There is a new cult-like movement in town, and though its leadership is as radical as the usual suspects, it has nothing to do with Koresh or Kool-Aid.
This new movement has become to resemble something close to a cult of anti-racism. Its origins aren’t biblical, and its results aren’t either. Anti-racists are those who commit to the worldview that everything is racist. That would be funny if it wasn’t such an oxymoron and if it wasn’t seriously damaging the fabric of our society.
Anti-racists borrow from the truth and from the familiar to infuse their worldview with familiarity but inject it with new meaning. Y’all remember the turducken? It’s kind of like that: looks like a turkey but when you cut into it, it’s a whole ‘nother bird.
Advocates for Critical Race Theory (CRT) argue that their beliefs are solely in our law schools or possibly being taught in the bowels of higher education, but that is a falsehood. In fact, it’s nonsensical because the entire concept of CRT is that racism is everywhere. Why would advocates limit its teaching to higher education while simultaneously asserting that babies are racist? CRT has tentacles that reach up to the highest echelons of government and crouch down to lead circle time on preschool ABC carpets. Ibram Kendi, who literally wrote the book How to be an Antiracist, has penned a new book, Goodnight Racism based upon the childhood classic, Goodnight Moon. I’m guessing that’s not for law students; coming soon to a school library near you.
CRT advocates say that traditional societal structures, like families, are inherently “White.” Certain subjects are also inherently “White.” That’s why the scientific method, laws of cause & effect, instruction on linear thinking and math are now considered racist. Sound absurd? Not if you believe that every single interaction in life is racist. And if you don’t? That just proves your inherent racism and possibly your “White fragility." In fact, “White” is basically a four-letter word that should be individually and collectively rejected and repudiated. Ironically, this worldview is, quite literally, anti-scholarly; studies based upon personal experience aren’t necessarily factual. The idea of personal truth through lived experience is a rejection of objective truth. Personal perspective can be true, but it isn’t necessarily true. When facts are racist, relativism reigns.
Lest you think that the tenets of CRT are confined to secular academic endeavors or even “harmless” Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons for public schoolchildren, Southern Baptist seminary administrators and professors recently asserted that White people created Whiteness for the purpose of oppressing non-Whites. In fact, a generally accepted definition of CRT is, “…the view that the law and legal institutions are inherently racist and that race itself, instead of being biologically grounded and natural, is a socially constructed concept that is used by White people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of color” (Tommy Curry - Encyclopedia Britannica).
So, it’s just a legal theory, right? No harm, no foul. Except that our legal structure helps govern every aspect of our lives, and true anti-racists must affirm that racism is at the root of all of our personal and professional interactions as humans to achieve an acceptable level of “wokeness.” That includes seminaries and churches. And families.
Anti-racism is a (false) religion that offers no salvation. The worldview allows only for perpetual penance or perpetual victimhood. It’s a worldview born in lies and division, rather than truth and love. There is no grace or redemption, only oppression and law.
CRT proponent Neil Shenvi asserts that “Whiteness [is] a set of normative privileges granted to white-skinned individuals and groups which is invisible to those privileged by it.” It’s an invisible sin that only certain people can see but everyone is required to unconditionally accept; anyone who questions or refuses to acknowledge it is clearly the most sinful of all. Their questions prove their culpability. Let the circular reasoning commence.
With CRT, we are no longer talking about the hearts of men but of systems and structures; your thoughts and attitudes about other people (regardless of color) is moot. You are defined by your skin color and not by the content of your character. It is, quite literally, the opposite of what Martin Luther King, Jr. preached. It is a demand for equity (equal outcomes) rather than equality (equal opportunity).
How have we handled the inculcation of CRT into our state, here in Alabama? From our corporations to our government structures to our classrooms, we’ve embraced it while pretending it doesn’t even exist. Our companies pretend their ESG scores (look it up) don’t matter while touting their corporate commitment to equity. Our governor claims we don’t have CRT in our schools, despite the almost daily occurrences in our kids’ lives. Our State Archives announces that systemic racism is, in fact, a fact of life in Alabama while most of our citizens walk past their building blissfully unaware. After (rightfully) asserting we should approach the tenuous subject with love as image-bearers rather than fear of the consequences, our state Senate decided not to address it at all.
At the very least, we should approach the subject with honesty and integrity Regardless of the side of the issue you land on, pretending there isn’t an issue at all just isn’t going to work.
Stephanie Holden Smith is an experienced policy analyst, political commentator, and public speaker. Smith has worked and volunteered in Governmental Affairs in Alabama since 1997, including lobbying for a Fortune 500 company and serving as Deputy Director of Finance for the State of Alabama. She is currently the principal of Thatcher Coalition LLC. To contact Stephanie, please go to http://thatchercoalition.com. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information Commentary@1819News.com.
