Idaho’s governor last month signed into legislation a bill whose purpose, at face value, is noncontroversial. The legislation prohibits public schools and schools from instructing that”any gender, race, ethnicity, religion, colour, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.”
The catch? Baked to the law is an attempt to stamp out discussions about race and equity. Lawmakers at a growing number of states — such as Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and West Virginia — have introduced bills that would prohibit schools from teaching”divisive,””racist” or”sexist” theories.
Critics warn these measures are a part of a larger movement to draw America’s culture wars into classrooms, according to a once-obscure legal theory about how the legacy of slavery continues to permeate American society today.
What is critical race theory?
“Critical race theory” goes beyond advocating for civil rights or banning discrimination. Proponents see it as a framework to analyze the way the taint of racism nonetheless impacts Black Americans and other people of color.
The effects of racism, they say, vary from who receives bank loans and admission into elite universities into how suspects are treated by police
Why is there controversy about teaching it in schools?
Detractors dismiss critical race theory as a method for”teaching children to hate their nation” or to encourage”public school wokeness.”
However, while such talking points play well among conservative media circles, both political and legal experts contend they obscure more meaningful discussion about the function systemic racism plays at the American experience.
Also Read: Greece says many migrants in Turkey could seek asylum there
The bills trying to prohibit the education of”divisive concepts” seldom mention critical race theory directly, but in many cases legislators have cited it as a driving force behind those steps.
In an April Facebook article boosting a invoice in Rhode Island that has since stalled in committee, state Rep. Patricia Morgan, a co-sponsor, wrote,”Our nation must reject the neo-racism and race-shaming of Critical Race Theory. We’ve got no time to waste in rooting out this disturbing, divisive and false ideology”