim Crow era. At the same time, educators should explain the significance of the end of systemic racism, both legally and culturally, through federal civil rights laws.

Critical race theory’s racist ideas – DEI, intersectionality, and more – are lessons from the “school of resentment” as literary critic Harold Bloom said. Children need to be taught to aspire to something, not resent everything.

I agree with the authors that children should be taught to look for the positive things in life. When they look on the bright side of life – their cup is half full and there is a silver lining to their dark clouds – they will be happier and find more enjoyment in life. I also agree that it is essential that lawmakers in all the states reject the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

What Would Martin Luther King Jr. Say about Critical Race Theory?

            Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that he shared with America on August 28, 1963, nearly sixty years ago. Some of the most quoted lines of his speech are, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” 

            Those words still sound across the nation even though 54 years have passed since the death of King. We know how he felt then about judging each other by color. The question is, what would he say about the racial tensions in America today? Would he support critical race theory, or would he condemn it?

            Alveda King, one of MLK’s nieces, believes that he would oppose critical race theory because it “was socially engineered by Marxists and socialists, by people who don’t believe in God.” She said that King’s message to America center on the gospel of Jesus Christ because he wanted Americans to “serve God [and] serve others.” In a podcast with Virginia Allen, Alveda King made the following statement. 

I believe that if the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were here right now, he would encourage us to continue to learn to live together as brothers – and I’ll add in sisters – or perish together as fools….

Now, what many people do not understand is that, first, Martin Luther King Jr. loved God. He wasn’t perfect, and no human beings are. He loved God.

So I believe if he were here today, he would say to us, in the face of everything that we are encountering – whether it be COVID, or race wars, or horrible things happening to the weather, calamities, and disaster – I believe he would ask us to look forward in this new year with faith, with hope, with love….

I believe I don’t even have to speculate on what Martin Luther King Jr. would say, because he said it during his lifetime. He wrote it, he said it, he spoke it. And he talked about a day when there would be no white power, no black power, only God power working in human power.

            According to Alveda King, MLK would be against abortion as well as critical race theory. Those people who profess to follow MLK in their demands of America do not know what he taught. King wanted all people to live together as brothers and sisters – no matter their race or religion – and to protect the unborn and vulnerable. King had a good dream, one that all Americans should adopt. 

What Is Critical Race Theory?

             Critical race theory (CRT) continues to be in the news. Former Attorney General William Barr recently made his first public address since leaving the Trump administration. He criticized the “secular progressive orthodoxy through government-run schools,” and he suggested public funding of such education may be unconstitutional. 

            According to Fox News, Barr said, “The time has come to admit that the approach of giving militantly secularist government schools a monopoly over publicly funded education has become a disaster.” He touched on the fact that CRT is being taught in American classrooms as part of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) curricula. He called the curricula, “Marxism substituting race for class antagonism.”

            Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke about the CRT as well as the “1619 Project” created by The New York Times. In a radio appearance on July 4^th, Pompeo said the following: 

If we teach that that somehow this founding of the United States of America was somehow flawed, it was corrupt, it was racist, that’s really dangerous. It strikes at the … very foundations of our country. I certainly worry about that.

It’s called critical race theory or the 1619 Project. … But at the end, they’re attacking the central understandings that we have shared together for 245 years and attempt to divide the country.

            Christopher F. Rufo also spoke about CRT about three months ago at Hillsdale College. He defined critical race theory and explained how it works. He also shared some steps that we can take to destroy its effect in our nation. He said that we need to understand the history of Marxism to understand critical race theory. Critical Race Theory: What It Is and How to Fight It - Imprimis (hillsdale.edu)

Originally, the Marxist Left built its political program on the theory of class conflict. Marx believed that the primary characteristic of industrial societies was the imbalance of power between capitalists and workers. The solution to that imbalance, according to Marx, was revolution: the workers would eventually gain consciousness of their plight, seize the means of production, overthrow the capitalist class, and usher in a new socialist society.

            Rufo reminded his listeners that there were “a number of regimes underwent Marxist-style revolutions, and each ended in disaster.” These socialist governments included the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, Cuba, and others. These nations “racked up a body count of nearly 100 million of their own people.” These governments “are remembered for their gulags, show trials, executions, and mass starvations.” Rufo called said that “man’s darkest brutalities” were unleashed by Marx’s ideas.

