Critical Race Theory and the Education of America’s Youth

The death of George Floyd marked much more than an example of racial injustice; it even marked more than an upsurge of activity for the Black Lives Matter movement. His death marked a confrontation of racism with effects far beyond our justice system. In September of the same year, conservative journalist Christopher Rufo appeared on Fox News and “described [Critical Race Theory] as a radical ideology sowing racial division through education,” (Borter) going as far as to call it a “existential threat to the United States” (Rufo). To be clear, this is a patently absurd claim based in misunderstanding. Critical Race Theory, in fact, began in law schools to analyze the presence and effect of systemic racism in U.S. law. But with the rise of BLM movements and widespread criticism of racial injustice in America in coherence with the dominance of cancel culture in society, a great amount of fear was sparked, and thus, further conflict arose.

Every person has biases; it’s an unavoidable circumstance of being human. This reality, unfortunate as it may be, is not evil in itself. Rather, our own biases are simply burdens that we must confront and overcome, evil only arising when we allow our biases to take control of us instead. However, with the intense pressures of the racial divide in our country in combination with the fear of being “cancelled,” I believe that many Americans who had not confronted their biases began to fear being punished for admitting to these biases and thus feared any pressure regarding their own bias. Thus, the state of Texas, as well as many other southern conservative states, have begun to take action against the teaching of “Critical Race Theory,” a decision based in misinformation and the confrontation of inner biases.

In June of 2021, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a bill with the aim to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in Texas schools which, “Opponents say [] limits honest conversations about race and racism in American society and will force teachers to equivocate on controversial or sensitive topics that will result in less educated students,” and also, “prohibits students from getting credit or extra credit for participating in civic activities that include political activism or lobbying elected officials on a particular issue” (McGee).

Now the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas has begun to take action to ban books that discussed sex, race, and sexuality, with many schools and libraries having already taken books off the shelves. These smalls towns are citing recent Texas legislation regarding Critical Race Theory which says schools may not teach lessons that could makes students feel, “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress” because of their race. In Southlake, parents and administrators created a rubric by which books are to be judged. The rubric demands that books offer “balanced information” free of bias from the author as well as multiple perspectives that “reflect a variety of experiences.” (Carroll ISD) The problem with such requirements is that the world we live in is not a balanced place free of bias. When teaching about slavery or the civil rights movement in America, hearing from both sides is not the way that our children should be learning. In America’s history, there are some very clear instances of right versus wrong, and “balanced information” is simply not a quality to be valued in such instances. Furthermore, the application of the Carroll ISD’s new rules on books is quite biased and problematic itself.

The purpose of the Carroll Independent School District’s restrictions on books is not about avoiding bias or offering a fair perspective, it is about preventing honest and critical discussions about issues of race, sexism, sexuality and any other issue that doesn’t align with the conservative political agenda of many parents and administrators. This reality is made clear by the selective enforcement of the new rules put in place. At Johnson Elementary School, a student brought home a book titled “This Book is Anti-Racist,” which discusses societal racism and the action children can take against such racism. But when Sarah Muns, the student’s mother, discovered this book, she took to social media demanding this book be removed from classrooms and had Rickie Farah, the teacher who had provided Muns’ child the book, investigated and reprimanded by administrators. (Hixenbaugh) Such action has pushed other teachers to remove similar books from their shelves such as “The Hate You Give,” “Separate is Never Equal,” and “A Good Kind of Trouble,” all of which address issues of racism in the U.S.

The difficulty of the current situation in Southlake, Texas is that the solution to this problem is tied to the problem itself. Bigotry is born out of ignorance, and therefore the way to avoid bigotry is through education. This is where the problem becomes complicated. Whether they are scared to confront their own biases or if they are wrongfully standing by them, it is bigotry within the community of Southlake that is responsible for the push against discussion of race, sex, and other important, though often political, discussions within the classroom. Thus, the education system’s solution to this problem is to educate the next generation of Southlake about such issues. However, if students are not able to experience the necessary learning about such issues, the cycle will continue. In order to break this cycle, both parents and students need to be included in the solution. Parents and administrators of Southlake object to biased or non-age-appropriate discussions of race, sex, and sexuality, therefore educators should push to work alongside these parents and administrators to craft discussions that are deemed acceptable by parents without ignoring the education of children on such issues. Additionally, discussions should not focus on being critical of bigotry but rather push for education away from bigoted ideas.

A focus on education against bigotry rather than a condemnation of it is the key to breaking the cycle of bigotry in Southlake, Texas. As previously discussed, the heart of this issue lies in fear. If educators present discussions as an attack on biases and bigotry, parents who have yet to overcome such issues themselves will likely continue their resistance to such discussions. Therefore, a focus solely on growth rather than condemnation is crucial.

While some parents in Southlake believe that discussions of complex issues such as race are not within the grasp of younger children, it is in fact crucial that young children be taught such issues. Though a true understanding of racism, sexism, or other biases may be beyond the reach of young children, its effects are not. In series of studies, Dr. Yarrow Dunham of Yale University found that at the age of three to four years old, implicit attitudes emerged in white children which associated black and Asian faces with anger (Dunham 863). This evidence makes it clear that young children are affected by ideas of racial bias. In order to prevent such biases from developing in the psyche of young children, discussions of racism, even if very simple, must be present in children’s education from a young age.

Even without literature, the education of Southlake’s children with regard to racial bias can still be successful. A study performed on fourth graders found that a presentation which discussed race through the lenses of anthropology, biology, and America’s history as a place to escape prejudice and of the success America experienced resulting from its diverse population to be highly effective in decreasing boundaries between racial groups. This learning, called “decategorization,” focuses on breaking down the foundations of children’s categorization of themselves and others into in-groups and out-groups.