The Republican Party is the “let’s throw shit up against the wall and let’s see what sticks party.” The latest pile of elephant shit is their coordinated effort, as usual, to make White people deathly afraid that Black people are coming to get you. So, lock up your women, hide your kids, and tonight’s entertainment will be “The Birth of a Nation,” colorized. Racism in America went prime time once a Black man was elected President of the United States. For many, having a Black man occupy the most powerful position in the world was an existential threat. When I think of Barack Obama’s presidency, I often think of Jack Johnson, the first Black World Heavyweight Champion who reigned from 1908-1915. Until recently, the world’s heavyweight champion was considered the “baddest” man walking the face of the planet earth. Imagine White people’s feelings about a Black man that wanted you to fear him.
For many of us, Black and White, the election of Barack Obama was an inspirational moment. In the minds and hearts of people of goodwill, it showed that we as a nation could overcome the burdens of our history and institutions. In this case, we decided who would lead us based on the quality of the person and not the color of their skin. I, for one, thought it was foolish to buy into the post-racial discussion led by the media. Nevertheless, it was a historic achievement. Unfortunately, whenever there is any significant racial progress, there is always a backlash. The backlash was immediate. McConnell enacted Republicans’ plan to crush the idea that someone other than a White man could be President. Mitch McConnell and his henchman declared that the day of Obama’s inauguration.
The election of Donald J. Trump, disgustingly, was the countervailing backlash and was more motivation for the leagues of racists that believe that the United States should always be a nation controlled by and primarily benefit White people. A delusional sense of superiority and a fear of the adage, “payback is a bitch” are the driving forces for their beliefs. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young sung about “letting their freak flag fly,” an expression of freedom and anti-establishment sentiment. Well, the Republican Party and most of its supporters have decided to let racist flags fly.
The demonization of Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the current pile of shit they have thrown up against the wall, and once again, it seems that we have not been effective in shutting it down. CRT is an academic concept created nearly 40 years ago, primarily by three legal scholars, Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado (Edweek.Org, May 18, 2021). The premise of CRT is that an analysis of our legal systems and the policies that govern us will show that they are the product of conscious decisions to use the social construct of race as their foundation. One example is given in the article mentioned above.
“A good example is when, in the 1930s, government officials literally drew lines around areas deemed poor financial risks, often explicitly due to the racial composition of inhabitants. Banks subsequently refused to offer mortgages to Black people in those areas.”
Another example would be the federal government’s decision to treat the possession of “crack cocaine” much more severely than the possession of “powder cocaine.”
I think it’s an appropriate time for us to pull out our “Bullshit Meters” and evaluate the Republican claims about CRT. These attacks come from the Republican Playbook of attacking anything that runs counter to our Disneyland version of United States history. You know, the one where enslaved people were singing “Zip A Dee Doo Dah” while they were being lacerated by whips and had their children ripped away from them. CRT is an academic endeavor designed to be taught and discussed in law schools and other higher education venues. Unless your K-12 student has passed the Law School Aptitude Test or the Graduate Management Admissions Test, the chances that your student will be introduced to CRT is next to nil. So White parents “afraid” of this being used to brainwash, promote anti-whiteness, or self-hatred to your children, you can stop clutching your pearls.
Some like to describe the Republican Party as the anti-intellectual party, but I prefer to describe them as anti-factual. They do everything in their power to dispute scientific facts, historical facts are anathema to them, and they will run with any conspiracy that will quench their thirst for power. This insatiable thirst for power is so intense there is no restraint on their hypocrisy or any concern about principles. They will turn on you in a minute, even if you’re White. Their crusade against CRT has once again exposed them as charlatans. I watched the Anti-Factual Party relentlessly attack the highest-ranking military officer in our country because he pushed back on their bullshit hysteria about CRT. So much for “God Bless Our Troops.” The same is true when it comes to “Blue Lives Matter.” The insurrection is proof of that. I guess that Blue Lives only matter when they are crushing the skulls of Black people and other POC.
Although it’s been a while but not so long ago, CRT existed before I entered law school. I honestly had no idea what CRT was by the time I graduated. There were approximately fifteen Black and Latino students in my class. Unbeknownst to us, we were applying CRT when we raised questions and challenges about how the law and judicial decisions were determined. Many of these legal decisions and policies were formulated on the social construct of race and otherism. As one would expect, some of these debates were lively but also very illuminating. The tension would be almost palpable.
In government finance and budgeting, it is stated that a budget is reflective of your priorities. What is important to the decision-makers. In any society, the laws you create are a clear indication of a nation’s motives and throughout history, our motives have been suspect.
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