            The Marxist intellectuals realized that Americans “had never developed a sense of class consciousness or class divisions.” This is true because most “Americans believed in the American dream – the idea that they could transcend their origins through education, hard work, and good citizenship.” This realization did not deter the Marxist movement. They merely “adapted their revolutionary theory to the social and racial unrest of the 1960s.” They abandoned the idea of dividing capitalists and workers, and “they substituted race for class and sought to create a revolutionary coalition of the dispossessed based on racial and ethnic categories.”

            America was fortunate in that Martin Luther King, Jr. had a vision that was more attractive. In addition, President Lyndon B. Johnson pursued the Great Society, and Richard Nixon campaigned on a promised to restore law and order. These actions delayed the Marxist ideas, but “the radical Left has proved resilient and enduring – which is where critical race theory comes in.”

Critical race theory is an academic discipline, formulated in the 1990s, built on the intellectual framework of identity-based Marxism. Relegated for many years to universities and obscure academic journals, over the past decade it has increasingly become the default ideology in our public institutions. It has been injected into government agencies, public school systems, teacher training programs, and corporate human resources departments in the form of diversity training programs, human resources modules, public policy frameworks, and school curricula.

            The Marxist movement uses a “series of euphemisms … to describe critical race theory, including “equity,” “social justice,” “diversity and inclusion,” and “culturally responsive teaching.” Knowing that Americans would reject “neo-Marxism,” the movement chose innocent sounding words. “Equity … sounds non-threatening and is easily confused with the American principle of equality.” However, there is a “vast and important” distinction between them.

Indeed, equality – the principle proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, defended in the Civil War, and codified into law with the 14^th and 15^th Amendments, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – is explicitly rejected by critical race theorists. To them, equality represents “mere nondiscrimination” and provides “camouflage” for white supremacy, patriarchy, and oppression.

In contrast to equality, equity as defined and promoted by critical race theorists is little more than reformulated Marxism. In the name of equity, UCLA Law Professor and critical race theorist Cheryl Harris has proposed suspending private property rights, seizing land and wealth and redistributing them along racial lines. Critical race guru Ibram X. Kendi, who directs the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, has proposed the creation of a federal Department of Antiracism. This department would be independent of (i.e., unaccountable to) the elected branches of government, and would have the power to nullify, veto, or abolish any law at any level of government and curtail the speech of political leaders and others who are deemed insufficiently “antiracist.”

One practical result of the creation of such a department would be the overthrow of capitalism, since according to Kendi, “In order to truly be antiracist, you also have to truly be anti-capitalist.” In other words, identity is the means and Marxism is the end.

An equity-based form of government would mean the end not only of private property, but also of individual rights, equality under the law, federalism, and freedom of speech. These would be replaced by race-based redistribution of wealth, group-based rights, active discrimination, and omnipotent bureaucratic authority. Historically, the accusation of “anti-Americanism” has been overused. But in this case, it’s not a matter of interpretation – critical race theory prescribes a revolutionary program that would overturn the principles of the Declaration and destroy the remaining structure of the Constitution.

            The above description does not sound like an America where most Americans would want to live. Anything that overturns the principles found in the Declaration of Independence or destroys the Constitution in any way is not good for America.

            Rufo is an investigative journalist, and he has “developed a database of more than 1,000” stories of how critical race theory is being applied at the highest levels of the federal government. Employees are “forced to renounce their ‘white male privilege’ and write letters of apology to fictitious women and people of color.” First grade children in Cupertino, California, were forced “to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities, and rank themselves according to their ‘power and privilege.’”

Middle school teachers in Springfield, Missouri, were forced “to locate themselves on an ‘oppression matrix,’ based on the idea that straight, white, English-speaking, Christian males are members of the oppressor class and must atone for their privilege and ‘covert white supremacy.’ Fifth graders in Philadelphia were forced “to celebrate ‘Black communism’ and simulate a Black Power rally to free 1960s radical Angela David from prison, where she had once been held on charges of murder.” A school district in Seattle “told white teachers that they are guilty of ‘spirit murder’ against black children and must ‘bankrupt [their] privilege in acknowledgement of [their] thieved inheritance.”

Rufo knows from his investigations that “critical race theory is becoming the operating ideology of our public institutions.” He wrote, “it is not an exaggeration – from the universities to bureaucracies to k-12 school systems, critical race theory has permeated the collective intelligence and decision-making process of American government, with no sign of slowing down.” He called the movement “a revolutionary change” that is “turned against the American people.” The ideology will not stop on its own, and attempts to halt its encroachment have not worked for a number of reasons.

