TBN #31
How to know if your child is learning CRT
Hey friend! Happy first day of June! This is an exciting month for many reasons including the beginning of the summer season, Pride Month, and Black Music Month, and National Caribbean American Heritage Month. Advocates also focus on Alzheimer’s and Brain awareness during this month as well.
With good news, there’s also bad-ish news…
In the past newsletters I featured a “diversity ban” update based on new legislation against diversity, equity, and inclusion. Washington Post recently reported the majority of the 1,065 book challenges, mostly focused on race and LGBTQIA2S+ identity, were filed by 11 people.
Further, there is a new wave of anti-CRT (critical race theory) discourse is happening (again) in the K-12 system. For example, six California school districts collectively passed seven measures restricting instruction about race (Source). And this week, the Louisiana House Education Committee voted 6-5 to kill a proposal requiring public schools to report to the state any programming related to “critical race theory; diversity, equity, and inclusion; or transformative social emotional learning” (Source).
According to the CRT Forward Project, 214 local, state, and federal government entities across the United States introduced 699 anti-Critical Race Theory bills, resolutions, executive orders, opinion letters, statements, and other measures since September 2020 (Source).
So, what exactly is CRT in basic terms? How do you know if your child, or tiny human, is being taught to CRT?
Keep reading to find out.
WEEKLY UPDATE
CLIFF NOTES: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
June is Pride Month, Black Music Month, National Caribbean American Heritage Month and Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. Check out the full list of heritage months and identity days on the blog.
“‘Diversity fatigue’ hounds employers” - interest in DEI is waning in the workplace
BENTON’S BASICS: HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR CHILD IS LEARNING CRT
Long story short…
How do you know if your child, or tiny human in your life, is being taught Critical Race Theory (CRT) in school?
First, they will be learning CRT tenets (read: core concepts). These tenets are:
Race is socially constructed. In other words, race is not based on biology or objective facts but rather, the result of human interactions.
Due to this social construction, CRT focuses on processes and systems that humans created and as a result, provide some advantages to certain groups and disadvantages to others. Public school funding, requirements to vote, redlining and gerrymandering are a few examples of processes and systems.
By focusing on systems, CRT acknowledges that racism is also systemic. Due to its systemic nature, racism in the United States is ordinary and a part of everyday life.
CRT scholars also focus on interest convergence which is an academic term that emphasizes that legal advances and policies that benefit People of Color are usually in the interests of white people. For instance, the beneficiaries of equal employment and employee discrimination are often used as examples of interest convergence.
In addition, CRT supports intersectionality and anti-essentialism which means that no racial group is a monolith and therefore should not be reduced to sweeping generalizations. Individuals within racial groups hold many identities and cannot be adequately identified by membership to a single group.
Next, storytelling is an important part of CRT. People of Color are uniquely qualified to tell their own stories regarding their experiences with racism and the effects of racism.
Last, CRT advocates for calls to action. While understanding the theory is key, it is equally important to take action against racism and the impact of racism.
Second, their teacher would need to have an educational background in CRT. For reference, I took my first and only CRT course when studying for my PhD. Students typically learn about the origin of CRT before learning how to apply the theory. The original scholarship and literature of CRT was written by scholars in the legal field. However, the origin of CRT is rooted in a critical analysis of history and past legislation in the United States which are often immense topics.
Note: Discussing race or people of color is not the same as teaching CRT.
There is more to learn about CRT but this is a basic start to understanding the theory and determining if CRT is being taught in your little one’s school.
STUDY HALL: CRT FORWARD
While CRT may be a polarizing topic in today’s news, it is important to have an informed opinion. The UCLA School of Law Critical Race Studies Program (CRS) launched “CRT Forward”, an initiative to address the current attacks on CRT while also highlighting the past, present and future contributions of the theory.
HOMEWORK: THE COLOR OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
What I’m Watching 📺: I’m participating in this historical moment and getting my ticket to see The Little Mermaid (2023)
What I’m Reading This Month 📚: I recently picked up The Color of Emotional Intelligence: Elevating Our Self and Social Awareness to Address Inequities by Farah Harris.
What I’m Snacking On 🌽: I recently purchased an air fryer (I know I’m late to the party) and I can’t get enough of making roasted corn. Here’s an easy recipe.
DANCE BREAK: THE BEST
In honor of Tina Turner and Black Music Month, this week’s song is one of my favorites from the artist.
I’d love to hear from you!
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