Critical Race Theory…

By Bethany “BST2” Armstrong

“Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Churchill

There are a lot of people freaking out about Critical Race Theory but most can’t even define it. It began with the 1619 Project; a Pulitzer Prize winning piece of journalism. Its purpose is to help teach the role of slavery in American History. With only 8% of US High School seniors surveyed identifying that slavery was the primary cause of the civil war and the pervasive belief that the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves as soon as the ink dried, we desperately need a more cohesive and honest narrative of our past so we can move forward and heal.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had divides over history curriculum. In the late 1930’s through the early 1950’s, education professor Harold Rugg’s social studies textbooks came under fire because they critiqued income inequality and social stratification and embraced the New Deal. These textbooks were called “un-American” and “subversive.” In the 1970’s and 80’s, the term “herstory” was used to promote the influence of women on history… to much mockery and derision.

History is written by the victors – often the oppressors – and is meant to reflect their story and their ideals in a positive light, making heroes of mortals and villains of any that oppose them. American history as it is presented to our youth is more mythology & propaganda than fact with the horrific parts white-washed or ignored. American History is about looking good.

When I went to school in the 80’s and 90’s, I learned that the civil war wasn’t primarily about slavery, it was about “states’ rights”, that many slave-owners were kind to their slaves and they were more like families than owners and owned, along with a whole lotta bullshit about our founding fathers. I learned what homes Native Americans (they were still called Indians at this point) had, wigwams & teepees & long houses, but I did not learn about the Trail of Tears and the other horrific things that were done to them. I learned that the Chinese helped build our railroads but not the conditions they endured.

Now, what is taught in American history can vary from state to state and even from school district to school district. My 11-year-old learned in school about Native Americans & slavery the same way I did…. sparsely and superficially. She’s learned more real history from tik-tok videos and dinner table conversations than she learned in school. Critical Race Theory explores reality researched by scholars rather than watered-down rationalizations proposed by politicians. My daughter deserves facts over fallacy. Our nation’s youth deserves the truth.

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