In the News

Across the U.S., lawmakers in at least 28 states are attempting to pass so-called anti-critical race theory legislation that would prohibit teachers from teaching students about the role of racism, sexism and oppression throughout U.S. history.

Julie, a Black high-schooler in Fort Worth who prefers not to use her real name, is already having a difficult time in her social studies class. On June 15, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3979, which will significantly change the social studies curriculum and civics instruction in public schools across the state. The bill says, among other things, that educators cannot teach students that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”

For middle school American history teacher Daniel Santos, discussing racial inequality is a necessary part of his lesson plan. Santos, who teaches at a public school in Houston, said that his students are inquisitive, asking him about current events like George Floyd's death and the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, for instance. He said students wanted to connect these moments to other pieces of U.S. history, such as the Jim Crow era and voter suppression efforts.

A controversy over critical race theory is raging across the United States and Utah is no exception, even though the concept is not part of the state curriculum for public K-12 schools. In May, Republican legislators in the House and Senate passed identical resolutions recommending that the State Board of Education review curriculum standards and take out any concepts that say one race is inherently superior or inferior to another, which they claim is part of critical race theory, or CRT.

How many readers have heard of the Zinn Education Project? I am chagrined to report that though it has been doing its good work for over ten years, I just learned of its existence when I came across an announcement of actions, Saturday, June 12. That day there were demonstrations in over 30 states by teachers and their supporters in opposition to dangerous censorship legislation being considered by numerous state legislatures.

In the past month, Montana Republicans have drawn the state into a tense tug-of-war being waged in dozens of states over how public school students learn about racism in America. The debate has unfolded in the wake of a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Education prioritizing racial, cultural and ethnic diversity in history and civics curriculum nationwide. The agency’s position triggered widespread conservative condemnation of a decades-old academic concept known as critical race theory, or CRT.

Kansas schools find themselves entangled in a debate about the past and whether critical race theory — the left's notion that America has yet to atone for its white supremacist origins and the right’s allergy to that world view — ought to guide the teaching of history and politics.