Being honest about Critical Race Theory

It should not be surprising that conservative columnist Marc Thiessen should launch a full frontal attack on Critical Race Theory (“Democrats were lying …”, E-R 11/13/21).

From 1995 to 2001, Thiessen served on Capitol Hill as spokesman and senior policy advisor to long-serving ultra-conservative Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC).

A race issues background on Jesse Helms: He opposed busing, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (he called it “the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress”) and the Voting Rights Act. Helms launched a 16-day filibuster to stop the Senate from approving a federal holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here is the actual, nonFox TV description of Critical Race Theory: CRT is a framework of analysis and an academic movement of civil— rights scholars and activists who seek to examine the intersection of race and law in the United States and to challenge mainstream American approaches to racial justice. CRT examines social, cultural, and legal issues primarily as they relate to race and racism in the United States. An important tenet of CRT is that racism and disparate racial outcomes are often the result of complex, changing, and subtle social and institutional dynamics, rather than exclusively explicit and intentional prejudices of individuals.

I recently heard a complaint leveled against a high school English teacher for having her students examine the haunting poetry/lyrics of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” an anthem/ode for the anti-lynching movement (and 3446 lynching deaths). This complaint is a sad 2021 commentary. — Mark S. Gailey, Chico