And of course one of the supreme ways of transcending racial categories in education is through the arts; is it any accident that all this heavily ideological teaching has come along in the aftermath of heavy cuts to arts programs? One rigorous and hilarious choir rehearsal would blow the ideology out of the water. I spent most of my childhood and youth in Detroit and attended high school during the late 1960s, and I owe a lifelong debt (and my sanity in high school) to Kathryn Ellis, the dance teacher, and DeWard Johnson, the choir director, two black teachers who held their students to the highest standard. The best interracial experiences are not about working on race relations; they're about mutual interest in a subject and the learning of complex and demanding skills (and mutual crazy laughter in the process). The aim of education, so far as it concerns race (or 'race') at all, should be to promote and prolong those times of mutual interest and effort, not to reinforce a relationship of mutual dread and mistrust.
"The best interracial experiences are not about working on race relations; they're about mutual interest in a subject and the learning of complex and demanding skills (and mutual crazy laughter in the process)."
Absolutely. Group pursuit of excellence can be an amazing bonding experience - building bridges, skills, tolerance and empathy. If schools truly want to eradicate racism, this is the path.
Aug 31, 2022·edited Aug 31, 2022Liked by Free Black Thought
To my Black brothers and sisters,
The Critical Theorists of Academia do not care about you or your people as flesh-and-blood humans but only as VICTIMS, or more specifically, as Victims that they can wield and weaponize in their now century-long fight to dismantle and destroy Western liberal democracy and replace it with some form of "Socialism". ("Socialism" meaning to them a society controlled and overseen by a vanguard class of leftist philosopher-kings who will dictate every aspect of our lives and call it "liberation".)
If you want to talk about "appropriation" the greatest act of "appropriation" of our time is the way white liberals have appropriated Black pain and suffering as if it is a priest's collar or a crucifix they can display to proclaim their righteousness. Their entire political movement is really a power grab to defeat their blood enemies, the Bad Whites aka Deplorables, and one of the ways they do this is by flaunting their superior morality because they're "not racist" like those other whites over there. Their entire spurious sales pitch comes down to: "We're better because we love Black people more than you!" which is a brazen display of stolen valor.
I know this can sound overheated (it sounds overheated to me) so I'll just end with one question: would you trust someone who said they loved you and wanted to marry you after you just found out they were recently twice jilted at the altar?
Well, the Leftists were rejected first by the Proletariat, who preferred higher wages and better living conditions to their "Revolution", and then they turned to the Wretched of the Earth aka the Third World, which succumbed to Communist rule of bloodthirsty tyrants like Mao and Pol Pot until their societies collapsed.
It was only after these 2 prior failures that the rebranded Marxists aka Crit Theorists suddenly discovered how much they loved American blacks (and gays etc), not because any of them actually knew any Black people and wanted to improve their lives, but wholly and entirely because their history and situation gave them a great weapon to use in their eternal battle.
American liberal democracy has certainly been deeply cruel to Black people in the past, but it still our best hope of living together in peace and prosperity instead of in a state of permanent ideological warfare and ever-increasing hatred and resentment, which has always been the end result of every Leftist takeover.
Great analysis! It’s also true that their success depends on their ability to exploit the sensitivities and basic decency of most people, who just want to be good and be seen to be good. The so-called ‘useful idiots’.
If you claim to be acting on behalf of the poor and oppressed, and can make some statements or actions in that direction, it becomes difficult for people to oppose you, as it seems that to do so is to kick down on the helpless (and in re Americans and race, disagreeing with anyone who claims to be fighting racial injustice just feels too similar to the actions of the ugly bigots in our past).
Thus, claiming to be an altruist devoted to the pursuit of Justice is a great way to seize the moral high ground and shield yourself from any criticism, no matter how valid.
So, to clarify, the problematic group you are describing is limited to a set of academics? You also mention white liberals. Who are they specifically? Is that white democrats? How broad is the brush here?
