Lesson of the Day: ‘Critical Race Theory: A Brief History’

For example, in June, Florida’s State Board of Education passed amendments prohibiting critical race theory and The 1619 Project from its classrooms. One amendment read:

Instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective, and may not suppress or distort significant historical events, such as the Holocaust, slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the civil rights movement and the contributions of women, African American and Hispanic people to our country, as already provided in Section 1003.42(2), F.S. Examples of theories that distort historical events and are inconsistent with State Board approved standards include the denial or minimization of the Holocaust, and the teaching of Critical Race Theory, meaning the theory that racism is not merely the product of prejudice, but that racism is embedded in American society and its legal systems in order to uphold the supremacy of white persons. Instruction may not utilize material from the 1619 Project and may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.

Tennessee House Bill SB 0623 bans any teaching that could lead an individual to “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual’s race or sex” and restricts teaching that leads to “division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class or class of people.”

Texas House Bill 3979 forbids teaching that “slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to, the authentic founding principles of the United States.”

Closely read, analyze and interpret one of the amendments, proposals or bills above, or one from your own state or local school board. Then answer the following questions:

• What do you notice about the text? What words, phrases and language stand out and why? What questions do you have about the proposal or legislation?

• Try your best to sort through the jargon and legalese in order to try to restate what you have read in your own words, and wrestle with their implications. For example, what does it mean in the Florida amendment to “distort significant historical events”? What do you think that might look like in practice? Or take a look at the Tennessee bill. How will students, teachers, parents and interested citizens determine if teaching leads to “division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class or class of people”?

• What impact do you think the legislation or proposal will have on teachers, students and classrooms? Do you think these rules and laws will help or hinder a safe, healthy and productive learning environment? Will they ensure an accurate understanding of race and American history, or have the opposite effect and deny it? Are these laws and amendments too broad or vague — with language like “divisive concepts” — and will they therefore be easily misused? Or are they so broad that they are mostly symbolic and are likely to have little real impact in the classroom?

Option 3: Imagine you have been invited to your local school board or state capital to speak in favor of or against anti-C.R.T. laws.

Local school board meetings have become central battlegrounds in the fight over C.R.T. But one important perspective that has been largely absent in the ongoing debate is that of students and teenagers: What do you think adults are missing in this conversation? What would you want them to understand from the point of view of a teenager? How do you think schools should teach about race and racism?

Working individually or in a team, write the opening statement to present to your local school board. Be sure to draw upon your own specific experiences of studying race and racism in school that you began articulating in the warm-up activity.

To help formulate your point of view, you might take a look at the growing list of resources available on this topic, within and outside The Times.