The Left’s Divisive Racialist Ideologies | City Journal
A few years after making the documentary, I began studying critical race theory and the racialist ideologies that are becoming entrenched in American schools. Though the comparison is provocative, frightening parallels exist between the racialist logic of the prison yard and the racialist pedagogy of many public schools. First, schools that have adopted critical race theory reject individualism and colorblindness; to achieve an authentic identity and gain collective power, individuals must identify first and foremost with their racial group. Second, as in the prison yard, some public schools have begun segregating teachers and students for training sessions, classroom exercises, field trips, and even playground activities. Third, many schools that have adopted critical race theory explicitly teach that children belong to categories of oppressor or oppressed based on a racial hierarchy, and then tell students that they must tear down society in order to decolonize the land, settle racial scores, and direct the spoils to their compatriots.
This development might not come as a total surprise. Critical race theory draws heavily from black nationalist ideology, such as that of the Black Panther Party, which came to fruition in California prisons in the 1960s. The new iteration of this ideology might have abandoned the militant rhetoric of the Panthers in favor of the therapeutic language of the school psychologist, but it nevertheless threatens to replicate the destructive features of prison-gang politics in the outside world. If American institutions succumb to this ideology, they can expect a brutal future: the suspension of individualism in favor of racial collectivism; a nihilistic, zero-sum vision of society; and endemic racial conflict as a baseline condition. It would reverse the racial progress that the United States has made over the centuries.
To avoid this fate, Americans of all racial backgrounds must work together to defeat this ideology, down to its roots. Despite the success of critical race theory in prestige institutions, American voters still prefer individualism, colorblindness, and equal protection under the law. Even voters in deep-blue California have rejected affirmative-action policies that would judge individuals according to race rather than merit. The challenge is to turn this public preference into public action. Critical race theory has spread through our institutions, despite strong public opposition. Americans must act to prevent the country from becoming the equivalent of a sprawling, open-air prison yard.
Good point.