Critical race theory has become quite the hot
button topic in the past year.
At least, that is when I first heard of it.
But what is critical race theory? Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a
group of concepts (such as the idea that race is a sociological rather than biological designation, and that racism pervades society and is fostered and perpetuated by the legal system) used for examining the relationship between race and the laws and legal institutions of a country and espe- cially the United States.”
So, critical race theory tries to consider how in– stitutionalized racism impacts individuals directly and indirectly.
In the “Bridges Not Fences” immigration event held last month (see BRIDGES, pg. 3), the key– note speaker addressed the country’s biased laws regarding immigration and its criminalization of immigrants.
Black and Brown communities tend to be excluded from or given little consideration when creating positive social policies.
They are the least likely to be allowed entry and once in, the least likely for consideration of citizenship.
When the Europeans came over and took the lands of the Indigenous people and used enslaved people to cultivate it, it was all for the greater good, or at least that is how they saw it.
To me, critical race theory explains why the problems today continue to fester.
PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA
We, as a nation, are yet to deal with the wounds that have never healed.
Acknowledgement of past social ills is a move toward solutions.
There is nothing wrong with incorporating critical race theory.
There is nothing wrong with children learning about how Black people are more likely than their white counterparts to be refused a mortgage, not just in the 1960s but in the 2000s.
There is nothing wrong with children learning the ugly truth that lies at our border with Mexico.
That is our American history.
Critical race theory would make American history not only more inclusive, but also more
accurate.
