Let me humble myself in stating that I do not completely know what Critical Race Theory (CRT) is nor have I taken any mandatory classes covering this topic. My parents made sure that anything they felt I wasn't taught in History class as school was covered at home. When I left Las Vegas for Atlanta back in 1997, they gave me a book titled Lies My Teacher Told Me which covered a lot of what actually happened in the past, but wasn't allowed to be taught in public schools.
Be like me, if you don't know what CRT is, admit it. If you are opposed to something you don't understand, you give yourself away. You may have ideas of what CRT is, but your speculation of these ideas causes me to question your opposition. "The first thing they are going to do in that class is call me a racist" which is one speculation I heard from one of my associates at a convention back in September. If someone called me a goat fucker, I would not be offended because I don't fuck goats. If I did get offended...a lot of eyebrows would be raised along with the concerns of the anuses of my livestock.
Take a good look at the angry woman in the following picture:
Back then she was considered normal, not a racist. She was a member of the majority. If I was to be overly optimistic and assume she one of those "separate but equal" folks, she definitely had a problem with the integration of schools. No matter her intentions, she lost and had to endure going to school with people that didn't have her skin tone. If she was to do that today, she would be considered a racist, not normal. She would not be a member of the majority.
Opponents of CRT are most likely the people that don't want to dwell on the fact that America isn't as innocent as its history books claim to be. Yes...America's shit stinks too. If you are going to embrace a Country, you must also embrace its flaws and checkered past. The Trail of Tears needs to be more than just a few paragraphs in a public school textbook. Did Manifest Destiny only apply to a certain group of American settlers...there were settlers here before this was called America. Sure, you'll learn that MLK was a great man during Black History Month in public schools, but you won't learn the FBI and CIA's alleged involvement in his assassination. Opponents of CRT don't want you to know they are possibly the modern day version of the angry woman in the picture.
One of my favorite George Washington lines in the Broadway show Hamilton is "History will prove them wrong." Defenders of slavery back in the 1860's aren't very popular nowadays. That's what being on the wrong side of history means. That's why the Confederate statues and flag are being torn down, seceding from the union was popular then...it is not now. Opposing integration in Little Rock, AK was popular at the time of the photo...it is not now.
Imagine a future where certain grandkids will walk up to their grandparents and ask them the Who, What, Where, When, & Why of Black History Month:
- "Who was the first Black President and why did you hate him?"
- "What was it about Black Lives Matter that upset you?"
- "When you said 'All Lives Matter' after someone said 'Black Lives Matter', what did you mean by that?"
- "Where were you during NFL National Anthems before Kaepernick started taking a knee?"
- "Why were you opposed to Critical Race Theory?"
Time will only tell when these questions will be rhetorical. Today if I was to ask the woman in the picture why she was against black kids and white kids going to school together, would anyone care what her answer was?
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