Plans to limit discussions on racism at school multiply in the United States
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • 3 years ago • 27 commentsBy: KSU The Sentinel Newspaper
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
In Iowa, in the American Midwest, teachers will have to think twice before discussing in class the connection of racism to the history of the country.
Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law in the second week of June that determines what an educator can - and most importantly not - talk about racial inequality with their students. Discussing how whites, albeit unconsciously, can have racist attitudes, for example, is no longer an option.
In Arizona, a state bordering Mexico, a bill with this orientation and called the "Impartial Education Act" was approved by the State Council in the first week of May, but was blocked by the Senate, by 16 votes against 14, on the 27th of the same period. month.
Had he been successful, state professors would have been fined for talking about certain topics - explaining how the idea of meritocracy excludes a large part of blacks, for example, would cost them $ 5,000 (R $ 25,000). .
Such projects have multiplied in the United States. At least 27 states - the country has 50 - are debating plans to limit racial discussions in basic education. Eight of them have already approved the measure: Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, Florida, Utah and Montana. All are ruled by Republicans.
In 13 states, legislatures are discussing these bills or governors express public support for a possible attempt to obtain such content. Six other states tried to approve but failed.
In common with these proposals, besides the initiative to restrict racial debate in public education, is a massive campaign against Critical Race Theory, a school of legal thought founded by black and Latino professors in the years 1980 and whose birthplace was the United States. .
A Doctor of Laws from Harvard University and a professor at Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Adilson Moreira explains that theory contributes to public debate by explaining how racism is penetrated into the logic of institutions.
"Critical race theory works with the idea of racism as a systemic phenomenon, structural discrimination," he says. "She recovers the concept of micro-aggregations to understand how animosity towards blacks, Asians and natives is perpetuated in everyday human relationships.
One of the concepts with which the theory works, and which set the standard in the United States Supreme Court in the 1970s, is that of indirect discrimination. "Until then, the courts considered that discrimination was only an arbitrary and intentional act which, driven by prejudice and stereotypes, disadvantages a certain group," explains Moreira.
In the case of indirect discrimination, even a standard that does not mention race can have a disproportionate impact on an already disadvantaged group. In Brazil, this is what happens, for example, with the requirement of proficiency in English to compete for certain places - since students in public schools, mostly black, generally have less access to the teaching of language.
In bills pending in US state legislatures, however, this theme appears differently. Most texts claim to prohibit the teaching of "concepts of division" which harm the unity of the American nation.
This is the case with the law that comes into force on July 1 in Oklahoma. Part of the text says that no teacher can address that "an individual, by reason of race or gender, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously".
When signing the policy, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said, "Now, more than ever, we need laws that unite us, not that separate us. I firmly believe that not a dime of your money should be used to divide our young people based on race or gender. "
Gladys Mitchell-Walthour, a professor in the Department of African Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, says what is being done is a massive disinformation campaign.
"They're not talking about critical race theory because it's a topic for college students, not kids," he says. "Their thought is that whites are attacked by minorities like blacks and Latinos. "
Adilson Moreira adds that this is an attempt to eliminate race as a social category, i.e. to prevent it from being used as a socially and legally relevant criterion in the making of decision.
Although they have intensified and gained momentum in the first half of this year, projects of this type have a historic background, notes Mitchell-Walthour.
Different elements have weight in this context. One of the main ones, according to specialists, is the rebound effect of the government of Barack Obama, the only black man to assume the presidency of the country.
"The election of Obama [em 2008] it had a cultural impact on a nation that has always presented itself as white, and it aroused the fury of much of the white American population, a racial resentment that not only stems from the fact that Obama is black, but because he created measures to promote the inclusion of blacks, "explains Moreira.
The recent legacy of Donald Trump's administration is also present in the bills. The Republican, moreover, acts as a sort of sponsor of proposals which attempt to limit the teaching of black history.
In the final months of his administration, in September 2020, Trump signed a memorandum prohibiting the presence of critical race theory in the training of employees of federal agencies. His successor, Democrat Joe Biden, however revoked the measure in one of the first acts of his administration.
