Author’s Note: This post is longer than normal – there are 3 distinct chapters:

CH1 – Kevin’s Take

CH2 – Summary & Takes on Tenets

CH3 – Historical Illustration on Takes

CH1 – Kevin’s Take

Fear and relationships are interconnected in many ways – a lot of the things we fear are made less of a concern when we effort a relationship with the things we fear – this is true of most things – this is true with new concepts, first time events, beliefs, teachings, and most importantly people and people groups – it’s human nature to fear the things we are unfamiliar with.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is one of the latest ‘fears’ we’re being inundated with – many would have us believe CRT is the boogeyman that will ruin our schools, culture, and nation – the opposite end of the discussion would have us believe understanding CRT will end racial inequality in our legal, economic, social, and civil constructs.

For the purpose of these thoughts, the two primary sides of this CRT discussion are:

1. CRT better understood, is bad and has the potential to harm the nation.
2. CRT better understood, is good and has the potential to improve the nation.

Let me first state, if we have an opinion on CRT, and we have not read it, researched it, know who wrote it, or why they wrote it… shame on us – shame on us for failing to put any effort into something that has so divided our nation.

Secondly, if we find ourselves formulating ideas about CRT from one sided agenda-based news, op-ed sources, organizations, and movements that only share one side of the discussion… shame on us again – shame on us for failing to consider more than one side of something that has so divided our nation.

Before we start, I’m going to tell you my findings upfront – I fear many of us will not read any further because of our preconceived notions about CRT – nothing short of divine revelation will change many of our minds – to be clear, I’m being facetious about divine revelation, so please spare me your replies condemning me as a heretic – truthfully, divine revelation will not come from Kevin’s Thoughts, Tucker Carlson, Anderson Cooper, Joe Rogan, Brianna Keilar, Ben Shapiro, sports figures, the entertainment industry, or anyone who makes money from us following or listening to what they say.

Perhaps, divine revelation comes to those with a heart and mind fixed on a desire for things to be fair, to care for others, to give aid, to contribute to equality and justice – it requires some degree of intellectual and emotional sweat equity – for me (not everyone) it comes from a desire to genuinely apply Biblical principles and Constitutional ideals to circumstances, events, and conditions happening every day in the world around us.

Wait, what? Did Kevin just imply that CRT is somehow connected to Biblical principles and Constitutional ideals?

This is a good place for me to segue into my findings about CRT – I did not come to these conclusions quickly or within any vacuum of ideas – I read it, and researched it – I know who wrote it, and why they wrote it – I understand its application to our evolving legal, economic, and social structures – I also understand the fears, as well as the possibilities it could have for our nation.

FACT 1: CRT is a theoretical framework initially written in the mid-1970s for legal scholars to consider how structural and racial disparities started and evolved in our nation (a 400 year spectrum) – how these disparities are embedded and subsequently stimulated inequalities in our laws and economic strategies  – it’s a study of actual events, concepts and approaches that shaped racial disparities and gaps – it illustrates how the evolution of laws, economic concepts, and social orders, that are ‘supposed’ to be neutral, actually support and perpetuated racial disparity – the broader CRT study continues to be refined and expanded.

SIDEBAR 1: This exact same theoretical framework also applies to the question of equality for women in our nation over the past 400 years – there are some very interesting parallels between these two studies (for another day).

Whether or not we believe the findings of CRT to be true, is not relevant to these thoughts just yet (its coming) – bottom line up front, it is a detailed illustration of a deeper study and its findings – there are thousands of these “critical (fill in the blank) theories” throughout all of our institutions of higher learning  – it’s simply a method used to examine a topic within an academic discipline – that is a fact, and not meant for us to agree or disagree on.

FACT 2: There were initially six tenets that evolved into eleven as a result of the broader CRT effort – each of these principles are very detailed, well documented and easy to find for research – each tenet outlines a human condition that was altered (for good and bad) and evolved as a result of a people group of dominance, oppressing a different people group – the human conditions examined cover a spectrum of social, economic, legal, educational, and real life circumstances of the oppressed and the oppressor – this is also a fact that does not require concurrence.

I’ll admit the tenets and supporting documentation were written for scholars and law students –  so, the tenet’s hundreds of pages were challenging for me to read and digest – keep this in mind if you venture into your own research effort (I hope you will) – just know it’s not a quick read – as always, I strongly recommend we all do our own research and avoid conclusions drawn by people and organizations who are paid for drawing our attention with salacious, controversial, and one sided content.

MY (early) TAKE: I absolutely believe, and can illustrate, the tenets of Critical Race Theory are well grounded in Biblical principles (also other common religious principles not based on the Bible) and U.S. Constitutional ideals – these are very easy dots to connect, but I wanted to get this out before you quit reading – every religious teaching specific to behaviors of fairness and equally are the fundamentals for CRT – these basic religious principles and constitutional ideals were ‘supposed’ to apply to all of our legal, economic, social, and civil constructs – CRT illustrates how our nation repeated failed to meet these basic standards – having continually failed to achieve these basic standards, or effectively correct our course(s) over 400 years, we created conditions that progressively, institutionally, and systemically worked against people of color – all while, persons of power in our nation continued to progress and (for the most part) prosper.