First, too many Americans have developed an acute fear of speaking up about social and political issues, especially those involving race. …

Second, critical race theorists have constructed their argument like a mousetrap. Disagreement with their program becomes irrefutable evidence of a dissenter’s “white fragility,” “unconscious bias,” or “internalized white supremacy.” …

Third, Americans across the political spectrum have failed to separate the premise of critical race theory from its conclusion. Its premise – that American history includes slavery and other injustices, and that we should examine and learn from that history -- is undeniable. But its conclusion – that America was founded on and defined by racism and that our founding principles, our Constitution, and our way of life should be overthrown – does not rightly, much less necessarily, follow.

Fourth and finally, the writers and activists who have had the courage to speak out against critical race theory have tended to address it on the theoretical level, pointing out the theory’s logical contradictions and dishonest account of history. These criticisms are worthy and good, but they move the debate into the academic realm, which is friendly terrain for proponents of critical race theory.

            Rufo explained that critical race theory was “No longer simply an academic matter” because it has become “a tool of political power.” Therefore, the only way to successfully oppose it is “address it politically at every level.” He wrote, “Critical race theorists must be confronted with and forced to speak to the facts.” He explained that this can be done by forcing them to answer questions, such as: “Do they support public schools separating first-graders into groups of ‘oppressors’ and ‘oppressed’? Do they support mandatory curricula teaching that ‘all white people play a part in perpetuating systemic racism? Do they support public schools instructing white parents to become ‘white traitors’ and advocate for ‘white abolition’? Do they want those who work in government to be required to undergo this kind of reeducation? How about managers and workers in corporate America? How about the men and women in our military? How about every one of us?”

            Laying out a strategy to combat critical race theory, Rufo wrote that a successful strategy would be threefold: “governmental action, grass-roots mobilization, and an appeal to principle. He reminded his listeners that President Donald Trump signed executive orders that banned critical race theory in the federal government, but President Joe Biden rescinded that order. However, Trump’s executive order provided “a model for governors and municipal leaders to follow.” Several states have passed laws banning CRT. In fact, Rufo “organized a coalition of attorneys to file lawsuits against schools and government agencies that impose critical race theory-based programs on ground of the First Amendment (which protects citizens from compelled speech), the Fourteenth Amendment (which provides equal protection under the law), and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which prohibits public institutions from discriminating on the basis of race).

            The second way to combat CRT is at the grassroots level. There is “a multiracial and bipartisan coalition” emerging across the nation. Parents and teachers are speaking out against CRT in the schools, and employees are speaking out about the demands being made in the workplace. When Americans realize what is being forced upon the nation, they are standing up and demanding that it be stopped.

            The third way to combat CRT is with principles. Americans must use moral language instead of being confined by the CRT categories. “For example, we often find ourselves debating ‘diversity.’ Diversity as most of us understand it is generally good, all things being equal, but it is of secondary value. We should be talking about and aiming at excellence, a common standard that challenges people of all backgrounds to achieve their potential. On the scale of desirable ends, excellence beats diversity every time.”

            Americans should point out “the dishonesty of the historical narrative on which critical race theory is predicated.” In addition, we “must promote the true story of America – a story that is honest about injustices in American history, but that places them in the context of our nation’s high ideals and the progress we have made towards realizing them. Genuine American history is rich with stories of achievements and sacrifices that will move the hearts of Americans – in stark contrast to the grim and pessimistic narrative pressed by critical race theorists.”

            The most important thing is that “we must have courage – the fundamental virtue required in our time. Courage to stand and speak the truth. Courage to withstand epithets. Courage to face the mob. Courage to shrug off the score of the elites.” We must overcome the fear and stand together because CRT will not be able to stand in the face of such courage. Besides, “courage begets courage,” and “Truth and justice are on our side.” If we stand together with courage, we will win.

What Is Critical Race Theory, and How Can We Fight It?

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is how knowing the enemy is critical for defending against them. The topic for tonight is critical race theory, which is becoming embedded in most of the institutions in America. However, Americans are becoming aware of it and looking for directions.

            Christopher F. Rufo knows much about critical race theory and spoke about it at Hillsdale College on March 30, 2021. He began his talk by explaining the origin of it. 