It wasn't Trump's only attempt. Also in the second half of 2020, when popularity was already declining in the electoral race, he created the 1776 Commission - a reference to the year in which the United States declared its independence - a sort of advisory committee of the presidency on questions of education, which aimed at patriotic education.
The commission, widely criticized by historians, came in response to the New York Times' award-winning 1619 Project, which investigates the contemporary legacy of black slavery in the United States. The material, which has begun to be used by many educators in the classroom, is also part of several of the proposals Republican MPs and Senators are trying to get to state legislatures.
In South Dakota, for example, Republican Governor Kristi Noem signed a letter from the "1776 Pledge to Save Our Schools" movement, which follows a line similar to what Trump had planned.
In justifying the act on a social network, Noem said, "Project 1619 argues that America was founded on racism and slavery, not the ideal of equality. He seeks to incorrectly rephrase the notion of our history as "us versus them" rather than "us the people".
Although a Republican state deputy in April withdrew a bill on the subject, Noem said he was working for the state to ban Critical Race Theory and Bill 1619 in law. classroom.
Even outside the presidency, Donald Trump did not fail to escalate the issue. In an article posted to the Real Clear Politics website on Friday (18), the Republican again defended that every state must pass laws banning critical race theory in public schools and withdraw the transfer of funds to educational centers that deal with the subject. He also suggested that each state create its own 1776 Commission.
"Far from fostering the beautiful dream of Reverend Martin Luther King - that our children should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by their character" - this dastardly left-wing theory preaches that judging people by the color of their skin is really a good idea, "he says in a snippet.
According to Professor Adilson Moreira, the argument is part of an old strategy, dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, when conservative groups appropriated the claims and principles of the American black civil rights movement to defend ideas such as racism backwards.
"Leaders like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King used to say that, since we live in a democracy, we must keep the symmetrical treatment [entre as pessoas]. The reactionary conservatives have taken it upon themselves to say "yes, you are right, and that is exactly why we should end affirmative action".
Last week, when the United States Congress approved the creation of a new national holiday on June 19 to celebrate the emancipation of the last slaves in the country - known as "Juneteenth" -, the eldest son of Martin Luther King, the namesake of his father, has drawn criticism. current projects.
Celebrating the new stage of the vacation, he added, "But let's not forget that in Florida and Texas educators are prohibited from teaching critical breed theory. Juneteenth should be both a day of celebration and a day to educate about the true history of our nation. "
As the stream of projects progresses at the state level, more and more criticism becomes public. On June 16, 90 associations, including the World History Association, published a letter opposing this type of law.
"The clear goal of these efforts is to suppress the teaching and learning of the role of racism in US history," the document said. "Any analysis of racism in classrooms across this country will cause some students 'unease' because it is an uncomfortable and complicated subject. But the ideal of citizenship needs an educated public, and teachers must take a fair look at the past in order to better prepare students for community life and civic engagement.
Professor Gladys Mitchell-Walthour says civil society groups will continue to protest against such projects, but the galloping advance of state legislatures remains worrying.
In particular, she explains, because more and more white students are leaving public schools and migrating to private schools, causing them to lose touch with other realities. "I have a lot of students from small towns and rural Wisconsin who say 'you are the first black person I talk to.' The consequence of these bills will be worse than what we already have."
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Now we are getting into suppression of speech and thought akin to totalitarian governments. God help the United States of America.
Book burnings coming soon.
Should we also expect the banning of the showing of certain movies, like Gentleman's Agreement, that expose latent antisemitism?
This is how the system works, though. States both require that certain things be taught, and they prohibit certain things being taught. It goes on all the time, all over the country, and people on both sides of the debate always scream bloody murder and protest that their rights are being abused.
There are millions, many many millions, of white racists in the United States and there is a vast historical context surrounding that fact. But we are going to have states passing laws preventing teachers from bringing it up in class. It would be impossible to accurately teach US history without a heavy emphasis, in places, on racism and its effects. Yet, with certainty, there are conservative state legislatures that dont want this subject brought up in school.