FOR EXAMPLE: The essence of the first tenet of CRT, in simple terms: there is only one race (the human race) – any distinctions within the human race were created by men – basically, all men are created equal – this is a Biblical truth, as well as a Constitutional ideal – this is already taught in most schools, churches, and homes today – the CRT twist on this fundamental national belief is, our nation professed, all men are created equal, but did not apply this belief equitably, or justifiably for hundreds of years – this compromised application of our national belief proved to create lasting challenges and obstacles for people of color – no boogieman, just cause and effect.

That’s just one example of my take on a small portion of CRT – to be clear, this take is an actual fact of our history – we professed a belief which we did not apply correctly or fairly – that error created lasting degraded human conditions for people of color – this is also a fact of our history – so, help me understand…   Why can’t that be taught in age-appropriate classes? 

I know not everyone will agree with my position – but, I ask you to continue reading to better understand why I drew this conclusion – please, correct me if I’ve made an error – provide better insight or evidence for me to consider – do not just walk away – our nation is grossly divided, and we all have a role to play in correcting this, or adding to the divide.

CONTINUING: Critical Race Theory itself, and its findings are not really the issue that divides us – remember, there are hundreds of ‘critical (fill in the blank) theories’ in our institutions of higher learning – many of these theories are very controversial, and large segments of the nation disagree with them – but most of these other critical theories draw little or no attention – so, what’s the big deal with this fifty year old Critical Race Theory?

SIDEBAR 2: Some critical theories did come with a great deal of fear and push back – consider the outcry over the “Theories of Evolution” when they were introduced, and later found their way into textbooks.

CRT found its way into our news and social media during the height of civil and racial unrest over the past six years – even though CRT wasn’t new, it was new to most of us, and seemed more relevant to many – subsequently, CRT became more of a point of conflict as the talking heads, and agenda driven outlets blasted their many ‘interpretations’ of CRT into our TVs and devices – there are many reasons for us to consider, or ignore CRT – these reasons are numerous and diverse – the bottom line, whether or not we agree with CRT, race is undeniably a major point of conflict for our nation.

Today we hear about many religious denominations, individual churches, state and local governments, colleges and universities looking into adopting CRT as an additional source to better understand race as it applies to our racially charged nation – we can easily name as many prominent religious leaders who favor CRT, as there are those who oppose it –  the same can  be said of political, education, economic, and cultural leaders in our nation today – how is it our nation is so divided by the origins of racism? This feels like something we should openly embrace for a better understanding of race and racism.

Consider this, a nation with so much wealth, liberty, personal rights, opportunity, resources, and vast space should have had more reasons for ALL of its citizens to be enormously successful, than it does to have such dismal challenges and obstacles for so many of our people of color – CRT considered these conditions (back in the 60s and 70s) and addressed many historical paradigms to help explain how we arrived at these unequal human conditions.

Churches, educational organizations, sectors of the government, and social dynamics began to consider CRT  – this led to the possibility that CRT might be taught in our schools K-12 – this was too much for many in the nation to accept – remember, CRT has now been (correctly and falsely) interpreted, and broadcasted many different ways across our divided social landscapes – with so many not doing their own research, we’ve all gotten drawn into the CRT hate-hype – we’re being repeatedly programed to fear, or embrace CRT – often times with falsehoods from both sides of the argument, that simply do not exist in CRT.

Fear and panic spread across mostly conservative White citizens – fear about raising consciousness of long term, systemic structural inequality, and institutional racism – fear of the potential fallout because it implicates many of our practices and indicates what may need to be done to have a fair and just society – many believe, the corrective medicine for racism is worse than the inflection itself – the nation’s divide grows wider, and the fear grows stronger.

Local governments, school boards and political leaders are justifiably conflicted about how to proceed, as shouting, hate shaming, outrage, and tension continues to rise – if some or all of CRT proves to be true, how can any school effectively, accurately teach race theory, racial history, or racism without seriously indicting our nation’s history – this is essentially the conflictive question before us.

SIDEBAR 3: From a teaching perspective, perhaps it is not enough to simply state national beliefs, or constitutional concepts – perhaps there is value in making the connection to real-world applications of those concepts.

For Example: Why not teach, our nation has Constitutional ideals – our nation did not always live up to those ideas – those errors caused long term negative consequences for people groups – here are some ways our nation corrected those errors – here are some ways our nation can continue to avoid those errors – and yes, always teach to age-appropriate.

CH2 – Summary & Takes on Tenets

Okay, that was 2000 words on my perspective – enough already – here are the summaries of the tenets:

So, what are these tenets?

Why are they so controversial?

Why must we keep those lessons learned in or out of our schools?

