Special Report
CRT
9
Critical Race Theory’s Controversy in Curriculum
Khushi Chhaya and Diane Lin
J
ust a year ago, even amid protests across the nation against racism and police brutality, most Americans had never heard of Critical Race Theory. Now, the theory is spurring Fox News coverage, national headlines, protests and legislation. It has become a flashpoint in schools and communities nationwide. Texas and several other states have passed laws attempting to prevent or limit schools from teaching concepts derived from Critical Race Theory, including white privilege, racial equity and systemic racism. “Up until the last 18 months, most people had not heard about [Critical Race Theory], similar to other academic theories,” Director of Equity and Inclusion Marcus Ingram said. “What I find challenging about this moment though, is that there’s been a conflation of what Critical Race Theory is, and it’s moved into the space of being all things diversity, equity and inclusion.” Commonly referred to as CRT, Critical Race Theory is a graduate-level theoretical framework that explores racism in society, as well as the concept of race itself. The theory describes racism as not only an individual act by members of the community, but something that is embedded in legal systems as well.
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We somehow have to reconcile that the ideas about freedom and liberty that we cherish were propagated by deeply flawed people who frequently failed to live up to the ideals they wrote so eloquently about.”
Since it was developed in the 1970s, CRT has largely remained in the realm of higher education. Recently, though, critics have extended the use of the term to include any effort to teach the history of race in the United States. The conflation of Critical Race Theory with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives has ignited intense debate over the extent to which America’s troubled racial history should be discussed in K-12 schools. Director of Debate Aaron Timmons views efforts to incite outrage over the purported teaching of Critical Race Theory as an attempt to shut down meaningful discussions of race in schools. “Anytime there is a discussion about race, that then becomes Critical Race Theory,” Timmons said. “This move attempts to silence and makes many moments in history ‘political,’ when they are only facts that make certain populations uncomfortable.”
History Reconsidered Much of the debate centers around history curricula in public schools. At least 28 state legislatures have passed bills limiting classroom discussions about America’s racial history. The Texas legislature earlier this year passed H.B. 3979, which prevents schools or state employees from teaching “an understanding of the 1619 Project,” a New York Times Magazine initiative developed by journalist Nikole HannahJones “to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national
narrative.” The political right has condemned the project as a manifestation of Critical Race Theory. Similar bills targeting the 1619 Project have been introduced or passed by Republican-dominated legislatures across the nation. “Many of the people promoting these new laws are confused because the history taught in the classroom is different from what they remember from their social studies experience 20, 30, 40 years ago,” Upper School History Department Chair Amy Bresie said. “Starting in the 1960s, historians began to reconsider this historical lens and started to look for whose voices were being left out of the national story. As such, they went back to archives and started to uncover a much more complicated and interesting story.”
Greenhill Perspective A debate over diversity, equity and inclusion programs has engulfed many schools over the past year. “[Much of the recent national conversation] about diversity, equity and inclusion, [has been] subsumed in this term ‘Critical Race Theory’,” said Ingram. “But secretly, this conversation is really specifically about blackness and whiteness, and this country just hasn’t been able to be honest with itself.” K-12 schools across the nation now find themselves struggling with the same issues. In a late August statement to the Greenhill community titled “On Critical Race Theory: Reflections from Greenhill School’s Office for Equity & Inclusion,” Ingram and his colleagues stated that the school does not exclusively endorse any educational theory or framework, including Critical Race Theory. “It is possible that Greenhill students may encounter Critical Race Theory within a relevant academic disciplinary context,” the statement said. “This, however, would be no different than the exposure of students to other theories (pluralism, supply and demand, feminism, etc.) that seek to frame ways of understanding individual, organizational, and systemic behaviors in our world.” In U.S. History, sophomores learn about the history of the nation from multiple perspectives. This includes reading the autobiography of Frederick Douglass and “The Port Chicago 50” by Steve Sheinkin, which explores discrimination faced by African Americans in the U.S. Navy after World War II. Many of Greenhill’s English and history electives, taken by juniors and seniors, examine race as a systemic issue. “We somehow have to reconcile that the ideas about freedom and liberty that we cherish were propagated by deeply flawed people who frequently failed to live up to the ideals they wrote so eloquently about,” Bresie said. “Honestly, it’s the process of reconciling these ideas that excites me as a student and teacher of American History.” Junior Azal Amer believes that, while Greenhill does a better job of exposing students to the issues behind systemic racism than many other schools, there is still work to be done. “I have come across white students that think [racism] doesn’t happen,” Amer said. “It’s really painful to hear terrorist jokes and other Islamophobic comments made.” Greenhill administrators have had
meetings with faculty discussing the school’s position on Critical Race Theory. “We expose students to a variety of theoretical foundations, including the core of Critical Race Theory if it’s germane,” Ingram said. “But we don’t exclusively tie ourselves to any one [theory].” Head of School Lee Hark says the inclusion of CRT is “part of a complete education.”
A Polarized World Engaging in civil discourse around controversial issues as the greater community becomes increasingly polarized is essential to preparing students for life beyond Greenhill, Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester said. “We should be teaching students to have those critical thinking skills,” Worcester said. “I think that’s important that we’re having those conversations, and that we don’t gloss over the polarizing chasm that seems to just continue growing.”
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Anytime we’re talking about diversity, equity and inclusion, it was subsumed in this term ‘Critical Race Theory’. But secretly, this conversation is really specifically about blackness and whiteness, and this country just hasn’t been able to be honest with itself.”
Timmons says the school needs to do more to facilitate unflinching discussions about race. “We as an institution don’t have
structural training to navigate issues of race and racism, to facilitate conversations to redirect certain individuals on either side of the aisle to have a discussion as opposed to a yelling match,” Timmons said. “Anytime it gets too intense, I feel I have colleagues that will just shut down the conversation, as opposed to knowing how to navigate the conversation.”
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History is complex, messy, beautiful and horrifying. Only by examining the full spectrum of history can we hope to understand the past and hopefully make better choices in the present. History teaches empathy. If we fail to teach uncomfortable history – like the horrors of slavery or the mistreatment of indigenous people – we do our students a real disservice.”
Critical Race Theory’s prominence in the media has forced many schools and state legislatures to rethink classroom material. Greenhill, too, will be performing a curriculum audit as part of the school’s strategic plan. “History is complex, messy, beautiful and horrifying.” Bresie said. “Only by examining the full spectrum of history can we hope to understand the past and hopefully make better choices in the present. History teaches empathy. If we fail to teach uncomfortable history – like the horrors of slavery or the mistreatment of indigenous people – we do our students a real disservice.”
Photo by the Evergreen Photo Team
AN IMPERFECT HISTORY: For his U.S. History course, Nick Trimmer reads “The Port Chicago 50,” which discusses racial descrimination in the Navy during World War II.