This is total bullshit. Such lies and Marxist propaganda should not be allowed in our public schools
It is not total bullshit . There are well over 100 million white adults in the US. Without a shadow of a doubt many many millions of them are racist to varying degrees.
An honest person would say that would apply to all races.
No race is immune from being racists.
An honest person would not be trying to create a false equivalence between white racism and non white racism.
Is that intended as a response to what I wrote? Because I’m not really seeing the connection.
Race issues are certainly something that should be addressed in any survey of American history, but you and (CRT) make it sound like there is a vast army of white people out to oppress black people right now. That’s is just not what is happening in the real world. The need to send such a message is bizarre and it’s hard to see how it could do anything but reverse the good progress we have made.
Is that certain? What state is erasing the teaching of slavery, Jim Crow, or the civil rights movements from their curricula? These things have been taught in the schools for generations, and I haven’t heard of a state that is trying to not teach them.
The United States of America has , historically, been a largely racist nation. If you disagree, please give me a decade in our history prior to the last few when racism was not extremely widespread and tolerated. The extent of it today is not quite as clear cut but there is no reason to believe it is still not fairly widespread today.
To whitewash this past will not work in the long run.
Did you miss the part where I said it should be taught? Please read my comments before replying to them.
Where is whitewashing happening? What state is telling its schools to not teach their students about slavery, Jim Crow, or the Civil Rights movement? As far as I know, that doesn’t exist. The CRT hysteria declares a crisis where none exists, from what I can see.
Just merely pointing out that whites don't have a monopoly on racism.
The CRT hysteria has been created entirely by conservatives. You are probably thinking of the 1619 Project.
It takes two to have a fight. One side wouldn’t be digging in if the other side weren’t pushing so hard.
I don’t think so, but it’s all silly. Schools are - for the most part - doing a pretty fair job of covering important facets of American history. It’s never going to be perfect for all people. But God knows school districts are fidgeting with it constantly, so if you don’t like it this year, it will probably change next year.
One thing I do think is prudent, though, is that when you have a political faction suddenly and urgently demanding that some radical change needs to be made to the curriculum, it’s probably time to take one or a thousand deep breaths and examine the issue slowly and critically.
I read, for the first time I think, last week that Thomas Jefferson was in favor of the expansion of slavery into the western territories. He claimed to have had the belief that expanding slavery would speed along its end, although Im not sure how he thought that would work.
People are not "taught" the truth about America's racist past and I have my doubts if schools even come close.
Most Americans are not sure what caused the Civil War, which is mind blowing.
But that is how effective the Lost Cause mythology was. This is a major major issue in this country and will be until we come to terms with it.
I believe they are taught the truth - although I cannot speak for every last school in America.
But they aren’t taught everything about history. They can’t be. Schools and teachers don’t have the time.
Students typically get a solid year of US History in elementary school, again in middle school, and then again in high school. Every one of those courses is what they call a “survey course.” A survey course can only cover the really important people and events, and the major themes. It necessarily paints with a broad brush, but schools generally aren’t trying to hide something so they can perpetuate some white supremacist state.
If you want a more in depth history education, you generally have to wait for college. And no matter what makes it into the curriculum, there’s always going to be something that is missed.
Kids sleep through all their classes. Some get interested in this stuff, but I would guess the majority don’t.
My two cents: it would be a lot easier to sympathize with racial social justice warriors if black people would stop calling each other the n word. There are some series on tv that I like, like The Chi, Insecure, Black AF, etc., and sometimes that word will permeate an episode dozens of times. It’s hard to feel like you’re a high functioning integrated society when there’s a word that is either completely offensive or a term of endearment depending on the color of the skin of who says it.
White people shoot each other too. Very few of us run around calling each other cracker though.
If the teachers can't or won't discuss it, students can find tons of material on the subject on the internet. The net is today's research library.
Internet? What's the internet? Is it a video game?
Have you seen the shit that is on the internet?
I am referring to legit sources and authors.
?
Man I really hate this. I don't see why it is so hard to acknowledge America's racist ass history and talk about it responsibly. People need to stop getting so emotionally wrapped up in it.