Fear not, I will not copy and paste the hundreds of pages that is Critical Race Theory into this document – I have copied and pasted the ‘summary’ of each of the tenets – one important concept to remember before we proceed, race seen as anything other than, of the same human race, is a notion created by dominant people groups and is a systemic intrinsic belief – for CRT, race is defined as different, unequal, or purposed for – it does not define race as Black, White, Spanish, Asian, etc – okay here we go – next you’ll find the tenets plus my thought on each:

Critical Race Theory (Summary of Tenets):

1. Race is Socially Constructed

“Race is not a natural, biological, “out there” entity such that it exists independently of law and society. Rather, it is a product of human social interaction, a construction of social reality. Further, race and racial categories were historically created to justify and maintain social hierarchy, slavery, and other forms of group-based exploitation, as well as to distribute rights, citizenship, privileges, access, and disparate advantages/disadvantages.”

BLUF: All mankind is created equal – not much to argue with there, until we (mankind) changed it – the Biblical and Constitutional connections are clear here – race distinctions and hierarchy at the humankind level, other than appearances and cultures, did not exist until man created it for his own objectives.

2. Differential Racialization

“Race, as an historically contingent artifact, was constructed to serve different social needs for differing social purposes at different times and in different places throughout history. Therefore, not all “races” were historically constructed along the same lines, nor imbued with the same set of characteristics, nor are these constructions particularly stable through time.”

BLUF: Not all manmade race distinctions were alike or commonly driven – this speaks to a further delineation and separation of peoples for the purposes of the dominate group – this paring and sorting of people groups (for another people group’s purposes) is not at all Biblically or Constitutionally sound.

3. Intersectionality

“Further, because race has been socially constructed to serve different purposes for different groups at different times, race is inextricably linked with other social constructions and/or social arrangements developed by dominant groups to distribute protections, rights, citizenship, privileges, access, advantages, and disadvantages. As such, “race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nation, ability, and age operate not as unitary, mutually exclusive entities, but rather as reciprocally constructing phenomena”.

BLUF: If Tenets 1 & 2 are true (and they are), then race distinctions from a dominate people group are also linked with other social constructions and/or social arrangements – CRT is contrasting what happened to be Biblical and Constitutional ideals, against implementation of unequal availability of protections, rights, citizenship, privileges, access, advantages, and disadvantages – it’s the unjustified progressive compromised of rights (et al) for the developing advantages of the dominant people group.

4. Racism is Endemic to American Life

“Because race was historically constructed by, in tandem with, and as integral to other central formative American systems and institutions—including American law, government, nation, politics, religion, human geography, economic structure, and distributive schemas—the attendant racial hierarchies and ideologies are likewise integral to American life and its institutions.”

BLUF: Tenets 1-4 are naturally progressive inherent coercive behaviors, which apply and enforce far reaching limitations on people groups – this led to a broader need for integration of dominance and subordination into existing and developing institutions and systems (laws/governance) – again, behavior in contrast to Biblical and Constitutional ideals.

NOTE: The principles of these first four tenets are already taught in homes, churches, and schools within concepts of “all men are created equal” – the fact that our nation systemically failed (and continued to fail) to treat all men equally is the point – it’s a point that should not be feared, or hidden – it’s a point we should acknowledge, learn from, and never repeat.

5. CRT is Skeptical of Claims to Neutrality, Objectivity, Color-Blindness, and Meritocracy

“Because racism is endemic to American life and institutions, concepts like neutrality, objectivity, color-blindness, and merit are viewed by CRT scholars as sites of racial formation and preservation, as historical artifacts containing their own racial ideologies, racial logics, and racial preferences, and are therefore legitimate sites of racial critique. CRT judges decision procedures not by their facial neutrality or objectivity, but by their remedial effectiveness in addressing the subordinated circumstances of people of color.”

BLUF: I believe this tenet sets up a reversal by demonstrating how colorblindness can produce racial preferences, and how color consciousness can neutralize and disrupt embedded racial advantages – instead of race (the human race in this case) preceding our laws, ideology, and social relations, CRT conceptualizes race, and progressive race delineations as a product of our evolving laws, ideology, and social relations – meaning (in many cases), our laws (et al) did not simply reflect dominate people group’s ideas about race – ours laws actually generated greater racial disparities (this is a fundamental point to this entire study)  – our laws, and constructs have historically employed race as a basis for group differentiation – there are thousands of easy to find examples of this if we want to peel that onion one day.

6. Racism is a Structural Phenomenon and Explains Current Maldistributions

“As such, racism is primarily a problem of historically racialized systems—created for the distribution of social, political, and economic goods—continuing to perform as it was historically created, even in our supposedly “post-racial” legal era.”

BLUF: There are many arguments whether or not there was/is inequity or unevenness when it comes to distribution of abilities, resources, access, rights, liberties, etc., etc over an area, or people group – for me the evidence is overwhelming – but, we need to do the work and look deeper than our ‘candy coated’ versions of US History taught in most public schools – NOTE: before you launch an attack on my view of public schools…  please know that I attended public schools K-12 in 8 states (GA, AL, TX, AZ, OK, AK, NC, and HI) – my children attended public and DoD schools in 4 states or locations (CA, AL, VA, and Germany) – I don’t need anyone’s version of how wrong I am about the quality of US History taught to in public schools – my firsthand knowledge is pretty solid – and that’s my point, incomplete or one sidedness, is always a compromised view.

