No, Mr. President, CRT is not being taught in schools

By Albert DeSimone

Critical Race Theory is one of the most misused terms in American politics and President Trump clearly demonstrated his lack of understanding in his congressional speech. 

He’s not alone. Many Americans suffer the same misunderstanding. 

CRT is not about teaching Black history or indoctrinating white children to feel guilty about America’s racist past.

CRT is an academic, agnostic, and non-divisive part of law school and related curricula to address the neutrality of law by examining existing laws to ensure they are devoid of racial bias. Its objective is to address and potentially eliminate racism in the law, an endeavor consistent with American law over the past 150 years. 

CRT is not about teaching racial inequities; it’s about addressing racial  inequities. It’s much more forward looking than backward looking. 

An example of CRT in action is the Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan. The Court ruled that Alabama's Republican-drawn congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act. The purpose of gerrymandering is to create voting districts that benefit the party in power. In the process of doing so, the GOP-dominated legislature created a large, predominately Black district. 

The intent of the gerrymandering was to benefit the Republican Party by concentrating Democratic voters into one large block, conceding one of the seven congressional districts in Alabama. 

Being that those Democratic voters were also predominately Black, the gerrymandering disadvantaged Black voters. 

This is exactly the way CRT works. The Alabama redistricting wasn’t facially racist, but the underlying effect was.

The GI Bill is an excellent example. It wasn’t biased on it face, but was in application, because Black WWII veterans were restricted from college attendance, were denied bank loans because they had no collateral (strictly applied, especially in the South), and redlining.

So, Mr. President, all is well in our public schools regarding CRT. 

Albert DeSimone is a retired University of Georgia information technologist who resides in Bishop.