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If more Americans studied their country’s history, they would understand that critical race theory distorts the truth and misleads the people who follow it, according to Texas Public Policy Foundation.
That’s the view of Texas Public Policy Foundation Chief Executive Officer Kevin Roberts, who hosted a forum on critical race theory Aug. 10. The weekly segment of "The Advance with Kevin Roberts" featured Richard Johnson, director of the TPPF’s Booker T. Washington Initiative, and Lucy Meckler, campaign manager of the foundation’s Next Generation Texas.
Johnson said it’s worthwhile to examine the terms critical race theory uses.
“Let's start with equality, which says we all have an equal right. We all have an equal opportunity to grow, flourish and develop,” he said. “Equity says that we all have to end up at the same place. And so one is an achievable goal and is quite naturally understandable coming from a leader like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who is very intelligent, very articulate and had great foresight understanding that equality is where our fight lies, equality, we're going to be different."
Johnson gave an examples of him and his sisters.
"We all grew up in the same household with my mom and dad. We all had equal opportunity, all in the same food. Everything was equal in our house. But my two sisters decided to follow my mom and dad and go into the trades. I decided to get a college degree and a master's and a doctorate degree. We all started out at the same place, but we not all ended up at the same place because we made different decisions with our lives. That's the difference between equality and equity. That's why we fight for equality. And we understand that equality is not the achievable goal because of our individual differences," he said.
Roberts said that is a central point.
“You were given what the promise of America is, which is equality of opportunity,” he said. “And yet what proponents of critical race theory advocate would be equity, which is that regardless of how much you did or didn't work, regardless of how good or not of the student you were, regardless of the differences that we have that are just natural, that we're going to guarantee the outcome. And it's that if you're a person of color, we're going to guarantee a better outcome than if you're white, because that's actually not an abusive example of what critical race theory would impose.”
Meckler said it’s very revealing to examine the terms used by critical race theory proponents.
“And I think this is very important because often proponents of critical race theory don't call it critical race theory, especially because it's under attack,” she said. “Generally, people change their terms, so it's harder to identify in the classroom. But we generally put out a list of buzzwords that helps people identify what to look for, where critical race theory and its surrounding ideologies may be taught."
Meckler said some of those include things like implicit, unconscious or internalized bias, the relentless search for racism in every aspect.
“If it's not there, you got to search harder. Social or restorative justice, the belief that society must be torn down in order to fully root out racism," she said.
She urged people to study the subject, read about it, watch videos and be alert for evidence of CRT in their communities.
“And then listen for those buzzwords that I just listed, those will help you actually identify it in practice,” Meckler said. “And once you think you've found an incident of critical race theory, you start at your local level, talk to your school, talk to that teacher, talk to the principal, talk to the school board, slowly run up the chain if the problem isn't being addressed.
"And it's most likely that members in your community feel the same exact way you do about critical race theory,” she said. “It's important that you try to gather with those who feel similarly and try to address it at that local level. State policy is a good idea, but that's not ultimately where it ends. The enforcement mechanism is just people speaking up and saying we don't want this anymore.”
Johnson said people who are educated can lead local efforts to oppose the implementation of CRT in their schools.
“And there's a movement right now that's moving across this country to fight against racism,” he said. “Join those noble warriors who are looking to fight against racism in any one of its forms. Because, basically, that is the main fight. That was the main fight of the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s. That was the civil rights movement. We were fighting against racism.
“Racism has lifted its ugly head and and is coming at a very high places. And we must fight against it, because now you can have the teachers unions who are fighting for critical race theory,” Johnson said. “They're trying to push critical race theory throughout our schools, our communities, which will affect our entire way of life.
Roberts said CRT advocates have argued in favor of discrimination, saying it is the only means to balance the books.
“It should be alarming to everyone, which says the only remedy to racist discrimination is anti-racist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination, and the only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination,” he said. “Obviously, as Richard had hinted on a little bit earlier, this is not the movement of the civil rights movement. This is not a search for equality. It actually continues discrimination just against a different race, against a different color. And it flips what we've traditionally seen on its head, it actually is a new form of racism, I would probably argue.”
Johnson said people need to learn honest and accurate history.
“I would add the importance of studying history," he said. "If we could elevate and amplify the necessity to study our history, because, again, if you don't know your history, you're doomed to repeat it. Most of us who really know our history fight against critical race theory simply because we don't want to be rolled back. We've been there before. America has grown beyond that. America has grown into the space, all men are created equal. Let's fight for that. It's the greatest thing worth fighting for every generation in America.”
The panelists said people should form groups in their community to oppose the spread of CRT. They could run for school board or get involved in another way.
“I think the coolest thing in my mind is that you do not have to be a parent to run to be a school board member,” Meckler said. “Most people think that you have to be a parent or grandparent or have someone in that school within their district to run. You do not as long as you live within that school district.
“You should be able to have a say in what's being taught," she said. "Another way that people can get involved if they're not a parent is just reaching out to legislators and sharing this information that you find or research within your district or their district, I've often heard legislators say if they get five calls on a certain bill, that's a lot."
Roberts recommended people study the words and writings that have shaped our nation, most notably the importance of King's "I have a dream" speech in 1963.
“The best way to love America is to note we have many documents, many speeches that we could read," he said. “If you haven't read that [King speech] or it's been a while since you've read it, or maybe you were an eighth grader or a 10th grader and you skimmed just for the sake of class. Do yourself a favor and go reread that speech."