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Landry’s order appeased conservative parents who argued that learning about racism in schools was harming their children, but it left other Louisianians in shock.
“We shouldn’t limit teaching the honest truth about the history of this nation,” said Royce Duplessis, the Democratic state senator representing District 5. “Any attempt to do that is unpatriotic and un-American.”
Heather O’Connell, a sociology professor at LSU, said “That’s not CRT. CRT doesn’t really pay attention to individuals at all. It’s much more structurally focused. I guess we're calling it a CRT ban because that's what people are used to saying.”
While it may not be taught in high schools, Critical Race Theory is an important body of scholarship because it analyzes and deconstructs the racial composition of America. The concept of race is deeply ingrained into every aspect of life, law, and society, often in ways we don’t realize. It’s as irresponsible to deny the history of race in America as it is to ignore the present-day repercussions of institutional racism. These “divisive” topics are simply real-world issues which affect disadvantaged people in America every single day. Critical Race Theory is not simply an academic field, but a looking glass through which we can inspect institutional structures.
Setting aside Critical Race Theory in particular, the teaching of “divisive” topics such as race and identity is crucial to the development of American students. Critical frameworks such as CRT analyze and deconstruct the power dynamics in America, looking at the way that ideological constructs like race are ingrained into every aspect of life, law, and social structures. It’s irresponsible to deny the history of race in America and to ignore the present-day repercussions of institutional racism. These “divisive” topics are simply real-world issues which affect disadvantaged people in America every single day.
Despite what Jeff Landry and Cade Brumley want our schools to profess, racism is a very real issue that is guaranteed to appear in the lives — either to the benefit or disadvantage — of American youth. By banning the discussion of these issues in schools, children are being stripped of information that is vital to their understanding and social development. As “CRT bans” spike all over the United States, an environment is being created where American youth are not properly equipped with the necessary tools they need to function in society.
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