NOTE: “Many people alive today were alive when Jim Crow was in full force. And when these same people were born, former slaves were still alive. We are not that far removed from this history. It is the truth, and it should be taught.” This sentiment has been shared by many referencing historical relevance and applicability – some might even say, “the truth will set us free” – just a thought.

7. CRT is Discontent with Liberalism and the Standard Racial Progress Narrative

“On the other hand, liberalism conceptualizes racism as an aberration, a departure from the social norm. Therefore, liberalism tends to idealize the problem of racism as (1) prejudice, bias, and stereotype, (2) discrimination, or “allowing race to count for anything,” and (3) mere physical separation of races. Liberal answers to racism, accordingly, are (1) increased knowledge, (2) color-blindness, and (3) racial “mixing”; and, of course, plenty of time to allow “enlightenment” to run its natural course.”

BLUF: I believe the point is, writers of CRT see liberal diagnoses and remedies as a means of preserving the status quo, preserving and legitimizing the current failed distribution of social power and the racially subordinated circumstances embedded within greater national level constructs – CRT scholars illustrate the liberal approach to racism fails to address larger embedded systemic driving forces at a national level.

NOTE: (brace yourself) Where are the moral conservative voices in this discussion – why are we so opposed to actual CRT concepts (not the interpretations from the talking heads)? Are we not the platform of moral correctness? Do we not claim to hold fast to truth and justice? Are our values not laced in the principles of “all men are created equal?” Why do we profess that everyone can be successful, while ignoring the challenges and obstacles we placed on people of color? What does our Bible teach us about unjust treatment of others? What does our Constitution promise all citizens? I’m continually shocked by the legislative, economic, educational, and social/civil justice positions and postures of conservative Americans reference racism and the history of racism.

Have our beliefs become subordinate to our politics?

8. Interest Convergence

“Because of the embedded nature of racism, due to the historical nature of racial construction, racial progress is often ephemeral, and always prioritized in contrast with the rest of the traditional liberal program—i.e., individual freedom, freedom of association, free markets, vested interests, property rights, etc. Significant change normally occurs only when the latter interests are threatened by racist policy and thereby converge with the interests of people of color. When these interests change, the fortunes of Black Americans are in turn reversed. The dialectic of racial reform and retrenchment is a central CRT analytic.”

BLUF: This tenet requires a long view to see it’s precept clearly – consider 400 years of laws and policies that were either designed to provide fairness and equality, but were never effectively enforced (at state or federal levels) – or laws and policies that were tilted and tainted to perpetuate control and submission (mostly at state levels) – then realizing the common denominator for progress, (if progress was made) was the law/policy met the needs of other political agendas, or unrelated objectives (i.e. piecemeal solutioning) – there are deeper studies of this concept at most collegiate law departments that are easy to tap in to – the point is, continued inequities and disparities at multiple levels of government, economic strategies, and social/civil injustices with no effective national level all-encompassing fix to provide moral based corrective action, caused deeper systemic embedded racial disparities – the nation simply failed to do the ‘right’ thing (holistically), even though it was the ‘right’ thing to do (morally, Biblically, Constitutionally, ethically, honorably).

9. Unique Voice of Color Thesis

“Those who have been, and continue to be, marginalized through social identification with historically constructed groups are thereby uniquely placed to address their unique social, legal, political, and economic subordination, as they “are more likely to have had experiences that are particularly epistemically salient for identifying and evaluating assumptions that have been systematically obscured or made less visible as the result of power dynamics.”  In this manner, embedded, seemingly invisible, systems of racism can be made more visible to those who have been socialized as members of other historically constructed groups.”

BLUF: This point is easy to see, but difficult to digest – before we try to define or address racism, and the History of American Racism, we must either walk a mile in the shoes of those with firsthand knowledge of racism – or, listen well to stories and experiences of those who’ve lived, struggled, and died under the heavy hands of racism – we failed, as the nation’s dominate people group (Whites) by placing the need to protect our own version of national history, and by inserting our own preconceived notions of racism, and by totally ignoring the realities of racism… before we walked with, or listened to, or learned from those with firsthand knowledge of racism – this is the most telling failure of our nation’s effort to address racism – this is evident in the way we vote, behave, worship, shop, spend, invest, provide care/aid, etc., etc… it’s obvious, if we’ll just make an effort to see racism from a perspective other than our own.

10. CRT Aspires to be Interdisciplinary and Eclectic

“Further, since race is not a natural entity but a social construct, and since racism is thereby embedded in American society through its historical construction, race and racism are particularly amenable to fruitful interrogation by aspects of both Critical Theory and post-modernism/structuralism. Accordingly, CRT scholars seek to deconstruct these systems and ideologies, but with an eye toward reconstruction and liberation. More broadly, CRT seeks to incorporate a wide range of traditions and disciplines in order to address the various and sundry ways racialization is embedded throughout society.”