In explaining critical race theory, it helps to begin with a brief history of Marxism. Originally, the Marxist Left built it political program on the theory of class conflict. Marx believed that the primary characteristic of industrial societies was the imbalance of power between capitalists and workers. The solution to that imbalance, according to Marx, was revolution: the workers would eventually gain consciousness of their plight, seize the means of production, overthrow the capitalist class, and usher in a new socialist society.

            Rufo explained that there were several regimes that “underwent Marxist-style revolutions [in the 20^th century], and each ended in disaster.” These regimes included the “socialist governments in the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, Cuba, and elsewhere racked up a body count of nearly 100 million of their own people….” The “Marxist intellectuals in the West” recognized the failures in the mid-1960s, so they changed their tactics.

But rather than abandon their Leftist political project, Marxist scholars in the West simply adapted their revolutionary theory to the social and racial unrest of the 1960s. Abandoning Marx’s economic dialectic of capitalists and workers, they substituted race for class and sought to create a revolutionary coalition of the dispossessed based on racial and ethnic categories.

            The Marxists were thwarted in their efforts in the 1960s by the civil rights movement. Instead of overthrowing America, proponents of the civil rights movement “sought instead the fulfillment of the American promise of freedom and equality under the law. The radical Left did not give up and started to introduce critical race theory into institutions. Rufo gave a good description of critical race theory.

Critical race theory is an academic discipline, formulated in the 1990s, built on the intellectual framework of identity-based Marxism. Relegated for many years to universities and obscure academic journals, over the past decade it has increasingly become the default ideology in our public institutions. It has been injected into government agencies, public school systems, teacher training programs, and corporate human resources departments in the form of diversity training programs, human resources modules, public policy frameworks, and school curricula.

            Rufo explained that proponents of critical race theory use euphemisms to describe it, words like “equity,” “social justice,” “diversity and inclusion,” and “culturally responsive teaching.” They are “masters of language construction” who realized that Americans would not buy “neo-Marxism.” So, they use equity. This word “sounds non-threatening and is easily confused with the American principle of equality. But the distinction is vast and important.”

Indeed, equality – the principle proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, defended in the Civil War, and codified into law with the 14^th and 15^th Amendments, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – is explicitly rejected by critical race theorists. To them, equality represents “mere nondiscrimination” and provides “camouflage” for white supremacy, patriarchy, and oppression.

In contrast to equality, equity as defined and promoted by critical race theorists is little more than reformulated Marxism. In the name of equity, UCLA Law Professor and critical race theorist Cheryl Harris has proposed suspending private property rights, seizing land and wealth, and redistributing them along racial lines. Critical race guru Ibram X. Kendi … has proposed the creation of a federal Department of Antiracism. This department would be independent of (i.e., unaccountable to) the elected branches of government, and would have the power to nullify, veto, or abolish any law at any level of government and curtail the speech of political leaders and others who are deemed insufficiently “antiracist.”

One practical result of the creation of such a department would be the overthrow of capitalism, since according to Kendi, “In order to truly be antiracist, you also have to truly be anti-capitalist.” In other words, identity is the means, and Marxism is the end.

An equity-based form of government would mean the end not only of private property, but also of individual rights, equality under the law, federalism, and freedom of speech. These would be replaced by race-based redistribution of wealth, group-based rights, active discrimination, and omnipotent bureaucratic authority. Historically, the accusation of “anti-Americanism” has been overused. But in this case, it’s not a matter of interpretation – critical race theory prescribes a revolutionary program that would overturn the principles of the Declaration and destroy the remaining structure of the Constitution.

            Rufo said, “Critical race theorists must be confronted with and forced to speak to the facts.” He suggested numerous questions to ask.

Do they support public schools separating first-graders into groups of “oppressors” and “oppressed”? Do they support mandatory curricula teaching that “all white people play a part in perpetuating systemic racism”? Do they support public schools instructing white parents to become “white traitors” and advocate for “white abolition”? Do they want those who work in government to be required to undergo this kind of reeducation? How about managers and workers in corporate America? How about the men and women in our military? How about every one of us?

            Rufo said that there are “three parts to a successful strategy to defeat the forces of critical race theory: governmental action, grassroots mobilization, and an appeal to principle.” We see states stepping up and passing laws to keep critical race theory out of their schools. Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order that banned training programs for critical race theory in the federal government, but President Joe Biden rescinded this order on his first day in office.

According to Rufo, “a multiracial and bipartisan coalition is emerging to do battle against critical race theory” with parents “mobilizing against racially divisive curricula in public schools. Employees are speaking out against it in their workplaces. In the third matter of principles, “we need to employ our own moral language rather than allow ourselves to be confined by the categories of critical race theory.” Rufo concluded his talk, “Truth and justice are on our side. If we can muster the courage, we will win.”

