There is a long history of right-wing forces fighting against progressive educational curricula. Now, scholars like Robin D. G. Kelley are working to level the playing field against the moneyed political interests behind the attacks.
Invoking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in mid-December, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced new legislation that allows parents to sue schools for teaching critical race theory. You think about what MLK stood for. He said he didnt want people judged on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character,said DeSantis, a political ringleader in the latest chapter of the United States culture war. In using a quote from Dr. King to justify an attack on curricula that uplifts racial justice, the Republican governor inadvertently created a strong case for why critical thinking on the history of race and racism in the U.S. is necessary.
History professor Robin D. G. Kelley is all too familiar with the sort of contradictory statements like those DeSantis spouted. Kelley, who is the Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at the University of California, Los Angeles, explains that he came into the profession at the height of a battleground over history, in the 1980s, with the war on political correctness. And although hes lived through decades of conservative-led attacks, like those by DeSantis, he describes the 2020s as dangerous times.
Kelley sees right-wing attacks on CRTwhat he considers an umbrella term for the teaching of any kind of revisionist or multicultural historyas a measure of the success communities of color and progressive parents and teachers have had after pushing for years to ensure that educational curricula reflect racially and ethnically diverse classrooms.
The most recent movement for such education can be traced to the Freedom Schools of the 1960s, which, in the words of educators Deborah Menkart and Jenice L. View, were intended to counter the sharecropper education received by so many African Americans and poor whites. In a civil rights history lesson created for Teaching for Change, Menkart and View explained that the education offered in nearly 40 such schools centered on a progressive curriculum designed to prepare disenfranchised African Americans to become active political actors on their own behalf. In 1968, after months of pressure from student activists, San Francisco State University established the first College of Ethnic Studies in the U.S.
A movement to offer ethnic studies courses in public schools, including colleges and universities, has gained traction nationwide. Such education is now standard fare as part of required college courses. California remains on the cutting edge of multicultural education, becoming the first state in the nation, in October 2021, to require high schoolers to enroll in ethnic studies courses in order to graduate.
Leading African American scholar Kimberl Crenshaw, a law professor at UCLA, coined the term critical race theory and co-edited the book of the same name, which published in 1996, to define race as a social construct and provide a framework for understanding the way it shapes public policy. Crenshaw explained in a New York Times article that CRT, originally used by academics and social scientists to analyze educational inequities, is a way of seeing, attending to, accounting for, tracing and analyzing the ways that race is produced the ways that racial inequality is facilitated, and the ways that our history has created these inequalities that now can be almost effortlessly reproduced unless we attend to the existence of these inequalities.
Critical race theory is precisely the sort of nuanced educational lens that Crenshaw, Kelley, and others use in their courses and that has White supremacist forces up in arms. Attacks against CRT are taking the form of multi-pronged legislative restrictions and even bans, as well as firings of teachers accused of teaching biased histories.
Kelley sees conservatives like DeSantis working relentlessly to eliminate any education that actually reckons with the history of American slavery, the genocide of Indigenous peoples and dispossession of their lands, sexism and patriarchy, and gender and gender identity. Reflecting again on the 80s, he says the attacks on ethnic studies, culture, and race didnt only come from the Right. In fact, he says, they also came from liberals, from the Left, and from those saying were not paying enough attention to class [struggles].
Kelley cites classic liberal fatigue against ongoing demands for racial justice, which he encapsulates in responses such as, We already gave you some money, we already gave you this legislation, what else do you want to ask for? Why are you criticizing us?
A case in point about how liberal figures are joining the right-wing war on CRT is a new venture called the University of Austin, Texas, created by a group of public figures led by former New York Times writer Bari Weiss. Weiss, in an op-ed in the Times, cited unpopular ideas, such as Identity politics is a toxic ideology that is tearing American society apart. She expressed dismay that such an opiniongenerally considered a racist oneis shunned by many academics.
To counter what Weiss considers censorship, UATXs founders say they are devoted to the unfettered pursuit of truth and are promoting a curriculum that will include the Forbidden Courses centering on the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities.
As if to underscore Kelleys warning about liberals joining the right-wing culture war, the nascent universitys board of advisors includes figures like Lawrence Summers, former U.S. treasury secretary and former President Barack Obamas economic adviser, who is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
Kelley sees a difference between earlier battles over political correctness and those centered on CRT today. The Right has far more political weapons. They are actually engaged in a kind of McCarthyite attack on school teachers, the academy, on students, on families, and passing legislation on whats called critical race theory, he says.
