Submitted by John Arbeeny.
Critical Race Theory (CRT) and white supremacy are essentially the same thing… racism, only the color is changed. Reminds me of the quote attributed to John Kenneth Galbraith (economist): “Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it’s just the opposite.” Racism exploits regardless of the skin color of the exploiter or the skin color of the exploited.
Another pithy quote by Galbraith appropriate to this conversation is: “Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists.”
It is but a slight editorial change to become: “Racism is extremely useful as a form of employment for racists.”
“Race hustlers” have been with us for a long time. Here are two related quotes from over 100 years ago by Booker T. Washington, born a slave in 1856 in rural Virginia and rising to the heights of society as a crusader for the real freedom of emancipated Blacks. He understood that it would take the self motivation and responsibility of individual freed Blacks through “Industry, thrift, intelligence and property” to earn the fruits of that freedom: real freedom isn’t free. It is something you earn as an individual rather than something given to a racial group gratis by proclamation.
”I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.”
“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”
Booker T. Washington was highly suspicious of the “intellectual elite” as described by W.E.B. Du Bois, born in 1868 to an affluent family from Massachusetts, who sought “freedom” primarily via political action rather than individual effort. Although the “intellectual elite” might claim to be altruistic in accomplishing this for the Black population, their continued power politically in fact required a constant underclass. History has borne this out. Booker T. Washington is perhaps most famous as a founder/leader of Tuskegee Institute; W.E.B Du Bois for founding the NAACP: education vs. politicization. It is a difference in approach that lives today over 100 years later.
Follow the money. That’s what CRT is really all about; racism as a career option: the intellectual elite leading the masses to the “Promised Land”. Only it hasn’t happened for over 100 years. Just ask Black Lives Matter founder……and now millionaire…..Patrisse Cullors, or Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson whether racism pays. How about the failed Mayors and their staffs of cities like Baltimore or Chicago? Or, for that matter ask CPSD Superintendent Ron Banner how much his “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager” Grant Twyman makes annually in salary and benefits. Would you believe $88,771+ since he was employed on 8/15/2019? I’ll bet that’s more than you make at a real job.
Indeed the primary beneficiaries of racism are those in positions of power, not the racial groups they allegedly support. It’s your tax money; it’s your vote in the 3 August 2021 primary election for Clover Park School Board members. Do we educate or politicize our children? Vote wisely.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
I loved the circle chart . . . I also like how Leonard Pitts explains Critical Race Theory:
https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/leonard-pitts-jr/article252655298.html
We educate our children and explain the problems that originated with the constitution. You can’t teach American history without explaining slaves, Jim Crow, and the interaction of racism that still exists.
Nor would I want to teach American history without explaining slaves, Jim Crow and the interaction of racism that still exists. However I would suggest that the “racism that still exists” is largely the racism of individuals rather than a “systemic racism” enshrined in our Country’s laws and practices. If you can give me an example of “systemic racism” or “institutionalized racism” please do. The attempt to institutionalize CRT in our schools, colleges, companies, military is in fact an attempt to institutionalize exactly what its supporters claim to be against.
Where do you get your information? I don’t believe you are smart enough to have come up with all your quotes by yourself. Critical race theory is taught as a college level class and for the most part only to those attempting to become lawyers. You drag out the bs lines from the republicons and think people will believe you. You are a disgusting piece of dog excrement. I hope that you step in it every time you go outside. I will be sure to vote for anyone that is not who you proclaim is the right person. Lastly using your figures the person is paid only $44,385.50 a year? Sounds like a lot less then should be paid for someone who has to put up with people like you.
Why do turn nasty on this. Can you respond with an articulate statement of your position and back it up with facts. Name calling is simply counter productive.
$88,771+ annually since he was employed on 8/15/2019.
You provide evidence of the following statement:
“Want to make a conservative angry? Lie to him. If you want to raise the ire of a leftist, tell him the truth.”
You defeat your intent if it is to refute this “information” attacking the messenger. I say the following without malice. Educating yourself is a good place to start. Turn off the TV and read books with citations and references.