BLUF:  Concepts and theories for addressing actions to apply greater equality, justice, and fairness across systems and ideologies that make up our legal, economic, educational, and social/civil constructs will not be trivial or narrowly focused – it took 400 years to weave systemic racism into our constructs – it will take more than a snap piece of legislation, a school few board meetings, or local policies to unravel this raciest entanglement.

11. CRT is Both Theory and Praxis

“In the end, CRT seeks not only to understand race and racial subordination, but to change the subordinated circumstances of marginalized peoples. CRT scholars understand that consistent, effective, liberative critical social theory cannot separate the construction of social knowledge from the active redistribution of social power.”

BLUF: For me, the point here is really a challenge to the nation – things can either remain the same, or be changed – but change is not possible unless the approach considers the widest perspective and far-reaching efforts –  the target is massive – consider reversing hundreds of years of embedded systemic racist constructs, civil ideologies, social doctrines, and legal agendas – it is a damn heavy lift – now add to that effort a need to correct layers of one sided, tight fisted, self-preserving desires to promote only the White-side of our history…   at the enormous cost of freedom, equality, and justice of our nation’s people of color.

Critical Race Theory is NOT the boogieman – Critical Race Theory is you and I, and the roles we could play – will we correct our course, or will we continue our course?

Do we have enough national integrity to clearly and correctly ‘call ourselves out’ for the compromises our nation inflicted on our people of color?

There is always great gain when wrongs are acknowledged, addressed, and learned from.

CH3 – Historical Illustration of Takes

SIDEBAR 4:  A high level, fast moving, well documented view of perceptions of people of color as our nation was founded and evolved – many of these bullets are only partially taught in public schools:

In 1607, 104 Englishmen arrive in North America and almost starved except for the indigenous peoples who provided aid – subsequently the Englishmen included the following description of the indigenous peoples in the Jamestown Charter, ignoring the fact the natives already had a unique government & religion:

“…they live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and savages, living in those parts, to human civility, and to settle and quiet government…”

In 1619, indentured servants, slaves and “laborers” were brought to the new land – immediately distinctions and disparities were identified and implemented – the indentured servants and laborers weren’t free (by definition), but they could attain freedom – the ‘negros’ were never considered for freedom.

What was the difference? Laws of that time undoubtedly illustrate early America started out as an intrinsically racist society:

1662: Virginia law enacted: Negro women’s children to serve according to the conditions of the mother.

“Whereas some doubts have arisen whether children got by any Englishman upon a negro woman should be slave or free. Be it therefore enacted and declared by this present grand assembly, that all children born in this country shall be held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother…”

1667: Virginia law enacted, declaring that baptism of slaves doth not exempt them from bondage.

“Whereas some doubts have risen whether children that are slaves by birth, and by the charity and piety of their owners made partakers of the blessed sacrament of baptism, should by virtue of the baptism be made free. It is the enacted and declared by this grand assembly, and the authority thereof, that the conferring of baptism doth not alter the condition of the persons as to his bondage or freedom; that diverse masters, freed from this doubt, may more carefully endeavor the propagation of Christianity by permitting children, though slaves, or those of growth if capable to be admitted to that sacrament.”

1669: Virginia law enacted: An act about the casual killing of slaves.

“Whereas the only law in force for the punishment of refractory servants, resisting their master, mistress or overseer cannot be inflicted upon negroes, not the obstinacy of many of them by other than violent means suppress. Be it enacted and declared by this grand assembly, if any slave resist his master (or other by his masters order correcting him) and by the extremity of the correction should chance to die, that his death shall not be accompted a felony, but the master (or that other person appointed by the master to punish him) be acquitted.”

1776, America declared its Independence from Britain – there was a Revolutionary war – a constitutional oligarchy was created which allowed only 25% of the population to vote – but we called it a “democracy” –

Democracy defined:

1. government by the people; especially rule by the majority.
2. a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Oligarchy defined:

1. government by the few,
2. a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.
3. an organization under control

1785: Article 2 of the Constitution reference the electoral college, which speaks to women and people of color not being justly included, perpetuating a system that only allowed one third of the nation to have a represented voice.

“…there was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending immediate choice by the people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the northern states; and the latter could have no influence in the election of the score of negroes. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections.”

1787 – Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 49% of them owned slaves, earned money, and created commerce, trade, and economic structures from advantages of enslaving people groups.

1787: Article 4 of the Constitution reference the Fugitive Slave Clause; this clause gave enslavers the right to seize enslaved people who escaped to free states.

1808: The legislative branch or Article I of the Constitution further embeds structured disparity for people of color.

“The migration or importation of such person as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.”

“No Capitation or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.”

“Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within the Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service from a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons.”

We can teach one version of our Founding Fathers, but not about the children many founder fathered, and kept enslaved – generating a legacy of thousands of family members living an compromised inherited existences – because these family members were seen as unworthy to share in a full inheritance (for generations to come).

