With the push for critical race theory to be incorporated into the curriculum of schools across the United States, it’s important to take a look at what kind of content will be taught to American students. Parents and students in many states, including Missouri, have argued against the teaching of critical race theory, as they believe its message will create more harm than good.

  EducationWeek defines critical race theory as the idea that “race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.” In other words, critical race theory seeks to point out race-related flaws in government and society.

  While this doesn’t seem bad at first glance, a further analysis of the curriculum reveals the harmful depiction of white people. The Washington Free Beacon reported on a St. Charles school board meeting in which LaGarrett King told the board that “Educators should teach history through a ‘social justice lens’ regardless of parents’ or community concern.” Through this lens, white people are seen as the problem behind all issues that Black people might face. Think about how this would make white students feel to be told that they are inherently privileged and their race is to blame for any hurt a Black person might experience. There are many white people who would argue that they have not experienced white privilege, as members of each race in the United States have experienced poverty and discrimination.

  Judging people based on race, regardless of Black or white, is simply the definition of racism, which the Oxford Dictionary describes as “prejudice, discrimination or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group.” The United States has progressed significantly since the 20th century for the equal rights of all. If the country has made such significant progress already, why does it need to institute critical race theory? The nation already has pinpointed its issues and is working to address them without changing curriculum.

  Brian Echevarria, a biracial candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly, said that critical race theory is an untruthful depiction of Black Americans and their opportunities in this country.

  “I’m biracial, I’m bilingual, I’m multicultural,” Echevarria said. “The fact is, in America, in North Carolina, I can do anything I want, and I teach that to my children.”

  Echevarria also said that this new curriculum will only instill more racism in the United States. 

  “If you believe in CRT … It means you look at your Black neighbor and say they’re oppressed and you look at your white neighbor and say they’re evil, regardless of the experience you’ve had with them,” Echevarria said.

  If someone wants to argue that white people are to blame for slavery, a look at history can disprove that argument. * Legal slavery has existed in almost every civilization across the Earth since the beginning of humanity, and in some countries, it still exists.

  In regards to the systemic arguments, if someone says that Black people are more likely to be arrested than white people, the Department of Justice’s reports from 2021 disprove this.

  Any history class with a proper educational curriculum will show enough to students that Black people have faced discrimination in the United States and that slavery was a horrible institution. Why change the curriculum to a hate-fueled interpretation of the past? Are the facts supported by years of research, artifacts and scholarly peer reviews not enough? Why add more bias to history? Critical race theory will only add more division to an already divided nation.

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