Will the 1776 Commission Continue to Oppose the 1619 Project?

            Former President Donald Trump saw the damage being done by the 1619 Project and appointed 18 members to his newly created President’s Advisory 1776 Commission. President Joe Biden abolished the commission on his first day in office. However, the 1776 Commission did not die but merely worked without federal appointment. The commission submitted its report to the White House, but the Biden administration has removed it from the WhiteHouse.gov site.

            According to Fred Lucas at The Daily Signal, the appointed members of the 1776 Commission met yesterday at the Hillsdale College campus in Washington, D.C. They expressed a united opposition to a federal regulation that promotes the teaching of critical race theory in school. They called for states and other localities to establish groups in their areas to promote the true and accurate history of America. At the end of a one-page statement, the commission stated the following. 

Lastly, recalling the long history of citizen participation in our civic life, we call on states, counties, and local communities to form their own 1776 commissions to advance this great work of American renewal as we prepare for the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in July 2026.

            In their published statement, the commission made clear that they oppose the proposed regulation by the Biden Department of Education to make it a priority to federally fund the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 school systems.

We are concerned that the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed rule defining priorities for the American history and civics education programs, whether as critical race theory or under the misleading name of “antiracism,” actually encourages and seeks to direct federal funds to the teaching of racial discrimination in America’s elementary and secondary school systems.

This proposed rule should be withdrawn, and individual states should oppose any such race-based pedagogy as part of their curricula, especially if that curricula is imposed by the federal government.

The Constitution leaves education to the states and localities and denies the federal government any authority to impose national curriculum standards. The federal government should not circumvent this obstacle by using federal funding to entice states and localities to adopt what it wants taught in the nation’s schools. We learned from the failed Common Core experiment that one-size-fits-all national models are a blueprint for trivializing and mechanizing learning.

Instead, we encourage a genuine civics education that will rebuild our common bonds, our mutual friendship, and our civic devotion and eagerly look forward to the forthcoming release of curricula designed in the true spirit of 1776.

            Critical race theory seeks to teach everything about America through the lens of race.

Thus, they teach that America began in 1619 when the first black slave came to America. The 1619 Project seeks to teach school children to hate each other and to hate their country, while the 1776 Commission seeks to create “consensus on historical facts of America’s founding, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.” Its report in January 2021 focused on the “bleaker parts of U.S. history such as slavery and restriction of voting rights to white males.” Nevertheless, activists and commentators on the left were critical of it. This is the reason why it no longer exists at WhiteHouse.gov.

What Will the 1776 Commission Do to Save Real American History?

            Before he left office, former President Donald Trump formed the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission with 18 members. On his first day in office, President Joe Biden disbanded the commission. Even though it is “no longer a presidential advisory commission or associated with the federal government,” the group will gather in Washington, D.C., on May 24 for a four-hour, working-lunch meeting. 

            Matthew Spalding, executive director of the commission as well as vice president of Washington operations for Hillsdale College, said that “It will continue in some form.” The appointees to the commission are all patriots who are familiar with United States history and the Constitution. They are all opposed to the 1619 Project.

            The public comment period ends soon for an Education Department regulation that would fund critical race theory in schools as well as promote the teaching of the 1619 Project. Critical race theory teaches that Americans are either an oppressor or the oppressed – depending on the color of their skin. The 1619 Project teaches that America began in 1619 when the first slave arrived in the colonies and that the Revolutionary War was fought to maintain slavery.

            The 1776 Commission may have been de-commissioned, but the patriots on it have not disbanded. Spalding sent a letter on Monday to the Department of Education outlining his thoughts on the proposed regulation.

The Department of Education’s proposed rule defining priorities for the American history and civics education programs, under the misleading name “anti-racism,” actually encourages and seeks to direct federal funds to the teaching of racial discrimination in America’s elementary and secondary school systems.

The proposed rule should be withdrawn, just as individual states, which actually have the authority over the nation’s K-12 educational system, should oppose race-based pedagogy as part of their curricula and even if attempted to be imposed lby the federal government.

            Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn and Carol Swain, a retired political science professor at Vanderbilt University were appointed to be the chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, for the commission. On behalf of Arnn, Spalding sent a message to members of the commission on Monday.