Consider a study of the US economy from 1780 – 1900, it’s progressive wealth, dominance of world trade, and industrial superiority… now consider it WITHOUT the advantages, and impacts of hundreds of thousands of enslaved, under represented, under compensated, harshly treated Blacks, Native American, Asians and Hispanics – the contrast is night and day – yet this fact is barely a blip in the greater curriculum of US Economics – are we sure our nation was not founded on racist constructs?

Public schools barely discuss why entire nations of indigenous natives moved across the country – we don’t elaborate on most of the unjust, unfair (many forced) treaties with natives signed by our  government – yet, someone took control and ownership of those lands and resources – someone gain millions of dollars of accumulated wealth from those (illegal) personal gains – seriously, we’re not a nation founded on racism?

1860: The economic value the four million slaves (on average of $1K each) equal o/a $4B of personal wealth for slave owners at that time – that was more than all U.S. banks, railroads, and factories combined – in today’s dollars, that would have been comparable to $42T accounting for inflation and interest – but, can we really put a price on personal freedoms, liberties, and rights? Oh wait, we did put a price of $1K each on personal freedoms, liberties, and rights – this is a critical perspective not taught in most public schools.

1861: Eleven (slave owning) states decided they would rather form their own country – public schools teach the reason for this secession was more about “States Rights” than those state’s ability to own slaves – one might ask, states right to do what? – well, as a matter of fact… for state’s rights to own slaves and perpetuate a booming economy at the expense of personal freedoms, liberties, and rights of more than half of those state’s populations – not founded on racism?

1865: After the Civil War, the US ratified the 13th Amendment – the US population exploded by 4 million people who were already working for free, against their will – this kinda feels like oppressor dominance.

Then came the period called Reconstruction. We can’t teach what we were reconstructing from. All we can say is there was a lot of terrorism and secret fraternities that changed the political, social and economic structure of America, but we can’t teach why –  specifically, these groups included: KKK, Knights of the White Camelia, the Black Legion, Vigilance Committees, Knights of the Flaming Sword, Klan of America, Silver Shirts, German-American Bund, Association of Georgia Klan, Klan of the Confederacy, Silver Dollar Group, White Knights, etc., etc. – there were hundreds of these groups and organizations between 1877 and today – because their members were White, they had great power and influence over laws, economics, juries, judges, education, civil/social constructs, churches, land rights, access and availability to commerce, trade, roads, bridges, schools, etc., etc.   “…all men are created equal with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” – unless you’re a person of color – but that was back in the day? Right? (SMH).

1867: “The Reconstruction Act of 1867 which outlined the terms for readmission to representation of rebel states. The bill divided the former Confederate states, except for Tennessee, into five military districts. Each state was required to write a new constitution, which needed to be approved by a majority of voters—including African Americans—in that state. In addition, each state was required to ratify the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. After meeting these criteria related to protecting the rights of African Americans and their property, the former Confederate states could gain full recognition and federal representation in Congress. Admission to representation of the former Confederate states began the next year.”

This Act quickly failed – why did The Reconstruction Act of 1867 fail? This federal legislation ultimately failed to protect former slaves from white persecution and failed to engender fundamental changes to the social fabric of the South – there were three modifications to The Reconstruction Act over the next seven years – each with pros and cons, depending whether you were White or Black  – laws without teeth equal no law at all – consider all the laws and legislation over the past 200 years with little or no teeth, and we still claim (and teach) to have corrected systemic racism.

1914: Then came WWI.

1929: Then came the Great Depression when the American economy collapsed.

1933: The country addressed the depression with the New Deal, the greatest social program in American history – it created what we now call the “middle class” – but only for some people:

“The minimum wage regulations of the New Deal made it illegal for employers to hire people who weren’t worth the minimum because they lacked skills. As a result, some 500,000 blacks, particularly in the South, were estimated to have lost their jobs.”

The New Deal established some 700 industrial cartels, which restricted output, and forced wages & prices above market levels – CCC, TVA and AAA were some of these cartels aimed at southern states – without vigilance, it was easy for these cartels to deny benefits to Black workers – AAA evicted Black sharecroppers and tenant farmers off the land they were working – CCC disproportionately hired Whites over Blacks because of internal instructions from their director Robert Fechner – Fechner had many positive attributes, but he was also an admitted raciest – he did not believe Blacks should work, live, or rest alongside Whites – the CCC eventually began to incorporate Blacks as cooks, clean up teams, and runners – however, Blacks were not housed, paid, or fed equal to their White coworkers, even if the Blacks had equal or greater skills than the Whites – TVA also had strict practices of racial segregation which hindered Black participation – you won’t find this in any textbooks.

1935: Social Security Act signed into Law.

“Charles Hamilton Houston (NCAAP) and George E Hayes (NUL) testified in Congress, stressing the importance of including Black workers. But when FDR signed the Social Security Act into law in 1935, it deemed farmers and domestics ‘ineligible’, which meant that 87% of Black women and 55% of all Black workers were excluded.”

