The fight against Marxist critical race theory in our public schools may well be one of the most important battles in America's culture war.  It will likely decide whether this nation remains committed to the Constitution, to freedom and the rule of law or whether it embraces European-style socialism and the rule of big government.  In recent days this battle has taken on added urgency as the Biden Administration has pressed the FBI into service on behalf of the radical left-wing educational bureaucracy. 

So, American Values is sending this special report – Combating CRT.  In it, we explain the Marxist roots of critical race theory, its rejection of Martin Luther King's legacy and how you can fight back.

Please read it and share it with like-minded friends and family members. 

COMBATING CRT

--By Bill Moeller, American Values Policy Analyst

1. MLK Was Right

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. defined the struggle for racial equality in America.  King loved this country, and routinely appealed to our founding documents, calling on America to fulfil its promise in the Declaration of Independence. 

King believed in a society where skin color didn't matter.  What mattered most is what's in our hearts.  On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King famously declared:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

King's dream set the standard for racial reconciliation in America.  Unfortunately, today's left has become so extreme that it rejects the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr.  If King were alive today, he would reject critical race theory.

The left has embraced the Marxist doctrine of critical race theory -- based on the racist lie that white people are genetically predisposed to be oppressors and black people are destined to be oppressed. 

In other words, the left believes that the content of our character is not what matters most, but skin color is the only thing that matters.  The left has become so comfortable with this racism that one big city mayor announced she wasn't granting interviews to white reporters. 

This is how far the left has strayed from Martin Luther King's dream, how extreme it has become.  The left is embracing racism and segregation. (Here and here.) 

Sadly, even Reverend King himself is under attack. Social justice courses in some schools are teaching children that the concept of "colorblindness" – King's dream of not seeing race – is a form of "covert white supremacy."  So, too, is the idea that "we're just one human family."

These ideas were central to King's teachings.  In his famous "I Have A Dream Speech" King said that freedom will allow all of "God's children -- black and white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, to join hands and celebrate together."

But the racist, Marxist ideology of critical race theory isn't about freedom.  Judging people by the color of their skin will never make us free.  It will always lead to discrimination, division and oppression – precisely the goal of any Marxist ideology.

2.  The Marxist Roots Of Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory is dominating headlines in America today.  It is causing turmoil at school board meetings, on college campuses and in homes across the country.  But what exactly is critical race theory or CRT?  Polling finds that many Americans (46%) either don't know or aren't sure what critical race theory is. 

Critical race theory is a Marxist view of race that traces its roots to two Harvard scholars – Derrick Bell and Kimberlé Crenshaw, who also created the term "intersectionality," another Marxist doctrine alleging that all forms of "oppression" are linked.

Disillusioned with the contrasting realities of the progress of the civil rights movement and the persistent economic inequality between black and white Americans, Bell theorized that the contrast must be the result of "systemic racism" throughout American institutions, law and society.  He arrived at this explanation by applying what's known as "critical theory" to matters of race. 

"Critical Race Theory: An introduction" is a textbook used by many law schools today.  Here's how it describes CRT: 

"Unlike traditional civil rights, which embraces incrementalism and step-by-step progress, critical race theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law."

Here's another explanation from the left-wing media outlet Slate attempting to explain a controversy over critical race theory in 2012:

"Derrick Bell and other legal scholars began using the phrase 'critical race theory' in the 1970s as a takeoff on 'critical legal theory,' a branch of legal scholarship that challenges the validity of concepts such as rationality, objective truth, and judicial neutrality. Critical legal theory was itself a takeoff on critical theory, a philosophical framework with roots in Marxist thought. . .  And unlike some strands of academic and legal thought, critical race theory has an open and activist agenda."

That paragraph sums up the essence of the modern left -- constantly challenging rationality and objective truth.  But we also see that critical race theory is a spinoff of Marxist thinking with "an open and activist agenda." 

Indeed, as Bell said of his own theory, it "is often disruptive because its commitment to anti-racism goes well beyond civil rights, integration, affirmative action, and other liberal measures." 

How exactly does one go "well beyond civil rights?" 

In a nation founded on the principles of individual liberty and the rule of law, implementing Marxist ideas that go "well beyond affirmative action and other liberal measures" would undoubtedly be "disruptive." 

This is precisely the line of thinking that has led many on the left, including Barack Obama who is an adherent of Derrick Bell's work, to conclude that America must be "fundamentally transformed." 

