Every era is marked by its own political agenda and bold-faced names. But there is one issue that unfortunately, stills holds sway over us: racism.
These days we know it by another name: critical race theory (CRT).
CRT was the subject of last Sunday’s episode of CNN’s United Shades of America. Host W. Kamau Bell interviewed experts and ordinary citizens to get a grasp on what is actually known about the subject and what has been twisted to fit one’s political perspective.
The last group of interviewees was a handful of high school kids. The message I got is that CRT (especially if you are on the right) is not about the students. It is about political gain and maintaining the chokehold that white supremacy has on this country. If anything, it hurts our children. If we do not teach them the complete history of the United States (warts and all), we are willfully condemning them to repeat the mistakes our forebears made. It is also used as a tactic to denigrate and marginalize young people who are different from their peers due to factors such as race, religion, gender, etc.
The only way to face our past is to look it in the eye and understand what amends must be made. But this cannot be done until every one of us is ready, willing, and able to do so.
United Shades of America airs on CNN on Sunday night at 10PM.
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