The work of the 1776 Commission was and is a noble effort. The 1776 Report calls for a return to the unifying ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence…. As we said in our statement on January 20, “the Commission may be abolished, but these principles and our history cannot be. We will all continue to work together to teach and to defend them.”

            You can find more information about the commission at this site. In January, the commission published its report with the goal of creating consensus on historical facts in the founding of America and the Declaration of Independence. While the report details the Constitution, it “focuses on bleaker parts of American history, such as slavery and restricting voting rights to white males for more than 125 years of the country’s history.” Spalding described the document as “a return to the unifying ideas stated in the Declaration of Independence” and added the following in January. 

It quotes the greatest Americans, black and white, men and women, in devotion to these ideas…. The commission may be abolished, but these principles cannot be. We will all continue to work together to teach and to defend them.

            Once published on the White House website, WhiteHouse.gov., the report has now been removed. However, I feel certain that it has been preserved somewhere by patriots. 

What Are Republicans Doing About Critical Race Theory?

             The Biden administration and numerous progressives are pushing the critical race theory (CRT). Now, Republicans are pushing back with legislation that opposes Biden’s rule to teach American children to make judgments according to skin color. Three Republican representatives introduced legislation: Rep. Burgess Owens (Utah), Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), and Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina).

            According to Fred Lucas, Owens introduced two measures to respond to Biden’s proposal to fund critical race theory in the schools. “One of the proposals by Owens … is a bill that would prohibit teaching of critical race theory within federal institutions…. The other is a resolution highlighting the dangers of teaching critical race theory in U.S. schools and decrying the ‘damaging philosophy within this prejudicial ideological tool.’” 

            Burgess has strong feelings about CRT because he “grew up attending segregated schools in the Jim Crow South … when people were treated differently based on the color of their skin.” He added the following in his public statement:

Critical race theory preserves this way of thinking and undermines civil rights, constitutionally guaranteed equal protection before the law, and U.S. institutions at large. This is the United States of America, and no one should ever be subjected to the discrimination that our laws so clearly prohibit.

            Roy’s legislation – titled Combating Racist Teaching in Schools Act (CRT Act) – proposes the blocking of “federal tax dollars from going to schools that teach critical race theory.” The bill includes “any elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education.”

Critical race theory, like all its racist derivations, is a direct affront to our core values as Americans….

No one in America – be they students, servicemen and women, government employees, or anyone – should be indoctrinated to hate our country, its founding, or our fellow citizens. Worse yet is its pernicious demands to “divvy us up by race” and perpetuate the lie that we should be treated differently by virtue of our skin color. There is no room for state-sanctioned racism anywhere in our society, and we must oppose it with all our might….

As Americans we believe that all are created equal by God Almighty, regardless of their skin color. That self-evident truth, and the American promise that comes with it, are worth fighting for.

            The first legislation proposed by Bishop – titled Stop CRT Act – would “prevent federal funds from paying for teaching critical race theory.” Roy’s second bill – titled Combatting Racist Training in the Military Act – would “block teaching critical race theory to the nation’s armed forces.” He explained the following in a public statement:

Critical race theory is a poison to the psyche of our nation. This destructive ideology has no place in America’s institutions, and the bills I’m introducing will help ensure that our government isn’t spending resources on promoting it.

            There is need for such legislation because the teaching of critical race theory is widespread in our nation. Anyone who opposes CRT can be punished, such as Lt. Col Matthew Lohmeier, who was the commander of 11^th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base Colorado. He was relieved of duty because he criticized military training in critical race theory. In fact, “the entire Defense Department, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s approval, promoted a similar reading list, supposedly to combat suspected extremism in the ranks.”

            Bishop stated that Biden and the radical left are “pushing this neo-Marxist propaganda into our classrooms, places of work, and even the military.” He stated that “Legislators on every level must fight back against this insidious effort to undermine the truths about our nation’s founding with everything we’ve got.”

            Lucas wrote that local school districts across the nation are implementing the teaching of CRT in their schools and gave the following examples.

·         Public schools in Evanston, Illinois, promoted the book “Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness,” with one school asking parents to discuss the book with their children at home. Among other things, the book argues that “whiteness is a bad deal” and “always was,” and that “you can be white without signing onto whiteness.” …

·         In Cupertino, California, educators required third graders to deconstruct their racial identities and then rank themselves according to their “power and privilege.”

·         An advisory board in Loudoun County, Virginia, called for teachers to be dismissed if they opposed the school district’s “equity training” inspired by critical race theory.

