A Right-Leaning Group Has Created Materials to Teach People How to Combat Critical Race Theory in Their Communities

A conservative nonprofit group has created materials to train people on how they can fight the teaching of critical race theory in their communities, because how dare anyone learn about systemic racism’s hold on our society?

Per Business Insider, Citizens for Renewing America is a “social welfare group” that was founded by Russ Vought, who served as the director of the office of management and budget under former President Donald Trump. Insider reports that the group’s website calls critical race theory a radical theology that aims to “socially replace” white people and lead to their discrimination.

From Insider:

“In other words, because people of color were discriminated against in the past, white people, including children in schools, need to be discriminated against now in order to make up for it and let African Americans catch up,” a toolkit from the organization said.

“Combatting Critical Race Theory In Your Community” gives tips on building grassroots coalitions, recalling school board officials, and launching political campaigns. The toolkit urges local groups to create social media profiles, pen op-eds, distribute training materials, and even find legal advisors in case of lawsuits.

As The Root’s Michael Harriot has explained before, critical race theory is not a doctrine that teaches anyone to hate white people for being white. It primarily theorizes how race affects America’s laws and institutions, which is necessary.

But of course, groups like Citizens for Renewing America bank on people’s general ignorance on CRT and their unwillingness to actually learn more about it to push this goofy-ass narrative upon the masses.

As Insider reports, the GOP’s messaging on the theory is clearly making an impact:

School board members drew more recall petitions than any other group in the first half of 2021, according to Ballotpedia, with a total of 126 school board members facing recall campaigns. In Texas, Spectrum News reported that opponents of critical race theory are traveling to school board meetings throughout the state to speak during public comment, almost exclusively repeating the same conservative talking points.

If Citizens for Renewing America’s premise alone wasn’t a clear sign that they’re wildin’ (and not in Nick Cannon-approved way), it should also be noted that the above-mentioned toolkit begins with the quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech about how he dreamed his children would be judged by character instead of skin color.

As we’ve seen time and time again, white people love to invoke the “I Have a Dream” speech as justification for their inane posturing on critical race theory and other issues involving open discussions on how racism is still a thing while also conveniently ignoring King’s more radical positions.

They do this because it is genuinely the only argument that they have in this conversation. And even then, it’s the wrong argument to make.

So, to borrow a phrase from President Josiah Bartlet, some of y’all just need to stand there in your wrongness and be wrong and get used to it.