Right-wing narratives have cast the backlash against CRT as a grassroots effort led by parents concerned about bias in their childrens education. But secretive and powerful moneyed interests are at work behind the scenes. The watchdog group Open Secrets recently exposed how right-wing organizations, like the Concord Fund, are part of a network of established dark money groups funded by secret donors stoking the purportedly organic anti-CRT sentiment.
Additionally, CNBC reporter Brian Schwartz exposed how business executives and wealthy Republican donors helped fund attacks on CRT and that it is expected to be a centerpiece of the GOPs campaign ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
In contrast to the politically formidable and well-funded forces arrayed in opposition to CRT, the Marguerite Casey Foundation each year gives out unrestricted funds to prominent thinkers, like Kelley, to counter the limited financial resources and research constraints frequently faced by scholars whose work supports social movements.
The Foundation chose six scholars whom it describes as doing leading research in critical fields. Those include abolition and Black, Latino, feminist, queer, radical, and anti-colonialist studies, which are precisely the fields that are anathema to anti-CRT forces.
Kelley, who was named one of the foundations 2021 Freedom Scholars, agrees that such funding can help level the playing field for academics working to expand educational curricula that challenge White supremacist and patriarchal histories.
Going beyond defensive countermeasures against the right-wing attacks on CRT, such awards can help fund the study of histories of social justice movements that are thriving. Were beginning to break through the narrative of civil rights begets Black Power, [which] begets radical feminism, says Kelley, citing grassroots change-making groups that have been active over the past 50 years through today and that have not gotten enough attention, such as the Third World Womens Alliance, the Boggs Center, the Combahee River Collective, The Red Nation, and INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence. Just in the last two decades, were seeing so many amazing movements whose history is being written as we speak, says Kelley.
He is heartened by what he calls new scholarship that is thinking transnationally, thinking globally, and moving away from a focus on mostly [White] male leadership and thinkers, giving way instead to the political and intellectual work of those who have a different vision of the future.
Sign up to receive email updates from YES!
Read the original post:
How Scholars Are Countering Well-Funded Attacks on Critical Race Theory - YES! Magazine
- Student-Led Working Group to Abolish GUPD Calls for Greater Community Involvement - Georgetown University The Hoya - April 10th, 2024 [April 10th, 2024]
- Nobel Peace Prize - Wikipedia - January 10th, 2023 [January 10th, 2023]
- Albanese government neuters ABCC ahead of abolition - The Australian Financial Review - October 28th, 2022 [October 28th, 2022]
- 3 Good Reasons You Should Learn More About Angela Davis - Because of Them We Can - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Eradication of forced labor -- striking example of political will - The Korea Herald - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Intrusion impending: what contractors need to know about proposed abolition of the ABCC - Lexology - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- What Does It Mean To 'Abolish the Family'? - ArtReview - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- UN experts call for complete abolition of death penalty as 'only viable path' - UN News - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Opinion | Social justice work must continue - UI The Daily Iowan - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Rank-and-file action committees independent of IG Metall union needed to defend all jobs at all sites - WSWS - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Japan plans to abolish health insurance cards in fall 2024 | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis - - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Are you buying the copaganda? - mlk50.com - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- 'Crown Jewel of Criminal Justice System': Voters In Five States Will Address Legal Loophole That Still Allows Slavery - Atlanta Black Star - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- TUPD aims to connect with Tufts community over coffee - Tufts Daily - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Ex-condemned prisoner relives 11-year wait for hangmans noose - The Herald - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- The Ongoing Fight Against Femicides and Violence Against Women in the Caribbean - Rolling Stone - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- At Tate Britain, Hew Locke Powerfully Reckons with Colonialist Histories and Their Lingering Aftereffects - ARTnews - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Presentation of the Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - World - ReliefWeb - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Sanitation staff on strike over salary delay in Delhi - The New Indian Express - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Human Rights Watch Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Burundi - Human Rights Watch - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- UN experts warn of associated torture and cruel punishment - OHCHR - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- How Lead Belly twice won freedom from prison through his music - Far Out Magazine - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Why don't Popes ever win the Nobel Peace Prize? - Crux Now - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Hunting: Where the end began - Reaction - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Greece is committed to reforming its mass media and protecting personal data - Hellenic News of America - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Standing against war and nuclear catastrophe: lessons from Port Kembla - Red Flag - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Liz Truss warned tax cuts like hers could lead to 'boom and bust' in unearthed 2018 clip - The Mirror - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Opinion | The Puppets and the Puppet Masters - Common Dreams - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Intersecting Drug Policy and Abolition: A Conversation - TalkingDrugs - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Rival parties to lock horns over Gender Ministry in government organization reform plan - The Korea Herald - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Reforms, roll-outs and freezes in the tax and benefit system | Institute for Fiscal Studies - ifs.org.uk - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Kwasi