Critical Race Theory (CRT)

[Orbit]

Here is a very good, if long, article on CRT and what it actually is (as opposed to the false narrative of it presented by conservatives)

The Man Behind Critical Race Theory

 

[Valjean]

But "Critical Race Theory" sounds scary.

 

[Orbit]

In the world of social theory, the word "critical" denotes things that are there, but may not be obvious to the observer. Critical theory means you are discovering these non-obvious things.

 

[exchemist]

Here is a very good, if long, article on CRT and what it actually is (as opposed to the false narrative of it presented by conservatives)

The Man Behind Critical Race Theory

That's helpful. To me, up to now, CRT has meant a cathode ray tube.

 

[Secret Chief]

Definitely custard.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I apologize for responding without first having read the article (I will get to it), but I've just found myself thinking about the topic -- and saw the OP.

One of the things that I wish we could all do (all of us, every race, colour, religion, eye colour) is to first accept one precept: nobody is guilty of racism on no other evidence than the colour of their own skin.

Seems to me, that would be a good place to go on from. Because once we all accept that, then we can begin to admit that racism did, does and will almost certainly continue to exist.

And then maybe we can confront it.

 

[savagewind]

I do a survey online. There was a question about this but I do not know what it is. It sounds very good but in the end, is it bad? The reason why I wonder so is that I read on Wiki that the people for Critical Race Theory is to "challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice". I don't know what that means but it sounds bad.

I wonder if liberal in that context is the opposite of conservative? I always thought that conservative means to keep everything The Same. Woe to the Earth if we decide on that!

 

[Twilight Hue]

Here is a very good, if long, article on CRT and what it actually is (as opposed to the false narrative of it presented by conservatives)

The Man Behind Critical Race Theory

Who cares?

 

[Twilight Hue]

But "Critical Race Theory" sounds scary.

And explosive.

 

[savagewind]

But,,,but

I must think of a question.

The first question that comes to mind is am I invisible.

Or, maybe, I am already dead and I am imagining you all. I have a good imagination!

I rose this thread from a year ago (approximately).

Here are the questions.

In that context, what does liberal mean?

"challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice".

How else should we all get wise about relations between skin colors?

 

[Revoltingest]

I apologize for responding without first having read the article.

It's long.
I prefer the Wikipedia CRT article.
But I've little to say about it because
its issues are so broad.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It's long.
I prefer the Wikipedia CRT article.
But I've little to say about it because
its issues are so broad.

I pretty much think this sums it all up.

 

[Valjean]

I do a survey online. There was a question about this but I do not know what it is. It sounds very good but in the end, is it bad? The reason why I wonder so is that I read on Wiki that the people for Critical Race Theory is to "challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice". I don't know what that means but it sounds bad.

So, have you figured out that it means, yet?
Which part of your quotation sounded bad? Which part worried you, and why?

Did you read the link in the OP?

In that context, what does liberal mean?
"challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice".

How else should we all get wise about relations between skin colors?

Liberal Values

 

[Valjean]

I pretty much think this sums it all up.

Yes. An excellent example of misinformation, exaggeration and fear-mongering by the Right.
This is how political propaganda works.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Yes. An excellent example of misinformation, exaggeration and fear-mongering by the Right.
This is how political propaganda works.

Of course.

 

[Aštra’el]

Yes. An excellent example of misinformation, exaggeration and fear-mongering by the Right.
This is how political propaganda works.

It is also how satire works.

 

[exchemist]

It is also how satire works.

Satire and propaganda are not mutually exclusive.

 

[pearl]

I was struck by his ominous outlook, especially since someone Bell knew personally, and who had taught his work at the University of Chicago, stood to become the first Black President. I thought that his skepticism had turned into fatalism. But, a decade later, during the most reactionary moments of the Trump era, Bell’s words seemed clarifying. On January 6th of this year, as a mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn a Presidential election, the words seemed nearly prophetic. It would not have surprised Bell that Obama’s election and the strength of the Black electorate that helped him win are central factors in the current tide of white nationalism and voter suppression.

