What We’re Reading: “Critical Race Enthusiasts Should Learn the Lesson of ‘Defund the Police’”

“If Democrats intent on school improvement follow the woke fringe down the same Twitter-inspired rabbit hole that swallowed police reform, they oughtn’t be surprised when things go south”

Raleigh, N.C. — Take a look at this smart analysis of the apparent knee-jerk defense of the doctrines aligned with “Critical Race Theory.”

As with “Defund the Police,” those embracing CRT-aligned doctrines are choosing to defend the most extreme end of a spectrum, dismissing the very reasonable middle grounds that might exist to address real problems.

Do the theory’s defenders even understand what they’re defending? “Antiracism,” as defined by the author of “How to be an Antiracist,” preaches that “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.”

Most mainstream people who actually engage with these theories disagree with them. Not many people really believe that race-based discrimination “is not inherently racist,” for example.

So why are Democratic legislators defending this doctrine? According to Frederick Hess at AEI, they do so at their own peril. Excerpts are below.

Those who embrace the stew of “anti-racist” policies and practices loosely referred to as “Critical Race Theory” should take note. As with policing, there’s broad-based support for practical efforts to address persistent inequalities. For instance, while residential attendance zones lock many black and brown children into schools that fail to provide crucial supports, set high expectations, or deliver first-rate instruction, the nation’s parents support school choice policies by hefty margins.

Moreover, there’s widespread agreement that schools can do better talking about race. There’s broad sympathy for the notion that schools have, at times, taught a white-washed version of history that minimizes our failings and overlooks the contributions of minority communities to American commerce and culture. If Democrats want to tackle such concerns in a practical manner, they have the wind at their back.

As with the self-destructive push to “defund the police,” though, those intent on tackling such problems have stood by as their efforts have been overtaken by ideologues in thrall to a vision of “anti-racist” education that is noxious to the vast majority of Americans.

Take, for instance, the “anti-racist” insistence that universal values are actually hallmarks of “white supremacy” culture. The famed KIPP charter schools announced last summer that the chain was abandoning its slogan “Work Hard, Be Nice” as an “anti-racist” blow against “white supremacy” culture. The Smithsonian published a guide asserting that “hard work,” “self-reliance,” and “be[ing] polite” are all a product of the “white dominant culture.” Bellevue School District in Washington state paid for “aspiring white antiracist leaders” to attend a class called “Humble & Brave,” where educators learn that these traits “go against the white norm.”

. . .

The woke fringe cheered earlier this spring when the Biden Department of Education held up as a model of civic education the 1619 Project, which teaches that America was founded as a “slavocracy” and is a nation where “anti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this country.” Most Americans reject this cartoonish narrative of their country, with more than two-thirds of adults opposed to having schools tell students that America was founded on racism.

And yet, Democratic officials have blithely gone along as progressive pundits, union leaders, and advocates have raced to defend even the most noxious goings-on against the critics of Critical Race Theory.

Look, there’s much of value in today’s efforts to make education more effective, responsive, and just. Indeed, there are plenty of places where people of goodwill can find common ground on school improvement. But, if Democrats intent on school improvement follow the woke fringe down the same Twitter-inspired, navel-gazing rabbit hole that swallowed police reform, they oughtn’t be unduly surprised when they look up in the heat of the 2022 midterm elections to see Jen Psaki insisting that Critical Race Theory was really a Trumpian scheme all along.