There is plenty of literature founded on statistical evidence, not supposition and “feelings”: 1) Police Are Not Murdering Black People; 2) There is no war on POC; 3) Different Groups Perform Differently; 4) Racism Did Not Create the Problems We Face Today; 5) Anyone Can Be Racist, etc.
A great place to begin is “Taboo: 10 Facts That You Can’t Talk About” by Wilfred Reilly.
Another excellent reference is: “Facing Reality – Two Truths About Race in America” by Charles Murray
Despite the contention of some that CRT is complicated, it is not. It is purposefully and intentionally divisive and promoted by an agenda that seeks to move this country away from its foundations and replace it with with a “collective utopian” vision that has eventually preyed upon the population of every country that has previously experimented with it.
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-systemic-racism-in-charts-graphs-data-2020-6#the-employment-population-ratio-measures-the-share-of-a-demographic-group-that-has-a-job-and-its-been-lower-for-black-people-for-years-1
John asked for evidence of systemic racism in the USA, and I provided a link which provides 26 charts that show how systemic racism does exist in the USA.
That certain sectors of our population do better or worse than other segments is not an indication of systemic racism. People are different, have different values, principles and strategic goals. They also have many paths to success and the motivation to act competently. These are individual traits, not group traits and certainly not racial traits. There are too many successful “people of color” to blame “systemic racism” for the failure of others to succeed. Perhaps the most “inconvenient” minority are Asians who individually are among the most successful given their small minority status, immigrant issues (language, culture) and long history of persecution: expelled from Tacoma, “yellow peril”, immigration policies. And yet they succeed: is that an indication of some “positive” systemic racism. No. It’s not a matter of skin color but rather character.
That was a disgusting and ignorant screed.
If people would like to learn what Critical Race Theory actually is, there are plenty of good sources including this one from PBS News Hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4pvWBcNoec
Mr. Arbeeny,
You make an excellent point.
As a former police officer I heard that often quoted phrase, “You are just stopping me because I am Black.”
That was never true of me. I operated on a “color blind” basis. 100% of the time when I stopped someone while in uniform and driving a marked police car, their color was never the reason for the stop. The reason for the stop was their behavior, such as speeding in a school zone.
“You are just…because I am black” is such a sorry statement, that if believed by the speaker, it hurts the African American more than me. Belief in that concept prevents personal and economic progress for African Americans.
There were occasions when I would point out to the driver that because they had illegally dark tinted windows, I had no idea if they were white, black, red, or purple.
I stopped them because of behavior.
Am I saying there is never any racism in America? No. I have, in fact, been treated like a Black in Mississippi, with obvious discrimination and intimidation, during a motorcycle ride when my riding partner happened to be Black.
What I am saying is Blacks often make the mistake of using those words like a crutch. They often cry wolf. Their complaint, when false, loses its punch.
It will be a better society if the false cries stop, leaving room for legitmate complaints to be resolved.
In another state a police officer recently shot and killed an African American who was terrorizing innocent citizens with a big knife. He charged the officer with the knife. The officer, yelling, “drop the knife”, backed away as fast as he could causing him to trip and fall over backwards. The man fell on the officer and stabbed him with his knife. The officer fired his duty weapon several times. The knife wielder died.
The man’s aunt made a racial incident out of it by complaining that the officer should not have fired as many rounds. By ignoring her nephew’s behavior, she is able to focus on race and injustice. She should be blaming herself for not having taught her nephew how to behave, especially when around someone who has a gun to defend himself and others.
Eliminate bad behavior and you will eliminate shots fired, followed by no one dies, ultimately ending with no possibility for there to be a racial incident.
When I was a teenager, I thought the cops set harassing me by giving me traffic tickets. I got tickets from Washington State Patrol, Puyallup Police, Tacoma Police, and Fife Police. Washington State even sent me one of those “One more ticket and you will be riding the bus, letters. Conspiracy!
Then an idea came to me. I decided to drive like the cops were in my rear view mirror. Once I changed my driving behavior, the cops stopped contacting me. I went decades without traffic tickets.
Two lessons here.
#1. People of all races should be taught by their parents, relatives, teachers, and society the difference between good behavior and bad behavior.