1938: World War II.

Thousands of Blacks joined the military – they joined to fight for freedom, as well as financial stability offered by the GI Bill – however, many Black war veterans did not get the freedom, or the financial stability promise for their service.

“I happen to be a Alabama Veteran myself. I was interested to learn of this thing called the GI Bill which provided me and other negro veterans with certain opportunities for the time we spent in the service were really so, or if it were just political talk and agency answer – agency answer that’s always “No” or “Sorry Mack, you’re just a little late.” – Black World War Veteran William Twitty, 1946.

“Returning soldiers were warned by friends and family not to wear their uniforms home, blacks in uniform were perceived as ‘uppity’ and were frequent targets of racist, white, law enforcement. The following tells the reception of Dabney Hammer, a black veteran who returned in uniform to his home state of Mississippi:

“Dabney Hammer, who came back to Mississippi wearing his war medals, encountered a white man in his home town of Clarksdale, MS. “Oweee, look at them spangles on your chest. Glad you back. Let me tell you one thing don’t you forget… you’re still a nigger.”

“White civilians, were anxious to remind black of their place in American actively sought opportunities to reinforce white dominance.”

1954-1968: Civil Rights Movement – the Martin Luther King era – hind sight is always clearer than foresight or even the present – these survey results tell a lot about the mindset and beliefs of Whites, even though they were very aware of the state of race relations in our nation:

Harris Survey (Aug 1966)

“I’d like to ask you if you were in the same positions as negros, if you think it would be justified or not to march and protest in demonstration?”

46% Justified

54% Not Justified

“All in all, do you feel the demonstrations by negros on civil rights have helped more or hurt more in the advancement of negro’s rights?”

85% Hurts

15% Helped

“Tell me for each man, if in your opinion, you think he is helping or hurting the negro cause for civil rights….. Martin Luther King?’

36% Helping

50% Hurting

14% Not sure

Subpopulation: White response

Methodology: Conducted by Louis Harris & Associates during Aug 1966 – based on personal interview with a national adult sample of 1250, Sample size is approximate. As reported in the Washington Post. Data provided by The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.

NOTE: I follow Michael Harriot for his pointed, clear, concise takes on racism in American as well as American History – the following is one of his rants specific to what we don’t teach in public schools – it is meant to be slang, casual and confrontational.

START Quote:

Michael Harriot – @michaelharriot – Sr. Writer at TheRoot.com, writer at Amber Ruffin Show, author of “Black AF History,” board-certified wypipologist (look it up), last real Negus alive

“If we don’t talk about race, not only can’t we understand American history, but if we don’t understand the complex problem of race in America, one can only surmise that current disparities exist because some people are lazier, dumber and more violent than others (I can’t say who).”

“This version will also mean people will THINK they know history because they got good grades in Social Studies, but they will have no idea that they’re really ignorant to the truth.”

And here’s the crazy part:

THIS IS ACTUALLY HOW HISTORY IS CURRENTLY TAUGHT! Social studies is the only subject in the American education system that damn near EVERYONE is taught wrong.

When you took advanced math in college, you didn’t learn that 2+2=8 .

Your English professor didn’t have to explain that question marks didn’t exist

But I’m America, you have to actually UNLEARN LIES to understand history.

And if you think you weren’t lied to, ask yourself this:

Why do you know Christopher Columbus’ name?

Seriously. Forget about whether he was good or bad. Why does every child in America know his name?

Because they told us a LIE that he discovered America. We know it’s objectively false but kids STILL KNOW HIS NAME.

NOTE: In actual fact, Columbus did not discover North America. He was the first European to sight the Bahamas archipelago and then the island later named Hispaniola, now split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. On his subsequent voyages he went farther south, to Central and South America. He never got close to what is now called the United States.

But that’s not what we’re doing right now. So, let’s say CRT actually taught that ALL white people are privileged & America is racist…

Now think about the extermination of the indigenous people.

Or the violent theft of their land

Or Black people’s labor

Or Reconstruction

Or Red Summer

Or the Civil Rights movement

Or all the economic disparities, social inequality and political barriers that still exist…

If you use legislation to create a system that protects ALL white kids from simply having to LEARN the history that Black and indigenous people actually endured…

Then aren’t you PROVING that CRT was correct this whole time?

END Quote.

Hundreds of historical and contemporary surveys retort the same findings and similar messages – Critical Race Theory is denounced by most surveyed White Americans – yet, surveyed White Americans also seem to be well informed about the basic roots of systemic racist constructs in America 

What outlawed slavery in the United States?

36% correctly picked the 13^th Amendment

Did slavery exist in all 13 American colonies?

49% correctly picked ‘yes’

When Lincoln ran for president, did he promise to end slavery?

36% correctly picked ‘no’

What percentage of the U.S. populations in 1860 were slaves?

25% knew the correct answer was 13%

What was the main cause of the Civil War?