Kwarteng to bring forward planned fiscal statement in another U-turn as it happened - The Guardian - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- IR35 reforms repeal: How it stands to benefit the tech sectors SMEs and contractors - ComputerWeekly.com - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Future of Truth - Portsmouth Daily Times - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Governor Hochul Names Canal Corporation Vessel in Honor of the Inspirational Life and Legacy of Harriet Tubman - ny.gov - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Tory MPs hit back after threats issued to those opposing 45p tax rate abolition - The Guardian - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- John Hood: Don't That Just Beat All? Neuse News - Neuse News - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Scrapping inheritance tax is a terrible idea - The Spectator - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Reeves: Government instincts in mini-Budget were to cut taxes for wealthiest - LabourList - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Biggest Exhibitions To See In London And Beyond: Autumn 2022 - Londonist - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Actually, Black Mermaid Folklore Has Been Around Long Before Disneys The Little Mermaid - Yahoo Life - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Build solidarity with rail workers fight! Help strengthen, expand the labor movement! The Militant - The Militant - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- The Most Absolute Abolitionnew book explores abolition and lives of escaped slaves - Socialist Worker - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Democracy Cant Be Reduced to Voting in 2022 We Must Build the Future We Want - Truthout - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Christophe Ferrari denounces the announced abolition of the CVAE - US Sports - US Sports - - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Child labour: Nashik tribals struggle to survive, give kids to goatherds for Rs 10K - The New Indian Express - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Library Takeover Returns: Submit Your Application! | City of Madison - City of Madison, Wisconsin - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Do Britain and the world really need a king? - People's World - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Soka Gakkai International's Nuclear Abolition Work - Tricycle - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Clinton nonprofit funneled $75,000 to 'defund the police' group: report - New York Post - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Cops and Prosecutors Truly Work the Same Side: Ingrid Raphal and Melissa Gira Grant on their FOV Doc They Wont Call It Murder - Filmmaker Magazine - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- The Iran Man Behind the Nuclear Curtain Jewish Policy Center - Jewish Policy Center - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Dorothy Roberts Tried to Warn Us - New York Magazine - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Hear Me Now: The Black Potters Of Old Edgefield, South Carolina - Antiques And The Arts Weekly - Antiques and the Arts Online - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- The Spin | Zimbabwe's upset win should spur England to be good global citizens - The Guardian - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Letter of the week: The Proms deserve better - The New Statesman - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Why We Should Abolish the Family Current Affairs - Current Affairs - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- On the Need for Honest Abolitionists. | Jeff Hood - Patheos - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Chile rejects a progressive constitution with big changes - NPR - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Where Solidarity, Abolition, and Queer History Meet - The Nation - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Addressing the sugar crisis long term - Manila Bulletin - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Experts react: The United Kingdom has a new prime minister. What should the world expect from Liz Truss? - Atlantic Council - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Explained Books | An eminent cardiac surgeon's account of his work, and of Kashmir - The Indian Express - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Formerly incarcerated women of color face worse health in later life | OUPblog - OUPblog - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- The crime against humanity that is the modern OS desktop, and how to kill it - The Register - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Kenya: William Ruto's triumph, By Reuben Abati - Premium Times - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- What shall we do with the climate refugees? - Trinidad & Tobago Express Newspapers - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Digitisation of records, land reforms turn 'Naya J&K' hi-tech - Rising Kashmir - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- What year was slavery abolished in the US? - Fox News - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 50th Regular Session from June 13 to July 8, 2022. - WCADP - World Coalition Against the Death... - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- Special Tax Regimes for Mobile Individuals and Their Impact on the EU's Single Market - Bloomberg Tax - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- Undergraduate Summer Research Highlights - Newsroom | University of St. Thomas - University of St. Thomas Newsroom - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- A safe and healthy working environment is now a human right - Workplace Insight - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- Haryana dismisses alleged abolition of teachers post as baseless - The Statesman - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- New book explores wicked problems facing peace studies scholars and practitioners // Department of Political Science // University of Notre Dame -... - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- Universities Are Plundering Cities. How Can This Relationship Change? - Truthout - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- Edinburgh should apologise for role in slavery and colonialism, says academic - STV News - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- The inside story of the CIA v Russia from cold war conspiracy to 'black' propaganda in Ukraine - The Conversation Indonesia - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- Radical gender theory has now made its way into more than 4,000 US schools - Home - WSFX - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- Infanticide: Excitement as 5-year-old reunites with family in FCT - Blueprint Newspapers Limited - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]