Saying something is wrong is a lot easier than providing a workable alternative. So is shouting radical slogans. Seeing a 4 fold increase in the murder rate in the Twin Cities since 2019, which in a move which should surprise no one, primarily affects the same communities that are the victims of police brutality, has made me feel a kind of cynicism I didn't think possible. I get the sense that the police have basically thrown certain parts of the metro to the wolves. And I sit here wondering, "Really, what else did anyone think would happen? Was it ever about more than a veneer of radical aesthetics at any point?"
To add to what Freddie said, I think a big and slightly more detailed question to ask is: If I invested this much emotional energy in critical race theory and this is the product of it, should I perhaps invest less energy in defending and promoting critical race theory and perhaps invest that energy in something else?
I feel like culture war is all liberals know how to do now. They go on social media and yell at people all day, not just conservatives on the other side, but the less-woke people on their own side. Its less about improving the world and more about shoring up your own status in the gang. I've seen friends fall into this pattern, and it's pathetic. They should realize that every screaming social media-based tactic they're using is something that their opponents know how to use too. They hate you as much as you hate them. At what point do you want to break out of this madness? I know I do.
This seems so self-evident that one begins to question whether those who have pushed CRT as a means of achieving improved conditions for black people ever cared about them to begin with. . . .
Meet the new ruling class. Same as the old ruling class. Their ticket to ride is this. It's sort of like a Hail Mary pass - sin now, confess, all is forgiven. What could, say, Jeff Bezos or any media empire do instead of this nonsense in their staff struggle sessions? Oh I don't know. How about sponsor ten elementary schools that need funding? How about sponsor ten kids who need college tuition? How about buy sponsors Whole Foods deliveries to families who can't afford the healthy sustainable food THEY get to eat? It's like driving around a hybrid Porsche.
I think part of the problem is that it wasn't radicalism burning down laundromats last year: it was a bunch of bored and scared people who were so desperate to get a break from COVID everything that they'd latch onto *anything*. I know people who were involved in the riots in Minneapolis last year (as in, actually looted/broke things/stole trucks, etc). The ones I know are a bunch of teenagers who don't believe much of anything but wanted to impress their friends--who they'd barely been able to see--with how daring and brave they are. Major riots have followed just about every pandemic in history, and I think it's worth keeping that in mind when looking at the 2020 riots--I get the impression that this was not really a release of long-held racial frustrations, and more a release of very specific short-term frustrations related to the pandemic, so expecting it to turn into lasting political will might be a fool's errand.
Yes, people have the idea that content in schools is implemented by teachers and received by students far, far more seamlessly and efficiently than it actually is, or could possibly be. When I student taught freshman World History, my cooperating teacher gave me two days--yes, two WHOLE days-- to cover the entirety of World War II (I remember I made two PowerPoints: Monday- European Theater; Tuesday- Pacific Theater). Like, forget CRT lol.
I'm sympathetic to the the activists in Chicago, for example, who won a requirement that the Burge Torture Scandal be taught in CPS schools. As a concrete event, with a local connection, I can imagine a modestly successful implementation, so long as the teacher / dept chair / admin are on board. But I can't help but think the right-wing approach to propaganda is the far more potent. Simply flood the zone with simple videos and lesson plans (called, like, American History for Patriots or some shit) for harried teachers Googling for ideas to stumble upon.
Far from learning about police torture, how many students are being assigned Prager U?
I won't exhaust you with a list of activities I have undertaken for diversity before 2020. Each time I attend a job fair or program to engage non-well-represented people I have had to plead for funds from my institution or pay myself. I have a fair amount of writing dating back many years about this & it hasn't been a career reason, just right thing to do. With the advent of CRT much $$ is being spent on training us--costs so much more than the $500 to be at a booth promoting librarianship. If the $$$ now being used to train us could be used to help us help others on the ground--the world could change. I thought after summer 2020 when my institution engaged a consulting firm at a large fee to train us I could ask again for $500 to be at a booth (no), but on the ground little changes. Hardy comes to my mind--"How arrives it joy lies slain, And why unblooms the best hope ever sown?
The one point I do think is important to make is that both Democrats and Republicans mean two completely different things when each of them refer to CRT. Democrats likely never heard of it before Republicans started talking about it and then googled "critical race theory wikipedia", leading to their typical "But high schools aren't teaching obscure legal theories." Republicans meanwhile I are using CRT to mean like "Robin DiAngelo/Ibram Kendi/The 1619 Project". This then of course often triggers the slightly ironic comments like "nevermind Republicans are actually good, HR department DEI courses suck and I wish they were banned too."