Aug 30, 2022·edited Aug 30, 2022Liked by Free Black Thought
Thank you so much for this. I hope, hope, hope that this kind of pushback becomes more widespread and "mainstream." I spent so many years being a (white) proponent of "antiracism," and I deeply regret whatever part I played in perpetuating so much of what I can see now has (inevitably?) devolved into a really demeaning kind of essentialism. I understand why white folks embrace this (and why I did for so long), but I'm not sure I understand how so many non-white folks - especially when presumably positive human traits like punctuality, logic, decisiveness, or mathematics ability are eschewed as just more manifestations of "white dominant culture" - aren't pushing back more against this dominant (haha) narrative on race.
Thank you so much for putting this together...I will be using a lot of these points and arguments in my school district, which is demonically overtaken by a political agenda of dividing and undermining children and teachers. For example: https://karlyn.substack.com/p/a-teacher-trainer-in-cambridge-ma?sd=pf
I have been seeing references to Culturally Responsible Teaching, does suffer from the same issues? Unclear what the distinction is, if any, between "Critical Race Theory" and Culturally Responsible Teaching?
Culturally Responsible Teaching develops, as we understand it, out of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, which in turn is influenced by CRT. Google Gloria Ladson-Billings, one of the founders of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and you'll see the sort of things she's interested in. We don't want to say it's all bad, but most real-world examples of this pedagogy will probably have that familiar CRT flavor: a BIG focus on race, coupled with the reduction of racial "identities" to crude stereotypes, and a lot of "critical" reflection on power and oppression.
Sorry for the redundancy but, yeah, this was *outstanding!* Can't thank You enough.
But You *Slavedrivers!* (haha ;-) Now I hafta check all the links in Your "Coda." Can't thank You anywhere *near* enough for those. Would also reiterate Your recommendation the fascinating views of Dr. Mason.
Finally, wanna TY *again,* just for providing some sanity and especially some *hope.* :-) TYTY.
I posted this on Facebook on a post by one of my relatives about De Santis and his crusade against "wokeness" and he questioned whether the programs mentioned in this article are widespread or representative of what is going on in American public education in general, or just a few scattered instances. That made me curious. Just how widespread are these types of programs in our schools?
No one *really* knows because there has been no systematic attempt to keep track of every single incident, but we've seen examples from just about every state. This interactive map tracks a lot of examples:
Regarding # 2 above, the framing of White Supremacy Culture, associated traits such as objectivity, delayed gratification, worship of written word, etc and the potential for it to negatively effect motivation and empowerment in black children; are the authors or other FBT members aware of any academic studies to support the claim. I'm meeting with members of a school board to discuss the "Unlearning WSC" framing that is a part of the disticts equity plan. Thank you!
We don't know of any empirical studies of the pedagogical effect of using Okun's (or Katz's) "white supremacy culture" framing. We were just trying to make the common-sense conceptual (rather than empirical) point that telling black students that being on time, being polite, or trying to think through a problem in an objective, linear fashion seems on its face unlikely to empower them to succeed in school. We recommend Matt Yglesias's analysis of Okun's work: https://www.slowboring.com/p/tema-okun
Only tangentially related: check out the section of this paper (linked below) titled "Does Critical Race Theory Disempower African-Americans?" It purports to show that reading writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates has a kind of depressive effect on black students.
Thank you for the reply, I'll check out both links. I do hope a research study could be designed specifically around these potentially disempowering concepts. Perhaps there are existing teaching studies regarding "mindset" that can be applied and learned from.
And of course one of the supreme ways of transcending racial categories in education is through the arts; is it any accident that all this heavily ideological teaching has come along in the aftermath of heavy cuts to arts programs? One rigorous and hilarious choir rehearsal would blow the ideology out of the water. I spent most of my childhood and youth in Detroit and attended high school during the late 1960s, and I owe a lifelong debt (and my sanity in high school) to Kathryn Ellis, the dance teacher, and DeWard Johnson, the choir director, two black teachers who held their students to the highest standard. The best interracial experiences are not about working on race relations; they're about mutual interest in a subject and the learning of complex and demanding skills (and mutual crazy laughter in the process). The aim of education, so far as it concerns race (or 'race') at all, should be to promote and prolong those times of mutual interest and effort, not to reinforce a relationship of mutual dread and mistrust.