·         In Buffalo, New York, the school district applied critical race theory to an “emancipation curriculum” telling students that “all white people play a part in perpetuating systemic racism.” The district eliminated the line after it stirred controversy. 

·         In Louisiana, the Orleans Parish Board of Education adopted a resolution that says “our country’s racist history” is “still pervasive in today’s systems.” The resolution also calls the nation “an unjust systemic racist America.”

How Can Parents Fight Against Critical Race Theory?

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the importance of teaching patriotism. We cannot assume that the rising generation will love America, especially if schools are allowed to teach our children that America is evil. Critical race theory is currently being taught in school districts across the United States – except in one district in Texas.

            Last week, voters in a suburb of Dallas rejected critical race theory in a lopsided vote, but this is not the story being told by NBC News. NBC News reported the following.

On one side, progressives argued that curriculum and disciplinary changes were needed to make all children feel safe and welcome in Carroll, a mostly white but quickly diversifying school district…. On the other, conservatives in Southlake rejected the school diversity plan as an effort to indoctrinate students with a far-left ideology that, according to some, would institutionalize discrimination against white children and those with conservative Christian values.

            Even though the news reported the election to be “bitterly divided,” their statement is only partially correct at best. The election may have been bitter, but it was far from being divided. Jarrett Stepman described the results as follows. 

About 70% of the vote went against a whole slate of candidates – from the mayor’s race to school board and City Council – who supported a “diversity plan” that pushed critical theory on students and faculty, and turnout for the election was high. That’s not a “divided” election; it’s a landslide.

            Critical race theory is promoted as a way to make America less racist. Corporate America, government agencies, colleges and universities, and K-12 school districts all promote critical race theory. So, what is critical race theory? Why is it bad?

            Jonathan Butcher and Mike Gonzalez at The Heritage Foundation published an excellent paper on critical race theory. 

Critical Race Theory (CRT) makes race the prism through which its proponents analyze all aspects of American life – and do so with a degree of persistence that has helped CRT impact all of American life.

CRT underpins identity politics, an ongoing effort to reimagine the United States as a nation riven by groups, each with specific claims on victimization.

In entertainment, as well as the education and workforce sectors of society, CRT is well-established, driving decision-making according to skin color – not individual value and talent.

            According to Stepman, President Joe Biden sought to portray CRT as “sensitivity training” during his campaign for president. Stepman explained that CRT teaches “Americans to hate each other, to see fellow citizens as the ‘other,’ and to give license to discrimination in the name of racial justice. The core of critical race theory is the 1619 Project and “a critical element of the ‘great awakening.’”

            Critical race theory is bad for any society that upholds it because it divides the population according to race. This is why the conservatives in the Texas school district fought against it. Even though their “victory” is important, it is a minor one. It is important because it gives a blueprint for other school districts to follow in fighting critical race theory. One of the new members of Texas school district explained how they fought the battle.

            Hannah Smith explained that they started last August and “paired up with like-minded parents around the country.” “I was on conference calls with parents all over America who are fighting the same thing, so it’s important for people to know that they can band together and that they can make change.” In addition, they “worked to educate voters about what critical race theory is and how destructive it would be.” They also used Freedom of Information Act requests to determine “how extensively those ideas were being propagated behind closed doors.”

            The doctrine of critical race theory is unpopular because it is wrong. It divides instead of unifies. The Texas parents did the right thing when they organized to stop it.

What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Harmful?

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is critical race theory. Three days ago, on January 18, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis condemned critical race theory and said that there was “no room” for it in the classrooms in Florida. 

Florida’s civics curriculum will incorporate foundational concepts with the best materials and it will expressly exclude unsanctioned narratives like critical race theory and other unsubstantiated theories….

Let me be clear: There is no room in our classrooms for things like critical race theory…. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money.

DeSantis said that Florida “will invest in actual, solid, true curriculum and we will be a leader in the development and implementation of a world-class civics education.” DeSantis proposed spending $106 million to support the teaching of civics in the state. He proposed devoting $16.5 million to training teachers and principals in civics education. This amount included $3,000 to every teacher who becomes credentialed in teaching civics. Another $6.5 million would pay for developing partnerships between schools and governments to interest students in public service. In addition, $17 million would pay for developing civics curricula, a curriculum that would not include critical race theory.

