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Critical race theory, according to the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University, has its roots in the writings and teachings of individuals like Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, and Mao Zedong. "It started as a movement by American legal scholars who sought to critique the failures they believed were inherent in the Civil Rights movement," states a booklet on CRT published by the Standing for Freedom Center. "[Like Marxism], CRT … espouses utopian ideals but in practice has little room for actual redemption and reconciliation," it states later in the booklet. "In short, CRT replaced economic and class unrest with racial unrest – with attending downstream intersections such as gender, transgender, and sexual orientation," the booklet adds, citing the writings of Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who argues that CRT poses "an existential threat to the United States." |
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) has signed into law a bill that bans teaching critical race theory (CRT) in publicly funded institutions of learning. The bill was supported by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy – and Douglas Carswell, who serves as president of the Center, tells AFN why they backed it.
"We did a report in October that looked very carefully at what was being taught in Mississippi classrooms and in universities," says Carswell, "and we found clear evidence that this extremist, divisive ideology is being promoted. It is being pushed."
According to Carswell, the Marxist-like ideology was found in every level of education in Mississippi's educational community.
"The Mississippi Department of Education specifically recommends that teachers in Mississippi use teaching resources that promote this extremist ideology," Carswell continues. "We found evidence of courses in publicly funded universities in Mississippi where this dogma and this ideology are very prevalent."
The new state law bars "students to affirm, or teachers to teach, that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior". It does not prevent the teaching of American history, nor the history of the Civil Rights movement.
"Mississippi has taken a lead in confronting this ideology," says Carswell's organization. "We are certain other U.S. states will now follow our lead."