If you believe that America is "systemically racist," and that all institutions, most especially law enforcement, are so corrupted by racism, there's little alternative but to reject our founding, tear it all down and start from scratch.

Further underscoring the Marxist nature of critical race theory, consider the writings of Ibram X. Kendi, one of most visible proponents of CRT today. 

Kendi is considered a leading expert on the subject of "anti-racism."  He has authored several books on the subject and commands $20,000 a speech.  Kendi is currently working with Netflix and other studios to produce movies and TV shows, and is the founding director of the Anti-Racist Research and Policy Center at Boston University.

In his book, "How To Be An Anti-Racist," Kendi declares that racism and capitalism are "conjoined twins." In a 2019 interview with Salon, he explained it this way:

"When you really look at the history of racism, it cannot be properly understood without grappling with the history of capitalism. The history of capitalism cannot be properly understood without understanding the history of racism. Racism and capitalism emerged simultaneously, they have grown together, they have ravaged together — and one day they'll ultimately die together."

In another interview with DigBoston, Kendi said:

"I think in order to be truly antiracist you have to be anti-capitalist. The history of capitalism and racism is deeply intertwined. . .  If you look at modern history you can't separate capitalism from racism in the emergence of the slave trade, in the emergence of slavery and in the reasons why Europe is rich relative to Africa that is poor. You can't separate the intersection of racism and capitalism from those systems and institutions and from the disparities, both racial and economic, that they brought." 

But Kendi's denunciation of capitalism rings hollow, given that he has earned at least $300,000 in recent years just in speaking fees alone.

Following on Bell's view that critical race theory would go "well beyond civil rights" and be "disruptive" to society, Kendi's answer to the problem of "systemic racism" and discrimination is . . . more discrimination.  In "How To Be An Anti-Racist," Kendi writes:

"The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination."

That is not a solution, but a prescription for perpetual animosity, division and racial discord.

Critical race theory's Marxist, anti-capitalist dogma can also be seen in the children's book entitled, "Not My Idea."  Here is how Amazon describes the book: 

"Not My Idea is the only children's picture book that roots the problem of racism in whiteness and empowers white children and families to see and dismantle white supremacy."

So "whiteness" is the problem.  Isn't that judging people by the color of their skin?  Isn't THAT racist?

Among the pictures featured in the book is a "whiteness contract" depicted as a devil.  (Yes, it even has a pointy red tail!) 

If you sign the contract, you get to take other people's money and land, and "mess endlessly" with the lives of "all humans of color for the purpose of profits."  And further illustrating the point of how capitalism is evil, a $20 bill makes up the devil's body.

Another leading proponent of critical race theory is Nikole Hannah-Jones, the founder of the 1619 Project.  We will focus more on the 1619 Project below, but Jones once praised communist Cuba. 

During a 2019 interview with the left-wing media outlet Vox, Jones hailed Cuba as "the most equal, multi-racial country in our hemisphere."  Jones explained: "Cuba has the least inequality, and that's largely due to socialism." 

She is right about that, but not in the way she intended.  There is little to no inequality in Cuba because NO ONE has anything.  But a brutal Marxist regime that suppresses freedom and lacks basic necessities, including toilet paper (here and here), can't be a model of "progress."

Finally, there is the "muscle" behind the movement – the Black Lives Matter Global Network.  The organization was founded by self-identified "trained Marxists."  The organization is all in on "defunding the police." 

After the pro-democracy uprising in Cuba, the BLM organization revealed its Marxist roots when it posted a statement expressing support for the communist Cuban government, adding that the U.S. embargo was "at the heart of Cuba's current crisis." 

The BLM statement went on to praise the communist regime for "protecting Black revolutionaries like Assata Shakur."  Shakur was convicted for the killing of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973.  She later escaped prison and fled to Cuba, where she was granted asylum by Fidel Castro.

One of the BLM organization's "trained Marxist" co-founders, Patrisse Cullors, has repeatedly praised Shakur.  That's not terribly surprising since Cullors hates the police, has labeled law enforcement a "terrorist organization" and has "always wanted to fight them."

Another major feature of critical race theory is its focus on "equity."  It is important to note that "equity" does not mean "equality."  Equity is the left's latest buzzword and it is meant to deliberately confuse people. 

Far from equality of opportunity or treating people equally, which was Martin Luther King's dream, equity refers to equal outcomes – the very objective of Marxism.  

The rule of law can guarantee fairness, equal access and equal opportunity. It does not guarantee equal results.  Only the power of big government mandates can do that, and historically it has never done that well. 

