From: McKenzie Copper
Columbus
I would like to formally address the importance of critical race theory and to clarify ways it has, hasn’t, and should be used in our current education system. I have noticed that a mistrust of critical race theory stems from one of two places – a misunderstanding of what would be taught, or a disapproval of the information because of racism.
I will provide a brief historical context, but to put the definition at its simplest terms, critical race theory is an academic concept created 40 years ago positing that race is a social construct, and racism is not only a result of individual bias or prejudice, but also deeply embedded in policy, legal systems, and education.
An easy example could be how segregation was seen as normal, everyday life for white Americans who benefited from the system. It was changed, because it was identified and called out by the black Americans who fought to remove the system. Part of this concept is the belief that racism is a part of everyday life because Americans, especially white Americans, have been submerged into this system from the moment they were born. While personal prejudice may not exist in a specific individual, because of the system they are born into and profit from, there is still racism present. Most of it goes unnoticed to most of the white population while black, indigenous, and other people of color see it everywhere they go.
The first step to changing this is to identify discrepancies within our policies and to take steps to ensure that these racist systems are not perpetuated. Racism isn’t just committing hate crimes, speaking racial slurs, or rolling up the windows near the trailer parks – it’s refusing to understand who put people of color in those trailer parks in the first place, and feigning ignorance to avoid responsibility.
While most individual white people do not perpetuate overt racism, they still profit from systemic racism, so teaching critical race theory in schools could be a big step toward change. The fact of the matter is, it hasn’t been taught in K-12 schools in Indiana. A majority of white people you meet have no idea what critical race theory is and are under the misunderstanding that it is meant to condemn and cast out whites for racist behavior. If it were taught appropriately, we would understand that it calls for a wider net – a deeper, more important systemic change.
Let’s encourage these academic concepts to be taught, so that real change can happen, and we can better amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous and people of color who can make these changes.
