Vernikova
Champion
Florida recently banned the teaching of it in its public schools, so I thought I would make a thread for it. Story here: https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/...s-take-center-stage-for-fla-dept-of-education
A short primer:
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a Neo-Marxist framework that arose from legal scholarship in the 70s but has spread to other areas such as politics and education. As with any Marxist idea, CRT uses an "Oppressor vs Oppressed" narrative (specifically white vs nonwhite in the broader United States but may differ in other regions) seeks to examine laws and political systems and how these oppress nonwhite individuals. Proponents of CRT usually hold most if not all of the following:
Common criticisms of CRT include:
Another issue are the legal issues that arise from it. Campus hate speech rules, seen as necessary for some CRT proponents, have been struck down at the highest levels of the US legal system as unconstitutional. While there are some legal victories for CRT proponents (success of affirmative action for college admissions), it's in a very precarious position due to the appointment of many textualist or originalist judges during the last four years. There also seems to be a generational difference between nonwhites when it comes to issues. In New York City, for example, older nonwhites are against "defunding" initiatives as it relates to the police compared to younger nonwhites who are in favor of it. We also have, some would argue, the issue of a perceived attempt at racism towards the majority group while excusing racism by the oppressed. This creates a division between groups that would have to work together in order to enact this change without resorting to "judicial activism," which may be good for your causes but can always be used against you as well.
In any case, CRT is faces critical challenges as it has now become a forefront culture war issue. While this board is virtually filled with liberals, there are left-wing critiques of this movement, and this movement has a presence internationally. Some questions to guide discussion, but they're not necessary to answer (I'm just looking for some opinions from the users here):
A short primer:
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a Neo-Marxist framework that arose from legal scholarship in the 70s but has spread to other areas such as politics and education. As with any Marxist idea, CRT uses an "Oppressor vs Oppressed" narrative (specifically white vs nonwhite in the broader United States but may differ in other regions) seeks to examine laws and political systems and how these oppress nonwhite individuals. Proponents of CRT usually hold most if not all of the following:
- Racism is a "normal" part of everyday life and is not an aberration.
- The current system of power is designed or in place to maintain material and psychological power for the dominant group (white individuals in the broader US).
- Race is a social construct, meaning that race has no biological reality and that it is primarily forged around relations between groups and individuals.
Common criticisms of CRT include:
- Difficulty to address intersectionality and advocating to for those that don't neatly fit into a racial group or may have more than "oppressed" feature e.g., black women, mixed people, etc.
- Vague priorities as to how solve issues as a whole. There doesn't seem to be a cohesive message on how to move forward, and many of its ideas seem to have made little positive ideas.
- Specifically to Idealist CRT: a tendency to side with left-wing Neo-Liberal agenda by simply marking "check boxes" rather than bringing material change to those who are impoverished e.g., ensuring that a board has X amount or Y percent of an oppressed group in its composition.
- Specifically to Realist CRT: creating an ideology of "reverse racism" that may give less qualified or unqualified persons opportunities that they don't deserve e.g., admissions to colleges.
- Reliance on the structure of "rights": by focusing on strengthening rights and appearances, they reinforce the broader structure of "Oppressed vs Oppressor" by merely shifting the narrative away from "White vs Nonwhite," leaving little improvement for classist struggles.
- Places too much emphasis on an individual's experiences and has trouble progressing when individuals within the same group do not share such an experience e.g., generational differences in how to develop solutions.
- Villainizes all white people, including those who have no prestige or material successes. Places too much emphasis on "racial" prestige rather than material prestige.
Another issue are the legal issues that arise from it. Campus hate speech rules, seen as necessary for some CRT proponents, have been struck down at the highest levels of the US legal system as unconstitutional. While there are some legal victories for CRT proponents (success of affirmative action for college admissions), it's in a very precarious position due to the appointment of many textualist or originalist judges during the last four years. There also seems to be a generational difference between nonwhites when it comes to issues. In New York City, for example, older nonwhites are against "defunding" initiatives as it relates to the police compared to younger nonwhites who are in favor of it. We also have, some would argue, the issue of a perceived attempt at racism towards the majority group while excusing racism by the oppressed. This creates a division between groups that would have to work together in order to enact this change without resorting to "judicial activism," which may be good for your causes but can always be used against you as well.
In any case, CRT is faces critical challenges as it has now become a forefront culture war issue. While this board is virtually filled with liberals, there are left-wing critiques of this movement, and this movement has a presence internationally. Some questions to guide discussion, but they're not necessary to answer (I'm just looking for some opinions from the users here):
- What are your thoughts on CRT?
- Is it a useful lens in modern discourse to look for solutions?
- Is it too divisive to be implemented on a national level in the US in the foreseeable future? How is it handled in your country?
- Do you have any criticism of CRT or its proponents?
- What issues does CRT not address that you feel it should? Do you feel that it's inadequate in some areas?