52% correctly picked ‘slavery’

Based on so many of these polls, it appears that those who oppose CRT often understand the basic causes of systemic racism – but they also deny the ‘weight’ of those same causes – is it because they aren’t really trying to outlaw CRT? Or are they’re trying to outlaw the truth and continue with the misinformation?

The misinformation is rampant:

And one of the most widely used textbooks in the country, The American Pageant, describes the human trafficking of the Trans Atlantic slave trade as “immigration” and says slaves helped out with “chores” on “agricultural plantations” – the same text revers to the Civil War as The War for Southern Independence.

A textbook from Connecticut taught fourth graders in 2016: “Compared to other colonies, Connecticut did not have many slaves. They often cared for and protected them like members of the family. They taught them to be Christian, and sometimes to read and write.”

Virginia’s slave code strongly forbade slaves from reading, owning guns and traveling. But here’s what Virginia’s 4th-grade textbooks were teaching kids until the 1970s:

“Early in Virginia history the General Assembly made laws closely controlling the Negroes. However, the las were not fully enforced. Any slave masters did not like to have the state government meddle in what they considered their private business. They managed their servants accordingly to their own methods. They knew the best way to control their slaves was to win their confidence and affection. Many negroes were taught to read and write. Many of them were allowed to meet in groups for preaching, for funerals, and for singing and dancing. They often went visiting at night and sometimes owned guns and other weapons.”

Is this a historical lie intended to make white kids feel good about Virginia’s use of slavery?

Test books across the nation commonly “soften” reasons for Whites and Blacks migrating and relocating:

“Movement of some white Americans from cities to suburbs was driven by a desire to get away from more culturally diverse neighborhoods.”

“Some people wished to escape congestion and crime of the city.”

“Many Negro families migrated to better climates than Southern States offered.”

“Whites and Negroes often relocated to remain in step with advancing the American dream.”

Textbooks also produce gross disparities of history from state to state:

Texas textbooks state, “…white Southerners opposed Reconstruction because of tax increases as well as racial resentment.”

California textbooks state, “…includes primary-source quotations form black historical figures about while resistance to civil rights.”

Both state’s textbooks state, “…breaches of racial etiquette led to lynching after Reconstruction. But California, makes is clear that the perpetrators of lynching’s also hoped to discourage black political and economic power.”

“In Kentucky’s 1983 curriculum, they actually had a film that showed slave life in Kentucky was not “as bad as in other areas of the South. Then they did an exercise where the kids pretended to be slave masters.”

Most southern states, up until the 1970s taught that Slavery was:

“…one of the earliest forms of Social Security in the United States.”

Alabama high school textbooks excused violence against Blacks because:

“Many Alabama white men believed that they could not depend on the laws or the state government. They wanted to get government back into the hands of men they felt knew how to run it. “

Alabama textbook 1980:

Plantation Life:

“Now we come to one of the happiest ways of life in Alabama before the War Between the States. This is life as it was lived on the big plantations. As we have said, there were large numbers of small farmers and not many big plantation owners. The kind of like these few plantations owners made for themselves has lived on in song and story to become part of the history of the Old South. Some people have large plantations because cotton raised on the rich river valley lands was worth a lot of money. The owners raised thousands of bales of cotton big plantations with Negro slaves to help with the work.”

Truth is important – truth is important to more than just textbooks.

Text books laced with misinformation are only one layer of many challenges people of color endured – there were laws – lots of laws – local and state laws took on the flavor of Jim Crowe – laws prohibited Black people from playing checkers with white people – using a parking space reserved for white people – being buried next to a white person – using the same telephone booth as a white person – entering the same door as a white person – marrying a white person.

Black people could not buy tickets to white-only venues where Black people performed – or eat at white-only restaurants where Black people cooked – or dance on American Bandstand – or have their records played on white radio stations – or use the public library – or swim at public pools.

We haven’t even touched racist policing, unjust court systems, wrongful convictions lynching’s, failed prison systems, arrest/bail loops, redlining, employment gaps, unfair economic strategies, unequal education systems, broken healthcare, etc., etc… we all know this list is painfully long – how can this not be systemic?

All history has shameful components – all nations struggle with failures of the past – but this nation is supposed to be different – we claim to be able to grow and improve from our past – we’re profess to be the land of the free – we poke our finger in the chest of other nations and scold them for human rights violations.

Again, for emphasis – based on so many polls, it would appear that those who oppose CRT often understand the basic causes of systemic racism – but WE continue to deny the ‘weight’ of those same causes – is it because they aren’t really trying to outlaw CRT? Or are they’re trying to outlaw the truth and continue the misinformation?

… is that who we really are?

Remember, there is always great gain when wrongs are acknowledged, addressed, and learned from.

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Resources:

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/a-lesson-on-critical-race-theory/

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/critical_race_theory.html

https://education.wm.edu/news/news-archive/2021/what-is-critical-race-theory-resources-for-educators.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_race_theory

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2717266

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3789713

https://www.justice.gov/crt/book/file/1364106/download

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/christopher-columbus

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