DeSantis and Florida are not the only Americans concerned about critical race theory. The Heritage Foundation held a virtual event on January 11, 2021, titled “The New Intolerance: Critical Race Theory and Its Grip on America.” According to The Heritage Foundation, “Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become one of the dominant paradigms of our age, making race the sole prism through which proponents analyze all aspects of the American experience.”

Jarrett Stepman of The Heritage Foundation reviewed the webinar in an article titled “Critical Race Theory Infiltrates Government, Classrooms.” He stated that critical race theory is “an ideology that has dropped deep roots into America’s most powerful institutions [and] is opposed to the very foundation of Western civilization. He also wrote that the webinar explains “what critical race theory is, how pervasive it has become, and what needs to be done to stop it.” Stepman introduced the four panel members and summarized their presentations as follow. Critical Race Theory Infiltrates Government, Classrooms (dailysignal.com)

Mike Gonzalez is a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation. He is also the author of The Plot to Change America: How Identity Politics is Dividing the Land of the Free. Gonzalez explained how critical theory developed in Germany in the 1930s and further developed into critical race theory in the 1970s. “Critical race theory combines Marxist theories of oppressor versus oppressed with the lens of race. It ultimately defines all history and human interactions as a perpetual racial conflict.” [With this kind of garbage being taught in the schools and universities, there is little question about why the United States cannot get past the race problem.]

Jonathan Butcher is a senior education analyst at The Heritage Foundation. He is the co-author with Gonzalez of a paper on critical race theory. He explained why this theory is dangerous for the future of America. “Critical race theory and its parent, critical theory, are rooted in a worldview that wants to dismantle social and governmental norms.” Butcher warned that we should not “ignore the intolerance and ‘dogmas’ of critical theory” even though “racism and other prejudices still and will continue to exist.”

[He continued,] “Critical theory is not a sympathetic perspective with policy goals that lead to racial reconciliation, freedom, and opportunity…. It’s talking about subjugation and retribution.”

Butcher further explained that proponents of critical theory acknowledge that America was founded on “the values of the Enlightenment and classical liberalism” and that critical theory ideas counter those values.

Christopher Rufo is the director of the Center on Wealth and Poverty at Discovery Institute as well as a fellow at The Heritage Foundation. He explained that the critical race theory ideas are not confined to the margins of academia, but they are “pervasive in countless private and governmental institutions.”

In conducting research into human resource departments and governmental agencies that are increasingly reliant on critical race theory, Rufo found the following:

The National Nuclear Laboratory in New Mexico was holding a critical race theory-based training in which they took their white male executives to a resort and forced them to go through a series of trainings to deconstruct their white male identity, which was consonant with the [Ku Klux Klan], MAGA hats, mass killings.

They then had to publicly condemn themselves and write letters of apology for their “whiteness.”

The [Federal Bureau of Investigation] was holding intersectionality training for FBI employees, the Justice Department was teaching the tenets of critical race theory, and even the Treasury Department was holding training sessions outlining how the United States was a fundamentally racist and irredeemable country.

The research completed by Rufo led to President Donald Trump signing an executive order to ban these trainings in the federal government. [President Joe Biden signed an executive order that cancelled the one signed by Trump.]

Lindsey Burke is the director of the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. She said that the ideas about critical race theory have spread from the fountains at colleges and universities. She suggested that parents and other interested adults should pay attention to local school boards because they shape the curriculum in classrooms nationwide.

            What can be done to stop the spread of critical race theory? In a report by Burke and Gonzalez, they explained “how interest groups are able to lean on school boards and get material, like The New York Times’ 1619 Project, into classrooms.” Burke suggested that “State lawmakers should require public school boards to make curricular materials available for public review.” She had other suggestions for countering critical race theory.

Those in churches and community groups, in the workplace, I would cast a very careful eye to things that go under the guise of diversity trainings…. I think that anything that is casting accusations or calling people to apologize for simply their identification or their category, that removes hope. You are what you are born into.

            It is obvious that critical theory and critical race theory are pervasive in schools, private businesses, and government institutions. These theories are the opposite of the ideas upon which America was founded. If such theories and concepts are allowed to spread, they will destroy America as it has been for more than 230 years.

Critical theory and critical race theory must be rooted out of our nation as quickly as possible, and the best way to get rid of them is to expose them. I encourage all my readers to listen to the webinar and learn all that you can about these dangerous theories. Then you should do all that you can to spread the information to your family, friends, and neighbors. Another thing that you can do is to find and support conservative members of the school board.