They Can’t Even Define Critical Race Theory

*By Jeannie Magdua, Founding Member, Conservative Ladies of Washington

While scrolling through Facebook videos, I saw a CBS new story that proposed most parents who are speaking out against Critical Race Theory (CRT) in their schools can’t even define what CRT is. When I was first introduced to CRT in 2009 as an employee at a community college, that was true of me. They used different terminology then. It was called Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). The anti-racism efforts of EDI became integral to the college’s Strategic Plan. I come from a mixed-race family and I’ve personally experienced bigoted attitudes from others, so I didn’t see a problem with anti-racism efforts at first. However, as time went on, I began to be uncomfortable with it. Many of us employees who began to question it did not speak out against it for fear of losing our jobs.

The words “equity,” “diversity,” and “inclusion” are terms that stem from Critical Race Theory. All critical theories, including CRT, have a Marxist origin. Karl Marx, the father of communist thinking, saw the world through a lens of conflict. Marx was writing during the peak of the Industrial Age and he predicted that the “working class” would rise up in revolution against the “owners of the means of production.” While some small uprisings occurred, the world-wide revolution he foresaw never happened. Marx’s followers, however, did not see this as a reason to toss out his ideas. Marxist theories have been taught in universities for more than a century. Derrick Bell, a Harvard Law professor, and Richard Delgado, a law professor at the University of Alabama, are considered to be two of the founders of CRT. The co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Patrice Cullors, has proudly stated that she and other BLM leaders are trained Marxists. A video of her comparing her book to Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book also surfaced in May this year. CRT is antithetical to America’s founding principles of liberty and equal justice under the law. Consider this quote from the book, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction, by Richard Delgado, one of the founders of CRT:

critical race theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law.

So, how is Critical Race Theory part of this Marxist way of thinking? Today, the conflict is not between the working class and the owners of the means of production. Today, the conflict is between Whites and Non-Whites. You see, it was possible within a capitalist, free-market economic system for members of the working class to rise up, not in revolution, but in economic status. Even if the working class did not experience a rise in economic status, the ability to participate in the free market as consumers grew at a rapid pace. The working class began to enjoy purchasing power and they bought modern conveniences that made life easier. The lives of the working-class changed.

The color of one’s skin cannot be changed.

The object of the Marxist struggle is the same as it was over 150 years. In Marx’s day, he was against capitalism. Today, BLM activists and anti-racists rail against what they see as “systems of oppression.” Their object of disdain is still the same: our free-market, capitalist system. Only now, “whiteness” is synonymous with “capitalism.” People of color and all those deemed “marginalized” are encouraged to rise up against what these activists view as whiteness.

Our public schools are training children to view the world through a Marxist lens and they are using critical race theory. Non-white children are taught that this system of oppression will not allow them to move ahead in life. White children are taught that they are the perpetrators of oppression in this American/Western system. They’re becoming, like BLM’s co-founder, trained Marxists.

You may have seen some videos recently of parents speaking out at school board meetings. I’ll leave you with this video of a woman who survived The Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong. She clearly makes the comparison between language of CRT and Mao’s revolution.