Thank you for this, Freddie. I finally have the writing to share that won't make me look crazy as a social studies educator. What is extra concerning is the backlash to CRT is going to make it harder to teach what we HAVE been teaching in places like Jacksonville, where I taught history for 5 years using a range of texts, including Zinn. This will hurt good culturally competent humanities teaching, which was already happening more than the left seems to want to acknowledge.
I’ve come across a good deal of criticism lately about MLK and his group’s tactics and concessions lately. The gist being he wasn’t radical enough. It’s in vogue to uplift Angela Davis and Malcolm X. Which is not wrong! There were many facets to the movement at that time. But one thing I think keeps getting ignored: MLK and John Lewis and their crew *got shit done.* They spoke and wrote prolifically, demanding radical change and also making concessions to what is now called White fragility. They knew that emotional change often trails intellectual change which often trails policy change. The march on Washington was called the march for jobs and freedom. Both specific and aspirational. “Defund the police,” for example, isn’t really either. And CRT? Well that’s so tangential that as you pointed out most people probably don’t haves clue what it even actually is.
Has there really been much defense of Critical Race Theory? Most of what I've seen has been people (correctly) pointing out that the right's obsession with it is a nonsensical moral panic and a red herring.
Last night a street in my area was closed down so they could refresh the George Floyd street art in front of city hall. I admit this pissed me off - what does this art matter, one year and many deaths later? The young people out doing this.... I don't dismiss the impact his murder had on people - and art is great - but who is teaching them that change happens like this? Artists can impact movements, but symbolism won't save anyone from being murdered by police.
I agree that there's a newfound love for Angela Davis and Malcolm X out there. They're fascinating people, so I get it, but this is still an outright rejection of the strategies of their grandparents.
People are defending CRT because they think they need to match the tone of the right-wing. That happens all the time now. If you read the bills that are proposed, they're so much broader and crazier than "just" banning CRT. Highly recommend you read them if you haven't.
It's weird nativist stuff that we should oppose. HOWEVER, matching the right tone-for-tone is stupid. They're doing anti-CRT bills because they have power. We need power - not just cultural power. Actual, we-win-elections-and-do-stuff power. What's more important - local elections for Board of Education or George Floyd murals?
There's an article in the New York Times today about Virginia, where they did pass a number of police reforms. Short version: After Ralph Northam's 2019 scandal, Black leaders saw an opportunity, and they didn't waste it. While woke activists demanded resignation, these leaders stood by the bumbling white governor in exchange for a list of demands, including loads of money for the Black community, the end of the death penalty, legal reforms, and police reforms. There's also diversity training happening, and the governor loves to talk about his new favorite author Robin Diangelo... but real things got done.
The Times asked Northam what he thinks about CRT. He said, "Critical race theory is a dog whistle that the Republicans are using to frighten people. What I’m interested in is equity." His team was smart to prep him to give this answer and pivot. It's also in line with the approach of Black leaders in the state. Virginia is not going to ban CRT, so there's zero point in debating it.
Older Black leaders must be so frustrated with the kids. They've been making deals with clueless white people forever -- they know better than to demand or expect leaders with "pure hearts" or whatever. And they've lived through enough to know that policy matters way more than symbolism. Money and laws. Get shit done.
I think the proponents of CRT would say raising awareness IS the point, that they ARE doing something. If the whole system is flawed and deeply racist, there is no solution besides creating awareness and working to bring the whole system down. And I think they would say progress is being made with changes in school curriculum, in academia, in corporate America -- that these steps are making progress, though those steps are miniscule next to the scale of the problem.
The real issue is that critical race theory is treated not as a theory but as dogma. It's the implementation of the CRT/SJW movement itself that is almost religious in fervor and ruthless in its demand for total genuflection that makes it not just useless, but actually dangerous.
Again, I can't help the comparison to the Marxist views promoted by Freddie and others here. There's a difference between wanting a more just world within the parameters of the (unjust) world we live in versus wanting to tear everything down and start over. SJWs would say "we want a world where there is no racial bias at all, where color of the skin is no different from any other physical attribute, where the history of racism and slavery in this country is fully acknowledged and compensated for" but , for now, we will settle with the changes that are happening in schools, academia, corporate America and the conversation at large. Freddie (Marxists) would say, we want a world of completely fair economic re-distribution of wealth and the acknowledgement of the evils of Capitalism, but we will reluctantly settle for Biden's economic plans, a push for universal healthcare, but note that this falls short of the ideal would we envision.
