Trump, the former president, condemned Critical Race Theory (CRT) at a rally in Florence, South Carolina. Trump wrongly depicted the academic discipline as a social problem that is hurting the nation.
Trump attacked the theory, which is normally reserved for advanced college students, falsely claiming it is indoctrinating K-12 schoolchildren with socialist ideals. He also stated that Critical Race Theory should be kept out schools. is a “matter of national survival.”
“We have no choice” but to ban CRT lessons, Trump insisted during the rally. “The fate of any nation ultimately depends on the willingness of its citizens to lay down and they must do this — lay down their very lives to defend their country.”
“If we allow the Marxists and commies and socialists to teach our children to hate America, there will be no one left to defend our flag or to protect our great country or its freedom,” Trump added.
Aside from the obvious red-baiting, Trump’s incendiary words were His call to action is a reminderOn January 6, 2021 hundreds of his loyalists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification for the 2020 presidential election.
Trump urges his supporters to “lay down your very lives” for the fight against critical racism theory pic.twitter.com/ZtbOizUDTa
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 13, 2022
This is far from a clever plot to indoctrinate kids. Academics have described Critical Race Theory as a “diverse work of a small group of scholars who write about the shortcomings of conventional civil rights approaches to understanding and transforming racial power in American society.” In short, CRT discusses how legal frameworks have failed to adequately address institutional racism.
But the fearmongering of the Republicans on this topic is not uncommon — likely as a means of fueling a culture war to distract from people’s actual material conditions —This has led conservative parents and far-right political parties to demand that Critical Race Theory be banned from K-12 classrooms.
In response to these demands, many Republicans have pushed for anti-CRT policies. They passed laws that purportedly ban CRT, but actually restrict broader studies on racism in U.S. History. Teachers are denied the right to teach historical facts that are indisputable. Parents and right-wing political organizations that support banning CRT are often cited. their worry that lessons about racism will make white students feel “discomfort.”
“This isn’t about education, it’s about racism… Black feelings are being disregarded while white feelings are being catered to,” Zack Linly wrote for The Root last May.
Given that 3 in 10 voters in the U.S. don’t actually know what Critical Race Theory isExperts already predict that The Republicans will push this issue in the 2022 midterm election.They hope to capitalize on the prejudices and fears of their base. Trump’s comments over the weekend indicate that he will also push the matter in this year’s races, and may make the issue central to his 2024 campaign should he decide to run for president again.
