The celebration of Black History Month will keep young adults informed of Black history in the US as schools start to ban the teaching of such topics. The debate of teaching critical race theory is being tackled in state legislatures. Discussions of CRT are crucial to understand the reasoning for President Ford’s creation of black history month, as topics discuss the history of racism and prejudice in the US. While 3 of 4 US citizens agree with the sentiment that CRT should be taught in schools, 18 states —as of January 2023— have enacted some amount of legislation limiting discussions of race in history classrooms.

In the state of Alabama, teachings of critical race theory are banned altogether in K-12 schools.

Phillip Ensler, former teacher and speaker present at the Alabama B.O.E decision meeting, it best when he says, “Teaching systemic racism here will not make Black children feel inferior … Nor will it make all white people feel at fault. And the way knowing my history empowers me, it will empower them.”

By withholding teachings of critical race theory, students are not provided with the broader context of racism that still exists in America.