Saying something is wrong is a lot easier than providing a workable alternative. So is shouting radical slogans. Seeing a 4 fold increase in the murder rate in the Twin Cities since 2019, which in a move which should surprise no one, primarily affects the same communities that are the victims of police brutality, has made me feel a kind of cynicism I didn't think possible. I get the sense that the police have basically thrown certain parts of the metro to the wolves. And I sit here wondering, "Really, what else did anyone think would happen? Was it ever about more than a veneer of radical aesthetics at any point?"
To add to what Freddie said, I think a big and slightly more detailed question to ask is: If I invested this much emotional energy in critical race theory and this is the product of it, should I perhaps invest less energy in defending and promoting critical race theory and perhaps invest that energy in something else?
I feel like culture war is all liberals know how to do now. They go on social media and yell at people all day, not just conservatives on the other side, but the less-woke people on their own side. Its less about improving the world and more about shoring up your own status in the gang. I've seen friends fall into this pattern, and it's pathetic. They should realize that every screaming social media-based tactic they're using is something that their opponents know how to use too. They hate you as much as you hate them. At what point do you want to break out of this madness? I know I do.
This seems so self-evident that one begins to question whether those who have pushed CRT as a means of achieving improved conditions for black people ever cared about them to begin with. . . .
Meet the new ruling class. Same as the old ruling class. Their ticket to ride is this. It's sort of like a Hail Mary pass - sin now, confess, all is forgiven. What could, say, Jeff Bezos or any media empire do instead of this nonsense in their staff struggle sessions? Oh I don't know. How about sponsor ten elementary schools that need funding? How about sponsor ten kids who need college tuition? How about buy sponsors Whole Foods deliveries to families who can't afford the healthy sustainable food THEY get to eat? It's like driving around a hybrid Porsche.
I think part of the problem is that it wasn't radicalism burning down laundromats last year: it was a bunch of bored and scared people who were so desperate to get a break from COVID everything that they'd latch onto *anything*. I know people who were involved in the riots in Minneapolis last year (as in, actually looted/broke things/stole trucks, etc). The ones I know are a bunch of teenagers who don't believe much of anything but wanted to impress their friends--who they'd barely been able to see--with how daring and brave they are. Major riots have followed just about every pandemic in history, and I think it's worth keeping that in mind when looking at the 2020 riots--I get the impression that this was not really a release of long-held racial frustrations, and more a release of very specific short-term frustrations related to the pandemic, so expecting it to turn into lasting political will might be a fool's errand.
Yes, people have the idea that content in schools is implemented by teachers and received by students far, far more seamlessly and efficiently than it actually is, or could possibly be. When I student taught freshman World History, my cooperating teacher gave me two days--yes, two WHOLE days-- to cover the entirety of World War II (I remember I made two PowerPoints: Monday- European Theater; Tuesday- Pacific Theater). Like, forget CRT lol.
I'm sympathetic to the the activists in Chicago, for example, who won a requirement that the Burge Torture Scandal be taught in CPS schools. As a concrete event, with a local connection, I can imagine a modestly successful implementation, so long as the teacher / dept chair / admin are on board. But I can't help but think the right-wing approach to propaganda is the far more potent. Simply flood the zone with simple videos and lesson plans (called, like, American History for Patriots or some shit) for harried teachers Googling for ideas to stumble upon.
Far from learning about police torture, how many students are being assigned Prager U?
I won't exhaust you with a list of activities I have undertaken for diversity before 2020. Each time I attend a job fair or program to engage non-well-represented people I have had to plead for funds from my institution or pay myself. I have a fair amount of writing dating back many years about this & it hasn't been a career reason, just right thing to do. With the advent of CRT much $$ is being spent on training us--costs so much more than the $500 to be at a booth promoting librarianship. If the $$$ now being used to train us could be used to help us help others on the ground--the world could change. I thought after summer 2020 when my institution engaged a consulting firm at a large fee to train us I could ask again for $500 to be at a booth (no), but on the ground little changes. Hardy comes to my mind--"How arrives it joy lies slain, And why unblooms the best hope ever sown?
The one point I do think is important to make is that both Democrats and Republicans mean two completely different things when each of them refer to CRT. Democrats likely never heard of it before Republicans started talking about it and then googled "critical race theory wikipedia", leading to their typical "But high schools aren't teaching obscure legal theories." Republicans meanwhile I are using CRT to mean like "Robin DiAngelo/Ibram Kendi/The 1619 Project". This then of course often triggers the slightly ironic comments like "nevermind Republicans are actually good, HR department DEI courses suck and I wish they were banned too."