"The best interracial experiences are not about working on race relations; they're about mutual interest in a subject and the learning of complex and demanding skills (and mutual crazy laughter in the process)."
AMEN!
One rigorous and hilarious choir rehearsal would blow the ideology out of the water. AMEN!
absolutely!
Amen.
Yes!!
Preach!
This is the crux of the arguments that I make on Choralosophy podcast. Fantastic.
Absolutely. Group pursuit of excellence can be an amazing bonding experience - building bridges, skills, tolerance and empathy. If schools truly want to eradicate racism, this is the path.
yes!
To my Black brothers and sisters,
The Critical Theorists of Academia do not care about you or your people as flesh-and-blood humans but only as VICTIMS, or more specifically, as Victims that they can wield and weaponize in their now century-long fight to dismantle and destroy Western liberal democracy and replace it with some form of "Socialism". ("Socialism" meaning to them a society controlled and overseen by a vanguard class of leftist philosopher-kings who will dictate every aspect of our lives and call it "liberation".)
If you want to talk about "appropriation" the greatest act of "appropriation" of our time is the way white liberals have appropriated Black pain and suffering as if it is a priest's collar or a crucifix they can display to proclaim their righteousness. Their entire political movement is really a power grab to defeat their blood enemies, the Bad Whites aka Deplorables, and one of the ways they do this is by flaunting their superior morality because they're "not racist" like those other whites over there. Their entire spurious sales pitch comes down to: "We're better because we love Black people more than you!" which is a brazen display of stolen valor.
I know this can sound overheated (it sounds overheated to me) so I'll just end with one question: would you trust someone who said they loved you and wanted to marry you after you just found out they were recently twice jilted at the altar?
Well, the Leftists were rejected first by the Proletariat, who preferred higher wages and better living conditions to their "Revolution", and then they turned to the Wretched of the Earth aka the Third World, which succumbed to Communist rule of bloodthirsty tyrants like Mao and Pol Pot until their societies collapsed.
It was only after these 2 prior failures that the rebranded Marxists aka Crit Theorists suddenly discovered how much they loved American blacks (and gays etc), not because any of them actually knew any Black people and wanted to improve their lives, but wholly and entirely because their history and situation gave them a great weapon to use in their eternal battle.
American liberal democracy has certainly been deeply cruel to Black people in the past, but it still our best hope of living together in peace and prosperity instead of in a state of permanent ideological warfare and ever-increasing hatred and resentment, which has always been the end result of every Leftist takeover.
Great analysis! It’s also true that their success depends on their ability to exploit the sensitivities and basic decency of most people, who just want to be good and be seen to be good. The so-called ‘useful idiots’.
If you claim to be acting on behalf of the poor and oppressed, and can make some statements or actions in that direction, it becomes difficult for people to oppose you, as it seems that to do so is to kick down on the helpless (and in re Americans and race, disagreeing with anyone who claims to be fighting racial injustice just feels too similar to the actions of the ugly bigots in our past).
Thus, claiming to be an altruist devoted to the pursuit of Justice is a great way to seize the moral high ground and shield yourself from any criticism, no matter how valid.
I came here to say something along these lines, only to find that you said it better! Thank you.
thanks!
So, to clarify, the problematic group you are describing is limited to a set of academics? You also mention white liberals. Who are they specifically? Is that white democrats? How broad is the brush here?
I know this comment is a year old, but, sir - this comment is an amazing summary of current political reality in the US. Wow, and thank you.
Perhaps the best overview of the problem available! Thank you.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this. I hope, hope, hope that this kind of pushback becomes more widespread and "mainstream." I spent so many years being a (white) proponent of "antiracism," and I deeply regret whatever part I played in perpetuating so much of what I can see now has (inevitably?) devolved into a really demeaning kind of essentialism. I understand why white folks embrace this (and why I did for so long), but I'm not sure I understand how so many non-white folks - especially when presumably positive human traits like punctuality, logic, decisiveness, or mathematics ability are eschewed as just more manifestations of "white dominant culture" - aren't pushing back more against this dominant (haha) narrative on race.
