It seems that almost every school district in the country is under siege by Critical Race Theory activists. It is amazing how quickly a concept that has been around for at least 30 years without evoking much mainstream interest has suddenly become the most recent point of attack in the war against our public schools. Even the most casual examination of the controversy strongly suggests that the talking points are remarkably similar in style and substance…almost as if a well-funded group is writing the scripts and training the actors.

In truth, CRT is studied almost exclusively in Graduate level programs and in Law schools. It does not appear in our North Carolina K-12 Social Studies standards nor does it have any discernible influence on the review, selection and implementation of the instructional materials used in Social Studies classes throughout North Carolina.

In fact, the very public process used to select our instructional materials makes it very unlikely that CRT could have slipped into our schools unnoticed. Evaluation of these materials involves a broad cross-section of content specialists, classroom teachers and parents guided by Department of Public Instruction’s standards.

So, what is the real substance of this manufactured hysteria? Referencing CRT even though it has no relevance to any discussion of the K-12 curriculum in NC feels to me like an attempt to selectively edit our Social Studies curriculum to remove references to historical events that make some of us uncomfortable. Should we accept a feeling of discomfort as an appropriate criterion for revising our Social Studies instructional materials? What is next? Eliminating Shakespeare because the language just feels stilted? Or doing away with Math entirely because most of us struggle with the subject?

What is most disturbing, we now see teachers accused of somehow aiding and abetting those who seek to make CRT a central outcome when teaching history. There have already been several instances where teachers have lost their jobs as a result of these accusations. These are the same teachers who are our neighbors and friends, the same people who we see weekly at the grocery store and next to us in church on Sunday. The people, working long hours at low pay, that we have traditionally trusted to guard, nurture and educate our children. How did they suddenly and without explanation become the enemy?

Ironically this attempt to censor critical parts of our history is a perfect definition of the term “cancel culture”. And I personally think we are being sold a (CRT) bill of goods!