Critical Race Theory and Antiracism at Grand Haven Public Schools
Part One: An introduction
In talking about Critical Race Theory and Antiracism, the first step is finding a working definition. This can be a much more difficult task than it seems. Inevitably, whatever definition someone that opposes Critical Race Theory (CRT for short) works off of, they will be met with a response such as “that is a misunderstanding of what CRT is”, or something similar. Another tactic is to label CRT as a college level curriculum, and claim it is not taught in K-12. In fact, at the first school board meeting I attended, I listened to multiple speakers stand up and speak out against CRT being taught in the schools. A teacher named Hailey Barton then stood up and said that quote almost verbatim.
So, let’s define these two terms here, to work off of for now. For the record, I am open to using any definition any member of the school district wants to use. In my conversations with them, that is one of my first questions: “can you define the term?” Otherwise, all we are engaging in is a game of “whack-a-mole”, where we speak out against CRT or Antiracism only to get the aforementioned reply of misunderstanding.
According to Britannica.com, Critical Race Theory is: “An intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that racism is inherent in the law and legal institutions of the United States insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites.”
According to Dictionary.com, Antiracism is: (2) A belief or practice that recognizes pervasive racism in society, and actively combats racial prejudice and discrimination in order to promote racial justice and equality.
Maybe the most influential advocate for Antiracism is Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi claims racism exists in every part of the American system. He claims the country was founded on racism. So the similarities between CRT and Antiracism are clear. For Kendi however, there are two quotes that I want to point out: “The very heartbeat of racism is denial”, and “when people say they’re not racist, they’re sharing the words that white supremacists use. Jim Crow segregationists, lynchers and slave owners said they weren’t racist”.
There is no way to answer the question “are you a racist?” under his framework without being labeled a racist. To illustrate this, let’s try this with another question. Ask a friend if they’re a child abuser. If they say no, tell them that their denial is proof of their being a child abuser. By denying it, they are using the language of child abusers and are the heartbeat of child abuse. By Kendi’s logic, their denial is proof, and as such, you should probably alert the authorities of this child abuser. If they answer yes, well, alert the authorities to the presence of a child abuser. This is the false premise all of Kendi’s work is built on.
Now that we have some basic definitions and an introduction to Ibram X. Kendi’s thoughts, we turn to the Grand Haven Area Public Schools’ efforts to incorporate this into the classroom. In a training powerpoint distributed to Grand Haven educators, titled “Racial Equity”, slide four says “our students deserve real, authentic and lasting efforts… to make our school and community more equitable for all students”. In slide 14, it prompts the viewer to watch a speech from Ibram X. Kendi. Slide 15 then asks the question to the educators, “after listening to Dr. Kendi speak, what does the term “anti-racist” mean to you?” The second bullet point on the slide asks, “how might you apply this to your work with kids?” In another presentation, titled “Who Am I?”, created by Calling All Colors, the title slide shows a picture of the book “This Book is Anti-Racist”, by Tiffany Jewell.
The Grand Haven Area Public Schools strategic plan mentions ensuring students learn at high levels, with indicators including high school graduation rates and SAT scores. Graduating high school and high SAT scores set students up for furthering their education in college. Another indicator mentions eighth grade math scores.
If the strategic plan is successful, a higher rate of graduates will go on to attend college. As they do, they will sign up for classes such as trigonometry or statistics. This will not be their first introduction to math. Do they excel in their eighth grade math scores having no prior introduction to math? Of course not. In kindergarten through second grade, students learn addition and subtraction. In third and fourth they begin learning multiplication and division. They build upon these concepts until they can understand college level courses such as statistics or trigonometry.
The building blocks of CRT or antiracism can and are being taught in K-12. Or to be more precise, lessons are being taught through a CRT lens. A simple lesson such as ranking your privilege, creating a list of your identities, or separating the class into white and nonwhite students and labelling them the oppressors and oppressed. Being taught you are privileged by virtue of an immutable characteristic such as the color of your skin.
In 1903, Ohio Wesleyan University travelled to South Bend, Indiana for a baseball game against Notre Dame. On this integrated team was a black man named Charles Thomas. Upon checking into the hotel room, the innkeeper informed the team he had rooms for everyone except Thomas. The coach for Ohio Wesleyan, Branch Rickey, asked why. “Our policy is whites only” the innkeeper said. Rickey requested to have Thomas stay in his room and the innkeeper eventually agreed. When Rickey went to the room, he found Thomas crying and pulling at his skin. “It’s my skin. If I could just tear it off I’d be like everyone else. It’s my skin Mr. Rickey, it’s my skin”.
These so-called anti-racist and CRT teachings separate and label people based on skin color. It tells black children they have no agency over their lives. That they are helpless and hopeless to the oppression they are sure to receive. It teaches them to identify their white friends as their oppressors.
It tells every white child they are an oppressor. That they are inherently racist. That they carry with them the sins of decades ago, solely because of the color of their skin. These teachings are telling six, seven, eight year old innocent children that they are an oppressor.
Whereas before these children may have been friends, they are now divided among racial lines. How long before they go home, pulling at their skin, crying, saying “it’s my skin. If I could just tear it off I wouldn’t be guilty of such sin”, or “if I could just tear it off, I would be able to have dreams and reach them based on my own actions”.
Children are being tormented as they learn the opposite lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King. They are being taught to see race and judge based on the color of their skin, rather than the content of their character. It is abusive to put this cruel and racist viewpoint in front of children. The only defense to doing so is to think that CRT and antiracism is right. In which case, you are using the language of child abusers and are the heartbeat of child abuse.