"I spent so many years being a (white) proponent of "antiracism"..."
The important thing is that you saw that it was a dead end and got out! That in itself is inspiring and gives hope.
Thank you very much for putting together and sharing this resource.
Glad to be of service!
Thanks for pulling all of this together. Our tax money is paying for the indoctrination of our children into Red Guards. The American cultural revolution is in full flight, it’s up to parents and school boards to stop it https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/how-to-groom-commissars?r=12n5dp&utm_medium=ios
Thank you so much for putting this together...I will be using a lot of these points and arguments in my school district, which is demonically overtaken by a political agenda of dividing and undermining children and teachers. For example: https://karlyn.substack.com/p/a-teacher-trainer-in-cambridge-ma?sd=pf
So glad to hear that our post is useful to you!
I have been seeing references to Culturally Responsible Teaching, does suffer from the same issues? Unclear what the distinction is, if any, between "Critical Race Theory" and Culturally Responsible Teaching?
Culturally Responsible Teaching develops, as we understand it, out of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, which in turn is influenced by CRT. Google Gloria Ladson-Billings, one of the founders of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and you'll see the sort of things she's interested in. We don't want to say it's all bad, but most real-world examples of this pedagogy will probably have that familiar CRT flavor: a BIG focus on race, coupled with the reduction of racial "identities" to crude stereotypes, and a lot of "critical" reflection on power and oppression.
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/culturally-responsive-teaching-culturally-responsive-pedagogy/2022/04
Appreciate the response!
Well, it's certainly not the acronym.
Excellent summary - Thanks for putting together.
I don’t have words to express my admiration for this piece. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
This is simply wonderful.
Thank you!!
<bowing to FBT editors>
Sorry for the redundancy but, yeah, this was *outstanding!* Can't thank You enough.
But You *Slavedrivers!* (haha ;-) Now I hafta check all the links in Your "Coda." Can't thank You anywhere *near* enough for those. Would also reiterate Your recommendation the fascinating views of Dr. Mason.
Finally, wanna TY *again,* just for providing some sanity and especially some *hope.* :-) TYTY.
Thank YOU!
“Unsettling” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
I posted this on Facebook on a post by one of my relatives about De Santis and his crusade against "wokeness" and he questioned whether the programs mentioned in this article are widespread or representative of what is going on in American public education in general, or just a few scattered instances. That made me curious. Just how widespread are these types of programs in our schools?
No one *really* knows because there has been no systematic attempt to keep track of every single incident, but we've seen examples from just about every state. This interactive map tracks a lot of examples:
https://defendinged.org/map/
This map tracks examples in elite private schools:
https://criticalrace.org/elite-private/
This is one of the most digestible and thoroughly resourced compilations of what comprises DEI ideology that I’ve see in a while. Bravo!
Regarding # 2 above, the framing of White Supremacy Culture, associated traits such as objectivity, delayed gratification, worship of written word, etc and the potential for it to negatively effect motivation and empowerment in black children; are the authors or other FBT members aware of any academic studies to support the claim. I'm meeting with members of a school board to discuss the "Unlearning WSC" framing that is a part of the disticts equity plan. Thank you!
We don't know of any empirical studies of the pedagogical effect of using Okun's (or Katz's) "white supremacy culture" framing. We were just trying to make the common-sense conceptual (rather than empirical) point that telling black students that being on time, being polite, or trying to think through a problem in an objective, linear fashion seems on its face unlikely to empower them to succeed in school. We recommend Matt Yglesias's analysis of Okun's work: https://www.slowboring.com/p/tema-okun
Only tangentially related: check out the section of this paper (linked below) titled "Does Critical Race Theory Disempower African-Americans?" It purports to show that reading writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates has a kind of depressive effect on black students.
https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/social-construction-racism-united-states-EK.pdf
Thank you for the reply, I'll check out both links. I do hope a research study could be designed specifically around these potentially disempowering concepts. Perhaps there are existing teaching studies regarding "mindset" that can be applied and learned from.