#2. Stop using the old tired false crutch at the drop of a hat, “You are just…because I am Black.”
I firmly believe If there is a legitimate complaint, complain. If is just a brain washed phrase, stop repeating it.
Joseph Boyle
When you create an class of alleged “victims” you create a class of people who feel that their victimhood allows them to lash out at the system that allegedly victimized them. The word in “CRT-speak” is “marginalized groups”. Want to know the impetus behind the current wave of criminality? You’ve got in in the form of victimology. Blame someone or something else to rationalize your bad behavior. That’s what “victims” do. Those looting, shooting and burning down cities (ironically in their own neighborhoods) aren’t doing so altruistically to protest “racism”. They’re doing so because they feel entitled to flaunt the law because of their alleged victim status.
You will excuse me if I don’t believe you.
Mr Arbeeney,
Thank you for the insightful article referencing Booker T Washington. He is as close as you get to the living history of slavery and racism in America, and yet he clearly named the ‘business of racism’!
He is a great American and I remember reading about him when I was in grade school. I hope he is is still studied and honored in our schools today.
As an elected candidate for the CPSD I will pursue the emphasis of this man in our history curriculum.
I Never heard of Greenwood. It angered me that parts of our history were not in my education or knowledge. I grew up a military brat so racism was a foreign thing to me. We were usually the ones no one wanted in their neighborhood. However, the fact that they are trying to erase our history is why this is happening. A Texas textbook actually says the Indians were happy to give us their land to build on. BS! They may have signed a treaty to save their people’s lives but hardly gave it freely. Again, history we should know. We have an ugly history. My son said that Viet Nam war managed to get a whole paragraph in his history book. WRONG! History is not always pretty but education and learning it is important. I happen to be someone who loved history. But I was robbed of all the truth. I wonder why they no longer teach Civics. The less people know of their actual rights the better off the government is, I would assume. My favorite class in 9th grade was civics. But they learned during the 60s and 70s that educated people are not what they wanted. Away went most civics classes. The uproar about CRT is a joke to me. Get a grip! Knowledge helps everyone. So much no one knows about today about the civil rights struggles of the Blacks.
If anyone had the “right” to claim victimhood it would be the likes of Booker T. Washington. Yet he did not. He was born a slave (no one today shares that distinction), taught himself to read, became educated and a powerful example and force for individual accomplishment for both black and white. He refused to let his status as a slave hinder his rising above that station in life. He didn’t wait until somebody else did that for him. History is history and should be told as it was warts and all. But it is also full of real accomplishments both individual and collectively since the founding of our Nation. To deny that is equally as bad as denying the the painfully reality of our history.
John—
I’m disappointed in your article.
You are capable of more nuance and far better logic. The discussion of CRT is controversial and complex. You imply it is simple.
Then I got to your close—ah, this is about the school board election—and I recalled what you said to me once in person about campaigns. To you a political campaign is about the battle, not about informing citizens about the truth of policy, certainly not about building community.
Just speak truthfully and not from a soap box, be part of solutions not about creating divisions.
Thank you Andie!
Yes campaigns are a battle, a battle of ideas not just personality contests. If you think that the discussion of CRT is controversial you are correct. If you think it is complex then you need to do more study on the subject. The truth is found in the history of race relation approaches in this Country. I gave historical examples of two very different approaches at what might be called the very beginning of the civil rights movement(s). One depended upon individual self motivation of which we have many past and present examples (even a “person of color” as President…..twice) and the other the intellectual/political elite doing it for a racial group for which we have to thank the current dismal status of many communities of color. One works; the other doesn’t. Simple.
No, it is not as simple as you would wish others to believe. Minorities in this country do not have the same opportunities that I have. To claim that they do is a racist comment. That is a statement that is simple as that.
Then please tell that to the likes of Ben Carson or Justice Clarence Thomas or any of a host of successful people of color. There are simply to many examples that belie your claim that they do not have the same opportunities that you had. They were successful by having the strength of character that overcame any alleged impediment posed by their skin color. It is that simple and repeatable but not if you patronizingly and condescendingly tell people they can’t.
