Conservatives working with an unclear definition of Critical Race theory is the point. It's not the own you think it is. Most of them think it is the same as the word "woke"--subject to whatever they want it to mean.

Telling them it was developed by Black lawyers only proves to them it's not real. To a person, conservatives of the big and small C variety don't think Black ppl are capable of developing theory, even tho they've stolen every play from CVR book in the last 40 yrs.

They want a hazy definition bc then "teaching Critical Race Theory" becomes "using WPA narratives to discuss the brutality of slavery" and "asking yr students to figure out where the money for their district comes from"

It's anything and everything. The point is to have a catchphrase that is nonsensical so you can basically ban anything that strikes you as a threat

I think it's telling that this is a massive freak out over a release of historical information--via 1619 project--that was available to most ppl who have taken a Black studies course. The difference, of course, is bringing that to a mass audience, in a perceived white space (NYT)

It's the idea that Blackness could be centered with respect and deep thought in a mainstream space, and whiteness, white aims and white desire could be analyzed as a threat, not benevolent or inherently good, that's the scary thing

Post civil rights, the biggest lie told in our country is that most ppl are acting in good faith. That white Americans have always, despite their foibles, been good people. When the historical record points to--everything in contradiction to that

I would like to point out that even in Forrest Gump, that fantasy of American history, Bull fucking Connor gets a "both sides" redemption moment (Gump mentions something about "that same man yelling, would be shot by someone a few years later" and its played for sympathy)

The thing is--American mythology, from a certain angle, is ripe for quick reform. We are a new country with constant influx of new people and the myths we think of as generations old are actually pretty flimsy and maybe only go back 30 yrs. The past is always at stake

I think this is an instance where, if you care about this stuff and engaging ppl in your life around it, you keep looking for and uplifting the stories and narratives that treble, question, affirm, celebrate those other Americas.

There's power in bringing Black history to mainstream white spaces like The Times. We also have to remember that we, as a people, have been perfectly capable of preserving, saving and elevating our histories for decades before white people realized they have value and

we can build the networks necessary to do that work when white institutions get tired of it