I think this is absolutely true. For a black man in the White House, not as butler, but as president of the United States was nothing less than an abomination.

 

[Stevicus]

I was struck by his ominous outlook, especially since someone Bell knew personally, and who had taught his work at the University of Chicago, stood to become the first Black President. I thought that his skepticism had turned into fatalism. But, a decade later, during the most reactionary moments of the Trump era, Bell’s words seemed clarifying. On January 6th of this year, as a mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn a Presidential election, the words seemed nearly prophetic. It would not have surprised Bell that Obama’s election and the strength of the Black electorate that helped him win are central factors in the current tide of white nationalism and voter suppression.

I think this is absolutely true. For a black man in the White House, not as butler, but as president of the United States was nothing less than an abomination.

I took note of the paragraph you quoted, as well as the one which followed it:

Bell did not live to see the election of Donald Trump, but, as his mention of the nation’s “premature demise” suggests, he clearly understood that someone like him could come to power. Still, the current attacks on critical race theory have arrived decades too late to prevent its core tenets from entering the legal canon. The cohort of young legal scholars that Bell influenced went on to important positions in the academy, and many of them, including Crenshaw, Williams, Matsuda, and Cheryl Harris, have influenced subsequent generations of thinkers themselves. People who looked at the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and others and concluded that they were not anomalies but evidence that the system was functioning as it was designed to, were articulating the conclusion that Bell had drawn decades earlier. “The gap between words and reality in the American project—that is what critical race theory is, where it lies,” Perry told me. The gap persists and, consequently, Bell’s perspective retains its relevance. Even after his death, it has been far easier to disagree with him than to prove him wrong.

I sometimes wonder where "the American project," as they put it, is actually going or what it even is.

In the final paragraph of the article, Bell is quoted as saying that even he didn't know what "Critical Race Theory" was, other than "telling the truth."

Vinay Harpalani told me, “Someone asked him once, ‘What do you say about critical race theory?’ ” Bell first replied, “I don’t know what that is,” but then offered, “To me, it means telling the truth, even in the face of criticism.” Harpalani added, “He was just telling his story. He was telling his truth, and that’s what he wanted everyone to do. So, as far as Derrick Bell goes, that’s probably what I think is important.”

Telling the truth should be viewed as a good thing, or at least I always thought so. Honesty is the best policy.

But telling the truth about the past isn't enough. One also has to tell the truth about the present, which seems to be a problem these days. Moreover, there has to be some workable plan for the future. Where do we go from here? No one seems to know.

Maybe the "American Project" has ended in failure, and we need to come up with something else.

It might have been different if we actually had the revolution that some people were calling for back in the 60s. If people had taken positive action back then and overthrew the government and implemented a more equitable society, we wouldn't be facing these problems today.

But instead of that, people went off to the discos, snorting whiskey and drinking cocaine. Then they became yuppies and Reaganite capitalists, believing that they were more enlightened and had already gone through a "cleansing" and "atonement" where they could then go forward and sin no more.

I think it was the late 80s and early 90s when I started to notice diminishing returns setting in, and the seeds of what we're seeing now were planted. One of the early promoters of white nationalism back in those days was Geraldo Rivera. Once the racists were put on the talk show circuit (ostensibly to ridicule them and make them look like a bunch of circus freaks), I knew that something was amiss and that we were starting to head in the wrong direction.

 

[pearl]

Maybe the "American Project" has ended in failure, and we need to come up with something else.

The 'American Project' I would call the American Experiment, democracy. But I think we were blindsided by the admission that our beloved democracy did not apply to everyone.

Once the racists were put on the talk show circuit (ostensibly to ridicule them and make them look like a bunch of circus freaks), I knew that something was amiss and that we were starting to head in the wrong direction.

Its been smoldering for a long time. Trump gave it a vent. Wrap it up in the American flag and call it patriotism. Perfect example John Birch Society (jbs.org)