For instance, do you really believe that people of color are incapable of producing a photo ID for voter identification? Really? If they are incapable of doing something so simple how is there any hope of them ever succeeding at anything……without someone else’s (your?) well intentioned “help”? That is the epitome of racism.
Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. The “new and improved” CRT training/education is just a different version of the original with different terms to try to make it sound like, in some way, this time it would be different. It is destructive. It is divisive. It is bad.
John:
You can tell from the responses you are getting that CRT does not belong in schools. When schools began telling students what to think not how to think and reason for themselves we were on the way to indoctrination. To further their aim they eliminated more and more of traditional core education to make more room for indoctrination. Education as we can see from the continued downward path of student achievement is failing our children at an ever increasing pace. This decline is in spite of ever declining standards. Schools now indoctrinate students about social topics such as; sexually, their choice of gender, the evils of America, how other cultures are superior to America and to separate Americans by race or ethnicity. America will not survive the tribalism being forced on the public by our education system and government. Our history of “one from many” is being destroyed to make it easier to set Americans against each other to the delight of those who wish to destroy our constitutional system and bring froth a socialist or communist system under which history has shown everyone is equally miserable.
I agree. In order to remake the USA into a tribal society of competing groups the left must destroy the very institutions that for the last 240+ years have allowed us to survive and thrive as individuals. Tribal societies remain as such because they have never had these institutions: rule of law, police protection, freedoms as enshrined in our founding documents, private property, legal representation, innocent until proven guilty, 2nd Amendment, etc. These institutions and rights are under assault by the left with the intention of forcing individuals to become faceless stereotypical members of groups for their protection and survival. It’s all part of their plan to regress the USA backwards into a societal model that existed long in the past and examples of which exist today.
May I ask, do you understand the difference between sex and gender, and when did you choose your sexual orientation?
I am always confused when a discussion of ideas becomes personal. That someone is called a “piece of dog excrement” or that someone is “dissappointed” in the other person as if they have done something wrong by expressing an opposing view. Open communication is very much needed not the shaming others in hopes to intimidate them so they will be quiet.
I am curious if this video will change anyones mind.
https://youtu.be/8Zy6DQoRYQw
The claim that CRT is so “complicated” is nothing more than an excuse not to discuss it. It implies that we as mere mortals (vice learned intellectual elite) couldn’t possibly understand it because of its “complexity”. Yet the complexity exists only in the mind of the observer, not in the subject itself. It all depends upon your perspective be that high or low level. Here’s an example. An automobile can be described as thousands of parts which if viewed in a parts catalogue might be impossible to assemble into an automobile without further information. It is incredibly complex. However an automobile, regardless of parts list, can be described simply (in 11 words or less) as a “a system designed to convert chemical energy into motive mechanical energy.” Simple wasn’t it? If you don’t understand that principle then it is problematical whether you could understand an automobile even given all the parts.
Yes, as noted in previous comments, Critical Race Theory (CRT) is complex, and every responsible citizen should become well acquainted with it. The theory and its implementations must be studied carefully to determine if it helps individuals prepare for a rewarding life and builds communities, or if it is destructive and divides communities. CRT promotes anti-racism, a MORAL IMPERATIVE for sure. Yet, it has manifested itself in reverse racism. Case in point, the announcement in the July 1, 2021 issue of the Suburban Times entitled “Pierce College EDI CARES (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: College Access, Retention and Engagement Services) office to offer free summer engagement programming for students of color”. There was no provision for comments as routinely provided for Suburban Times articles and announcements, which denied the opportunity for open discussion about the pro’s and con’s of the program–one offered by an institution for which community members pay taxes to provide for the benefit of the community as a whole. The obvious flaw in the program is that it discriminates against deserving students of other skin colors. There are students of brown and black color as well as students of other colors who are in need of mentoring–all colors matter. My concern is that the negative aspects of CRT will creep into every fiber of community life, beginning with our schools. The theory is promoted under the guise of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion programs. If our goal is to educate all students for rewarding, contributing lives and to build community, then we must make ourselves aware of how institutions and government propose to implement these concepts. Will they be constructive, or destructive? Our community will reap the consequences.
