Fogbow

Marc Lamont Hill cut the mic on a Republican, then demolished efforts to ban critical race theory

Republican lawmakers across the country are pushing to ban critical race theory from schools in a giant effort to create a culture war and distract from the fact that what they really want to ban is any teaching about race and racism in the U.S. since the early 1960s. There’s one key question all of these Republicans need to be asked, and Marc Lamont Hill got one of them on his show Black News Tonight and asked it.

The question? “What is critical race theory?”

Hill posed that question to Vernon Jones, a Democrat turned Trump Republican currently running for Georgia governor who has vowed to ban critical race theory, and—as would probably be the case with a minimum 98% of the Republicans vowing to ban critical race theory in schools—Jones had not a clue. He started talking about Christopher Columbus and people who use “their own ideology and their own party affiliation to go to the extreme.”

Hill pressed, because that isn’t a definition of critical race theory.

“And you’re not going to come on my show and call me dumb,” he concluded. “What I will tell you is that critical race theory is a theory that actually emerged out of critical legal studies. It is a theory that makes an attempt to understand the law through the lens of race and it’s founded on some fundamental presumptions. One is the intractability of race and racism, meaning it’s an intractable problem in America and that we have to use the lens of race to make sense of things. It also is based on the use of counterstories, listening to the, as Derrick Bell, the critical race scholar, said, the voices at the bottom of the well, to make sense of the world and to make sense of the law. These are two big theories, two big pillars of it. And so what we want to do is, if you want to ban it, you have to explain to me why.”

neonzx wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 12:17 pmI've been trying to understand it -- they make it complicated but it sounds like mostly racists trying find a means to justify continuing to be racist. Am I missing something?

neonzx wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 12:17 pm "Critical Race Theory"

I've been trying to understand it -- they make it complicated but it sounds like mostly racists trying find a means to justify continuing to be racist. Am I missing something?

ETA: Hillsdale College (you know, the far right school that pushes right-wing bs) just last month had "Critical Race Theory" as their editorial in their monthly print publication. (don't worry, it's free and I'm making them spend money). Even then, after a lengthy, scholarly editorial, I didn't know WTF they were talking about.

“Critical Race Theory” Hysteria Is A “Satanic Panic”-Style Hoax From Fox News

Conservatives Are Obsessed With Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory is having a moment. To listen to Republican politicians and conservative pundits and their affiliated media like Fox News, the New York Post, Newsmax, the Daily Caller and hundreds of others, you would think critical race theory is everywhere.

Republican governors with presidential aspirations like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem mention repeatedly that they are fighting against critical race theory. Republicans in Congress are organizing letters against critical race theory and proposing legislation that would purportedly stop funding of education based on the obscure academic terminology.

Critical race theory is under the bed, its inside your kindergartner’s classroom, it’s sleeping with your spouse, it’s why your lunch doesn’t taste good and why you forgot your grandmother’s birthday. At least it is if you listen to the right.

As a result of this hysteria, which has been building for about two years now, critical race theory will definitely be a major rallying cry among conservative voters and Republicans will try to outdo each other in proving how against it they are.

What Is Critical Race Theory?
The real critical race theory is an intensely academic subject, usually bantered about at the college level in discussions about the long-term effects and causes of systemic racism. It is the kind of thing that is important and worthy of serious academic study, debate, and investigation.

What it isn’t is something that is being taught to grade school, middle school, or high school age children. Sixth grade teachers are not, frankly, being given critical race theory talking points to be included as their lesson plans.

It just isn’t happening. Unfortunately, as is so frequently the case in dealing with the conservative movement in America, real facts do not matter.

bill_g wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:16 am I've heard that the removal of Confederate "historical" monuments is driven by CRT which may explain some of the anguish and hand wringing.

MikeDunford wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:43 am

bill_g wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:16 am I've heard that the removal of Confederate "historical" monuments is driven by CRT which may explain some of the anguish and hand wringing.

I think the removal of the Confederate historical monuments is mostly driven by the increasing recognition that they were erected - very explicitly, in many cases - for racist reasons.

Blaming CRT for that increasing recognition is --

let me put it this way. CRT is a bit more focused on the areas where it's necessary to thoughtfully explore a subject to see the role of race or the racist effects. Blaming CRT for people doing things like reading the speeches that were delivered when monuments were dedicated is kind of like blaming meteorology for alerting you to the hurricane outside your window.

bill_g wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 10:53 am

I'll rephrase - the anguish over CRT is in response to the Confederate monument removals. The academic critical race theory and the political football CRT are two different things.

We asked Republicans to explain Critical Race Theory—they couldn’t
Do they actually know what they are talking about? [spoiler: No!]

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) told the Daily Dot that Critical Race Theory is “different things to different people but the bottom line is that it is a distorted view of racism.” Asked how Critical Race Theory distorts racism, Brooks said, “by trying to turn it into a positive when it is a negative.”

Most Republicans were unwilling to even offer a definition, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) both refused to give any answers. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) of Florida told the Daily Dot, “there’s a lot of people that have a lot of different definitions.” Asked for the Senate Republicans’ definition of Critical Race Theory, Scott said, “I don’t think the Republican caucus has a definition.” In early June, Scott introduced a resolution on Critical Race Theory which defines the theory as “an academic concept based on the belief that racism is embedded in American society, highlighting the differences between Americans instead of the many commonalities that unite them.”

But when asked what the definition of Critical Race Theory might be in upcoming legislation from Republicans, Scott told the Daily Dot, “I’ll reveal when it comes.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who signed onto Scott’s resolution, refused to answer when asked for her definition of Critical Race Theory.

Perhaps the clearest definition of the concept came from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who said, “it is a Marxist ideology that conceives of society … Marxist ideology conceives of society as a battle between the classes, Critical Race Study substitutes race for class.”

Some Republicans were a bit more creative in their answers, like Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) who responded, “you give me a definition and I’ll tell you if I agree with it.” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) was similarly elusive, when asked for a definition, he responded “you find me one.”

RVInit wrote: ↑Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:06 pm So they don't know what it is that they are against. Just that they are against whatever it is. Got it.

RVInit wrote: ↑Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:06 pm So they don't know what it is that they are against. Just that they are against whatever it is. Got it.

LM K wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 2:16 pm but they absolutely can block public k-12 schools from teaching CRT.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed HB 233 Tuesday.
The legislation will require public universities to survey students and staff annually about their beliefs to assess “viewpoint diversity” on campuses.
The bill does not specifically say what will be done with survey results, but DeSantis suggested budget cuts could be imminent if universities and colleges are found to be “indoctrinating” students.