There is a reason communism fails wherever it is tried.  There is a reason the Soviet Union no longer exists, why Cuba lacks toilet paper, and why Venezuela, once a rich oil-producing nation, is now an economic disaster.

Karl Marx's radical theories have been thoroughly discredited, yet the left still clings to them.  But having lost the economic argument, it has now incorporated race into its Marxist dogma in an effort to control the narrative and silence opposition.

3. CRT's Many Lies

In a May interview with CNN, Kimberlé Crenshaw said that critical race theory is a way of "grappling with a history of White supremacy that rejects the belief that what's in the past is in the past."  As the title of the CNN column put it, "Critical Race Theory Is A Lens" through which we not only view history but the present.

Unfortunately, that means seeing history through a warped Marxist lens that denies the progress that has been made. 

Critical race theory declares that America was and is "systemically racist." It declares that America wasn't founded on the ideal of freedom in 1776, but rather founded on genocide and slavery in 1619 when the first African slaves were brought to the British colony of Jamestown. And it insists that America is still divided today into "oppressors" and "the oppressed."

This is the Marxist "anti-American" history that is increasingly being taught in our schools today.  Few would condone the teaching of "Marxist history" in our schools. So, the proponents of CRT have repackaged it and branded it as "anti-racism instruction" in an attempt to browbeat opponents and silence debate.  After all, who could be against "anti-racism instruction"?

The good news is that as more and more parents realize what is happening, they are outraged by the bald-faced lies and blatant racism that is being taught to their children. 

As we have already noted, there are many lies associated with the teaching of critical race theory.  There's the lie of the 1619 Project, which attempts to reset the date of America's founding from 1776 to 1619.

Among other historical inaccuracies, the 1619 Project argues that the American Revolution wasn't fought to secure our God-given freedoms, as the Declaration of Independence clearly states, but rather to preserve slavery.  That is a lie. 

Another lie perpetuated by the left involves critical race theory itself.  Numerous school administrators, commentators and politicians have said that CRT isn't being taught in the public schools, but only to graduate students and those in law school.  Some have even gone so far as to suggest that critical race theory is not real, that it is just a "right-wing conspiracy."  

Tell that to the teachers' unions! 

• The left-wing National Education Association recently approved a resolution defending the teaching of CRT, specifically mentioning the term at least six times.  The resolution also states that the NEA will provide a study that critiques capitalism along with white supremacy and "other forms of power and oppression."  Again, we see the left linking capitalism with racism and oppression.  This radical rhetoric might sound like it is coming straight out of the Communist Manifesto, but it's coming from the nation's largest teachers' union.

• The American Federation of Teachers declared that it was creating a special legal defense fund of at least $2.5 million to fight parents who are resisting the indoctrination of their children.

• The Zinn Education Project, founded by the Marxist historian Howard Zinn, is urging teachers to defy laws banning CRT in the classroom.

When progressive politicians, school board members or left-wing teachers insist that critical race theory isn't being taught in the public schools, they are gaslighting the public.  More and more, parents know CRT is being taught to their children, and not just older students in high school.  Here are some examples of CRT in the schools:

• At least 25 school districts are using children's picture book "Not My Idea" described above, featuring the devil as a "whiteness contract."
• One California elementary school required third graders to identify their "power and privilege" based on their race.
• Schools in Buffalo, New York, are teaching children that "all white people" are responsible for "perpetuating systemic racism."
• The Oregon Department of Education encouraged middle school teachers to "dismantle racism in mathematics," finding that the focus on correct answers and objective truth in math was evidence of white supremacy.
• An "equity toolkit" promoted by the Arizona Department of Education suggests that babies and toddlers develop racist tendencies.
• The Virginia Department of Education explicitly promotes critical race theory on its website, including books by Ibram X. Kendi and Bettina Love of the Abolitionist Teaching Network.  The book written by Love declares: "Lastly, teachers must embrace theories such as critical race theory, settler colonialism, Black feminism, dis/ability, critical race studies, and other critical theories, that have the ability to interrogate anti-Blackness. . ."

Again, this teaching often isn't described as "critical race theory."  You will not find a class at your local middle or high school called "Critical Race Theory."  It is most often referred to as "cultural competency," "anti-racism instruction" or "equity."

But make no mistake about it:  No matter what they call it, critical race theory is in your schools.  In fact, some left-wing teachers openly brag about it.  (Here and here.) 