Thank you for this, Freddie. I finally have the writing to share that won't make me look crazy as a social studies educator. What is extra concerning is the backlash to CRT is going to make it harder to teach what we HAVE been teaching in places like Jacksonville, where I taught history for 5 years using a range of texts, including Zinn. This will hurt good culturally competent humanities teaching, which was already happening more than the left seems to want to acknowledge.
I’ve come across a good deal of criticism lately about MLK and his group’s tactics and concessions lately. The gist being he wasn’t radical enough. It’s in vogue to uplift Angela Davis and Malcolm X. Which is not wrong! There were many facets to the movement at that time. But one thing I think keeps getting ignored: MLK and John Lewis and their crew *got shit done.* They spoke and wrote prolifically, demanding radical change and also making concessions to what is now called White fragility. They knew that emotional change often trails intellectual change which often trails policy change. The march on Washington was called the march for jobs and freedom. Both specific and aspirational. “Defund the police,” for example, isn’t really either. And CRT? Well that’s so tangential that as you pointed out most people probably don’t haves clue what it even actually is.
Has there really been much defense of Critical Race Theory? Most of what I've seen has been people (correctly) pointing out that the right's obsession with it is a nonsensical moral panic and a red herring.
Last night a street in my area was closed down so they could refresh the George Floyd street art in front of city hall. I admit this pissed me off - what does this art matter, one year and many deaths later? The young people out doing this.... I don't dismiss the impact his murder had on people - and art is great - but who is teaching them that change happens like this? Artists can impact movements, but symbolism won't save anyone from being murdered by police.
I agree that there's a newfound love for Angela Davis and Malcolm X out there. They're fascinating people, so I get it, but this is still an outright rejection of the strategies of their grandparents.
People are defending CRT because they think they need to match the tone of the right-wing. That happens all the time now. If you read the bills that are proposed, they're so much broader and crazier than "just" banning CRT. Highly recommend you read them if you haven't.
It's weird nativist stuff that we should oppose. HOWEVER, matching the right tone-for-tone is stupid. They're doing anti-CRT bills because they have power. We need power - not just cultural power. Actual, we-win-elections-and-do-stuff power. What's more important - local elections for Board of Education or George Floyd murals?
There's an article in the New York Times today about Virginia, where they did pass a number of police reforms. Short version: After Ralph Northam's 2019 scandal, Black leaders saw an opportunity, and they didn't waste it. While woke activists demanded resignation, these leaders stood by the bumbling white governor in exchange for a list of demands, including loads of money for the Black community, the end of the death penalty, legal reforms, and police reforms. There's also diversity training happening, and the governor loves to talk about his new favorite author Robin Diangelo... but real things got done.
The Times asked Northam what he thinks about CRT. He said, "Critical race theory is a dog whistle that the Republicans are using to frighten people. What I’m interested in is equity." His team was smart to prep him to give this answer and pivot. It's also in line with the approach of Black leaders in the state. Virginia is not going to ban CRT, so there's zero point in debating it.
Older Black leaders must be so frustrated with the kids. They've been making deals with clueless white people forever -- they know better than to demand or expect leaders with "pure hearts" or whatever. And they've lived through enough to know that policy matters way more than symbolism. Money and laws. Get shit done.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/us/politics/ralph-northam-virginia.html
https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/police-reforms-go-into-effect-in-virginia/
I think the proponents of CRT would say raising awareness IS the point, that they ARE doing something. If the whole system is flawed and deeply racist, there is no solution besides creating awareness and working to bring the whole system down. And I think they would say progress is being made with changes in school curriculum, in academia, in corporate America -- that these steps are making progress, though those steps are miniscule next to the scale of the problem.
The real issue is that critical race theory is treated not as a theory but as dogma. It's the implementation of the CRT/SJW movement itself that is almost religious in fervor and ruthless in its demand for total genuflection that makes it not just useless, but actually dangerous.
Again, I can't help the comparison to the Marxist views promoted by Freddie and others here. There's a difference between wanting a more just world within the parameters of the (unjust) world we live in versus wanting to tear everything down and start over. SJWs would say "we want a world where there is no racial bias at all, where color of the skin is no different from any other physical attribute, where the history of racism and slavery in this country is fully acknowledged and compensated for" but , for now, we will settle with the changes that are happening in schools, academia, corporate America and the conversation at large. Freddie (Marxists) would say, we want a world of completely fair economic re-distribution of wealth and the acknowledgement of the evils of Capitalism, but we will reluctantly settle for Biden's economic plans, a push for universal healthcare, but note that this falls short of the ideal would we envision.