by
TCCF
in CONSERVATIVE ISSUES Posted on
11/14/2023 05:35 PM
There has been a great deal of controversy over the use of Critical Race Theory (CRT), especially in schools. When its use has come under attack, the usual defense has been to switch to using a different name while denying that CRT is actually in the school curriculum.
In the studies done by The Conservative Caucus Foundation, we have begun with the books written by those who proudly identify themselves (and others) as teachers of CRT. These include Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic and Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement, edited by Kimberle Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, and Kendall Thomas.
The former, written as an introductory text, is described in its Forward as “a primer for nonlawyers that makes the now sprawling literature of critical race theory easily accessible . . . .” The latter claims to be “a representative, though by no means exhaustive, compilation of the growing body of legal scholarship known as Critical Race Theory (CRT).”
They name the leading advocates of CRT, especially its founding father, Derrick Bell, and provide a window into the findings of CRT. The quotations below echo those findings.
If you find these being used in your school or workplace, you will know that CRT is at work, no matter what name has been chosen to disguise it.
They deny any history of American racial progress as well as any future possibility of further progress
“Black people will never gain full equality in this country. Even those herculean efforts we hail as successful will produce no more than temporary ‘peaks of progress’, short-lived victories that slide into irrelevance as racial patterns adapt in ways that maintain white dominance.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 74
“People of color – in this ‘land of the free’ forged through slavery and genocide – are regularly treated and viewed as the problem. Once human beings are defined as the problem in the public consciousness, their elimination through deportation, incarceration, or even genocide becomes nearly inevitable.”
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. xxxiv
“. . . I saw the antiracist force of equality and the racist force of inequality marching forward, progressing in rhetoric, in tactics, in policies. . . . And racist progress has consistently followed racial progress.”
Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, pg. x-xi.
“Racial equality is, in fact, not a realistic goal.”
Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 73
“It is fair to say that we have witnessed an evolution in the United States from a racial caste system based entirely on exploitation (slavery) to one based largely on subordination (Jim Crow), to one defined by marginalization (mass incarceration). While marginalization may sound far preferable to exploitation, it may prove to be even more dangerous. Extreme marginalization, as we have seen throughout world history, poses the risk of extermination. Tragedies such as the Holocaust in Germany or ethnic cleansing in Bosnia are traceable to the extreme marginalization and stigmatization of racial and ethnic groups.” Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. 272
“We [critical race theorists] use a number of different voices, but all recognize that racial subordination maintains and perpetuates the American social order.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 80
“. . . systems of racialized social control have managed to morph, evolve, and adapt to changes in the political, social, and legal context over time. Ultimately, I believe that the similarities between these systems of control overwhelm the differences . . . .” Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. 18
“, , , integration often serves, like slavery and segregation, as one more device by which the majority can maintain control over blacks.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 225
“. . . there is a certain pattern to the births and deaths of racial caste in America. Time and again, the most ardent proponents of racial hierarchy have succeeded in creating new caste systems by triggering a collapse of resistance across the political spectrum.” Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. 20
“I am infinitely more disturbed by my helplessness in the face of the not-so-gentle genocide going on in our inner cities.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 302
“Rather, our debate should focus on why black men are suffering a genocide-like demise from the work-force, from the family, and, increasingly, from life itself.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 325
They claim that white racism is the permanent, controlling element of American society
“Racism . . . is a nonnegotiable essential element of America as we know it.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 51
“Anti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this country.” The 1619 Project, The New York Times, August 18, 2019
“. . . I realized that we [white people] see ourselves as entitled to, and deserving of, more than people of color deserve.” Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility, pg. 3
“. . . a positive white identity is an impossible goal. White identity is inherently racist.” Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility, pg. 149
“Our world is suffering from a metastatic cancer. Stage 4. Racism has spread to nearly every part of the body politic, intersecting with bigotry of all kinds, justifying all kinds of inequities by victim blaming; heightening exploitation and misplaced hate; spurring mass shooting, arms races, and demagogues who polarize nations; shutting down essential organs of democracy; and threatening the life of human society with nuclear war and climate change.” Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist, pg. 234
“Civil rights advocates and their organizations must face the unavoidable truth that this nation’s social stability is built on a belief in and a determination to maintain white dominance.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 52
“. . . we must address the reality that we live in a society in which racism has been internalized and institutionalized to the point of being an essential and inherently functioning component of that society . . . .”
Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 89
“The continuing resistance to affirmative action plans, set-asides, and other meaningful relief for discrimination-caused harm is based in substantial part on the perception that black gains threaten the main component of status for many whites: the sense that as whites, they are entitled to priority and preference over blacks.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 31
“Racial policy actions may be influenced, but are seldom determined, by the seriousness of the harm blacks are suffering . . .” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 41
They deny that the American goal should be a truly colorblind society
“The most threatening racist movement is not the alt right’s unlikely movement for a White enthnostate, but the regular American’s drive for a ‘race-neutral’ one.” Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist, pg. 20
“For example, advocates are often asked, ‘When will we (finally) become a colorblind society?’ The pursuit of colorblindness makes people impatient. With courage, we should respond: ‘Hopefully, never.’”
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. 301
“Colorblindness, though widely touted as the solution, is actually the problem.” Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. 29
They reject America’s free-market capitalistic economy
“To love capitalism is to end up loving racism.” Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist, pg. 163
“Antiracist policies cannot eliminate class racism without anti-capitalist policies.” Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist, pg. 159
“. . . the record of capitalism is that its efficiency and productivity come at a very high price. Its essence is exploitation, which is based on the ability of some to require many to sell their labor for less than the value of what they produce.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 192
“. . . the free enterprise system leads so many people to believe that today’s promises of power and big money, no matter how empty, are an acceptable trade for integrity.” Derrick Bell, The Derrick Bell Reader, pg. 276
They claim that the American criminal justice system is really a form of racial oppression
“Lynch mobs may be long gone, but the threat of police violence is ever present.”
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. 176
“We need an effective system of crime prevention and control in our communities, but that is not what the current system is. This system is better designed to create crime, and a perpetual class of people labeled criminals . . . .” Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, pg. 293-94
What is their solution for dealing with racial problems?
“To fix the original sin of racism, Americans should pass an anti-racist amendment to the U.S. Constitution that enshrines two guiding anti-racist principals: Racial inequity is evidence of racist policy and the different racial groups are equals. The amendment would make unconstitutional racial inequity over a certain threshold, as well as racist ideas by public officials (with “racist ideas” and “public official” clearly defined). It would establish and permanently fund the Department of Anti-racism (DOA) comprised of formally trained experts on racism and no political appointees. The DOA would be responsible for preclearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won’t yield racial inequity, monitor those policies, investigate private racist policies when racial inequity surfaces, and monitor public officials for expressions of racist ideas. The DOA would be empowered with disciplinary tools to wield over and against policymakers and public officials who do not voluntarily change their racist policy and ideas.” Ibram X. Kendi, Pass an Antiracist Constitutional Amendment, Politico Magazine
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