Opposing Critical Race Theory Is Support For Racism

The racist right has been using "critical race theory" as a tool to promote white supremacy. They are lying about it, and telling Americans that it is being taught in schools across the nation and making white students ashamed of their history. Of course, that is nonsense. It is a college level course that attempts to find solutions to the racial inequality in our institutions -- and it is NOT being taught in any middle school or high school anywhere in the United States.

We must fight back against this revival of racism. The following is an op-ed by Jamelle Bouie on this issue in The New York Times:

With the Republican crusade against critical race theory still on full blast in states and localities across the country, I thought it was worth sharing the results of a new CBS poll on race and education that sheds a good deal of light on where the public actually stands on these issues. 

The survey, conducted this month, asked respondents to weigh in on the impact of teaching about race. When asked if “teaching about race in America makes students understand what others went through,” 68 percent of Americans said yes. When asked if this teaching made students “feel guilty about past generations,” 23 percent agreed. Just 16 percent of respondents said that teaching about race makes current students “less racially tolerant.”

When asked if books should ever be banned for “discussing race” or “depicting slavery,” an overwhelming 87 percent of Americans said no. A similarly large percentage said no when asked if books should be banned for “criticizing U.S. history” or sharing “political ideas you disagree with.” And 58 percent of Americans, including 52 percent of white Americans, say that racism is a “major problem” in America today.

Among the most notable results in the poll is the fact that most Americans — 65 percent — have heard either “a little” or “nothing” about critical race theory. Among those with an opinion on the matter, 49 percent hold a very or somewhat favorable view versus 51 percent with a very or somewhat unfavorable view.

The upshot of all of this, as far as I can tell, is that Republicans aren’t capturing the public mood on this issue as much as they are successfully using it to mobilize their supporters and send them to the voting booth. This is what appears to have happened in Virginia, where Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for governor, rode conservative backlash to C.R.T. to a narrow victory. But most Virginians aren’t on board with this cultural agenda. As a result, after one month in office, Youngkin is underwater with Virginians, who oppose his effort to ban critical race theory.

For Democrats, then, this is a culture war they can win. They just have to fight it.