It seems that with every season emerges a new, highly divisive political topic. During the end of the last school year and the summer, the hot-button topic was teaching critical race theory in schools.
Critical race theory has been around for decades. It was coined and researched by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, a law professor at UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School. Critical race theory is concerned with systemic problems, less with the individuals who are bigoted or racist. Critics of the theory believe that racism is an individual problem rather than a pattern that can be traced throughout history.
There is a difference between teaching children, who do not have the mental capacity to actively choose their own mindset and worldview framework, and college students, who are in the process of deciding what they will allow to shape their worldview.
Since much of the controversy over critical race theory is its presence in the curriculum of elementary and middle public-school students, some would argue that children should not be taught any particular framework at all. However, children will always be taught some kind of framework.
Historically, all around the world, children have been taught to take extreme pride in their country and their history. Yet, they should also be taught that no country is faultless.
Critical race theorists “acknowledge the stark racial disparities that have persisted in the United States despite decades of civil rights reforms, and they raise structural questions about how racist hierarchies are enforced, even among people with good intentions,” according to The New York Times article “Critical Race Theory, A Brief History.” They believe that race is a cultural construct, not a biological one. They also believe it is crucial to listen to the stories of those who have experienced racism in order to break the system.
Many of us in The Threefold Advocate newsroom took a class at John Brown University called diversity and media issues. When she was teaching at JBU, Marquita Smith, now associate professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi, approached the topic with compassion and understanding of the different backgrounds and beliefs each student brings. Smith asked her students to listen to the theory and why she believed it, but she did not ask or force her students to believe it either.
There is much to glean from this way of teaching and learning. No matter what side of the political aisle you are on, there is always something to learn from others.
From Critical Race Theory, we can learn about other people’s experiences, which is their reality. We can express selflessness and compassion when stepping into others’ shoes. When dealing with adults who can sift information into their framework, opposing voices are healthy and sharpen the mind.
In some of the most authoritarian regimes in world history, the leaders have blocked out all opposing voices, written, verbal and otherwise. It is easier to block out voices than to genuinely listen to others and challenge your own viewpoint.
As journalists, we will always advocate for free speech, expression and the free press. Hiding, silencing or avoiding this theory–or any theory for that matter–is against our beliefs and our mission to discuss and find truth. Political divisions will always be present, but we will do our best to approach them without bias and with the knowledge that opposing voices sharpen the mind and make us more compassionate people.
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