Critical Race Theory (CRT) emerged in the 1990s as a product of socialist projects that had failed to take root in the United States. Marxism’s spread had fizzled out as Marxist intellectuals came to realize that worker revolutions would never occur in the West because those in the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba had detrimental results. To combat this mitigation of growth of their ‘revolutionary’ ideas, leaders instead attacked a characteristic that makes our nation so unique — its diversity. Americans believed in the power of hard work, and the contrast between classes was not nearly as polarized as in other nations; therefore, these politicians turned their revolution to the social and racial unrest in our country. Instead of the desired overthrow, Americans instead improved the nation through the civil rights movement.
This feeble attempt at identity-based Marxism has reemerged in recent years as Critical Race Theory (CRT). Many leftist scholars explain CRT as simply recognizing “that systematic racism is part of American society” and that it “challenges the beliefs that allow it to flourish.” This language is meek and a manipulation of terminology. It also misconstrues the impact this will have on our nation. CRT is instead a means to reintroduce segregation into the United States, justify discriminatory practices, and divide the American people. CRT teaches that white people are unrepentantly and innately racist. Leftist media outlets such as The New York Times explain CRT as a way to use “race as a lens through which to examine structures of power.” While the intentions to analyze political structures critically may be well-intended, what the analysis has evolved into is deplorable. Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of The New York Times’ “1619 Project” explains her ambitions are to, “get white Americans to stop being white.” An author at the Huffington Post published an article titled “Ten Things White People Need to Quit Saying.” Salon’s “10 Ways White People are More Racist Than They Realize” and the Nation’s, “The Votes of Black Americans Should Count Twice,” are examples of even more inflammatory pieces published recently. The latter of the two articles opened with the statement “Black votes in this country are worth less than white votes.” Google defines racism as, “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.” What’s more racist than claiming an individual’s vote is more or less impactful based on their race when that is easily demonstrated as false?
Ibram Kendi, the author of How to Be an Antiracist, states “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” Two wrongs do not make a right. Racism against one race does not validate the racism another group has experienced. Racism is always wrong. Ultimately, CRT exploits an individual’s racial identity — identity being the means and Marxism the end.
Keisha King, a mother of two in Florida, recently explained, “telling my child…that they are in a permanent oppressed status in America because they are black is racist.” She added, “if this continues, we will look back and be responsible for the dismantling of the greatest country in the world by reverting to teaching hate and that race is a determining factor on where your destiny lies.” How does maintaining that white people are subconsciously the oppressors mitigate systemic racism in the US? Switch the epithets and you will realize how abominable this practice is. It is even more ridiculous when you comprehend that systemic racism has been illegal for generations. CRT is ultimately a violation of civil rights and will lead to the downfall of the United States of America. We should not dispose of our nation’s history; the teaching of our nation’s biggest mistakes is pivotal, but suggesting our history has created a cycle of forever oppressors is abhorrent. We must do better.