In Loudoun County, Virginia, the school district has an "Equity Committee" and an advisory board called the "Minority Student Achievement Advisory Council."  The chairman of that council demanded that teachers and staff be fired if they resisted critical race theory and instruction on "how to be culturally competent." 

Two school districts in the Washington, D.C., area have paid nearly $900,000 – that's your tax dollars – to the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC) for audits of "the cultural, structural, and material dimensions necessary for making transformational change." MAEC claims to provide the "tools necessary to operationalize equity into practice."

So why are many pundits and politicians lying about critical race theory not being taught in the schools when it clearly is?  Because they know just how controversial it is.  They know polling shows it is extremely unpopular.

While nearly half the country is still not familiar with CRT, among the 54% of Americans who do know what CRT is, only 28% approve of it, while 58% disapprove of CRT. 

With something so controversial, you would expect schools and teachers to offer parents a way to opt their children out of such instruction.  But the left is so intent on indoctrinating our children that they are making it impossible to "opt-out." 

For example, when a parent asked about opting their child out of critical race theory instruction, a diversity resource teacher in Albemarle County, Virginia, explained that it wasn't possible because it was being taught "in all areas" and "all of their classes."  The diversity resource teacher said:

"This work is happening in all content areas.  So teachers across the county are incorporating anti-racism work into their content. . .  This concept is going to be woven through in all of their classes in Albemarle County."

4. You MUST Fight Back

Having firmly established that extremely unpopular Marxist theories have been endorsed by the big teachers' unions and are being taught in the public schools in such a way that they are unavoidable, even in math classes, it is imperative that parents, grandparents and taxpayers fight back! 

Don't think this issue doesn't affect you.  It does, even if you no longer have children in the public schools. 

• Teaching critical race theory is wasting YOUR tax dollars. 

• It is not educating YOUR children and grandchildren; it is indoctrinating them. 

• It is brainwashing the next generation of America's leaders to hate our free enterprise economic system and our country, convincing them that America was founded on genocide and slavery and must be "fundamentally transformed" into a Marxist state.

The good news is that Americans are fighting back, including many minority parents.  (Here, here and here.)  Teachers are also standing up and fighting back.  Recall campaigns against left-wing school board members have hit a record high.

Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has launched an outrageous effort to intimidate concerned parents by ordering the FBI to investigate alleged "threats" and "harassment" against school board members.  Do not be intimidated!

There is no law against being angry at unresponsive bureaucrats.  There is no law banning protests against radical ideas.  You have a God-given right to free speech, free assembly and the right to petition your government.  Speak up for your children and grandchildren.  Speak up for America!

10 Ways You Can Fight Back

1. Know what your child is being taught.  Take the time to review your child's homework.  Quiz them about what they learned in class each day.  Many teachers post a syllabus or course outline on the school's website or class portal.  Read it and examine the required or recommended reading materials.

2. Meet with your child's teachers.  Rather than asking directly if they are teaching critical race theory in their class (they will likely deny it), use their own buzzwords.  Ask if they were trained in "cultural competency" and how they are implementing that training in the classroom. Ask to see what "equity" or "anti-racism instructional" materials they are using.  If they refuse to share these materials with you, that's a big red flag. 

3. Know your local school administrators, your school board members. You elected these people.  You pay their salaries.  THEY WORK FOR YOU!  Do not be afraid to demand accountability.  

4. Find out if your school district is paying for speakers like Ibram X. Kendi or hosting seminars with radical groups like the Abolitionist Teaching Network.  Ask if they are requiring teachers to attend mandatory "cultural competency" or "anti-racism" training sessions. 

5. Make your voice heard.  Attend school board meetings and speak out against critical race theory and Marxist indoctrination in the schools. 

6. Educate others by writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper expressing your opposition to critical race theory.  Post useful articles and commentaries exposing CRT on social media.  (Journalist and filmmaker Christopher Rufo is an excellent resource.)

7. Share alternatives such as President Trump's 1776 Commission and 1776 Unites, written by prominent black historians and scholars.

8. Organize other parents and families in your community.  Model your efforts after groups like Fight For Schools and Parent & Child Loudoun.

9. Contact your state legislators.  Education is one of the biggest expenses for every state.  The budgets for the educational bureaucracy need serious oversight. Schools should be teaching children the essential three Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic.  We don't need a fourth R for "racism."

10. VOTE!  Get to know your school board candidates.  Ask their views on critical race theory. Find out whether the candidates for Congress, governor and state legislature support or oppose critical race theory and so-called "equity" programs.