It ultimately comes down to whether any -ism or theory or subject distracts or detracts from the District’s primary mission to provide an academically challenging educational experience for all students which prepares them for adult life, be that in the family, trades, business or on to college. Just how does CRT prepare students for life after high school? Simple answer: it doesn’t.
Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.
The basic tenets of critical race theory, or CRT, emerged out of a framework for legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s created by legal scholars Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado, among others.
A good example is when, in the 1930s, government officials literally drew lines around areas deemed poor financial risks, often explicitly due to the racial composition of inhabitants. Banks subsequently refused to offer mortgages to Black people in those areas.
This is an important part of our history, and not something new under the sun as conservatives have been claiming.
This article explains why CRT is important.
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05
You’ve left out that CRT also preaches (it is a religion after all) that racism is also inherent in skin color, specifically the dominant culture. Born white: oppressor. Born black: oppressed. That is by definition racism.
Amen!
Maybe it matters some whether a school board candidate watches Fox News or how the person feels about teaching one aspect of history. But for those who care about the Clover Park School District and children, does anyone know of a resource which will help us decide which school board candidates will help improve academic excellence within the district? I don’t mean happy talk about “we’re partners with this person or that person” or “we kept the lights on during the pandemic.” But who is actually going to make the Clover Park School District something we can be proud of.?
How will we know who they are?
How will any given candidate work with other board members, unions, legislative and regulatory constraints, parents, poverty, the diversity of the district, the constant happy talk that one little thing or other is an innovation, staff with pride and an interest in protecting what they’ve built and all the other challenges. Can a school board member make a difference in all that. If so, how.
Maybe this is the wrong place to ask it’s not about CRT, but for kids, it would be nice to know how CP can get better.
Replying from a neighborhood where in the next hour I will have personally doorbelled my 2,000th home. As to your question of how academic and occupational excellence in preparing students to face the challenges of life after high school is achieved. The wheel has been invented. Great Schools in America do certain things extremely well such that they are recognized as the top schools and school districts in the country. What do they do? That is the central plank of my platform. Every single school board meeting – without exception – should have on the table the research, evidence, substantiation for what singles out schools and school districts for doing an outstanding job of serving every single individual student, identifying their aptitudes and their skills, gifts, talents and abilities- which every single individual student has – and then guiding them, never losing track of them, along a matching career pathway. All this to start the moment they set foot in the hallways of Middle School. A laser focus on this – the only reason a school board director should be elected – will rank CPSD among the best in the nation.
Amazing is it not that the left always deflects the issue to something that is not relevant to the discussion like “FOX news”! What has that go to do with anything related to CRT, race hustling, or CPSD? But as long as you want to go there, what are your news sources? NY Times? CNN? MSNBC? Like those are straight down the middle objective news sources? Next time you rail against FOX how about you also list your news sources so we can have an open discussion on their objectivity.
Hot off the press!
Yet another example that belies the fraud that is CRT and supports the individualist approach to excellence:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/spelling-bee-champion-zaila-avant-garde-cal-thomas
“Hard work, bravery and confidence. Are these not among the keys to success in life? If they have proven successful throughout human history, why don’t we make them priorities in school and elsewhere instead of the “woke” agenda?
Avant-garde is the left’s worst nightmare. She reached a difficult goal through commitment and tenacity. She studied words with a coach for two years and her prize of $50,000 is likely just the beginning. If she remains on track, she is bound to achieve other goals, which include attending Harvard, playing professional basketball, and working for NASA.”
How could she possibly accomplish this since her skin color is “black”. Maybe because her character is what matters, not her skin color. Now lets see what the CRT sycophants decide to label her. Traitor to her race? Aunt Jemima? Uncle Tom (if she were male) or some other pejorative to discredit her individual achievement? That’s the problem with CRT supporters. They can’t abide and resent the individual success of minorities which didn’t depend on the intellectual elite or their virtue signaling supporters for their success. This young lady and people like her are glaring examples that individuals have the ability succeed without the ostensible “help” of racists who think they can’t.