In the lesson “Critical Race Theory: A Brief History” from the New York Times’ Learning Network, students will learn how an academic legal framework developed during the 1980s for understanding racism in the United States has become a hot-button political issue 40 years later and examine the spread of legislation opposed to critical race theory.
Lesson Overview
Featured article: “Critical Race Theory: A Brief History” by Jacey Fortin
In this lesson, students will look at the spread of anti-critical-race-theory regulations across the country, and the larger questions they raise over teaching about race and racism in schools. Then, they will consider the impact of these bills on their own communities, schools and learning.
Questions for Writing and Discussion
1. What is critical race theory, according to the article? How would you explain it in your own words? Who are some of its leading theorists and practitioners?
2. Why do critical race theorists reject the philosophy of “colorblindness”? What does Mari Matsuda, a law professor at the University of Hawaii who was an early developer of the theory, mean when she says of racism, “The problem is not bad people. The problem is a system that reproduces bad outcomes.”
3. Why are people talking about critical race theory now? How has C.R.T. gone from academic classrooms and papers to a frontline in the ongoing culture wars?
Access the full lesson from New York Times’ Learning Network for warm up exercises and the reading resources required to respond to the discussion questions.
Source: New York Times | Lesson of the Day: Critical Race Theory: A Brief History, https://www.nytimes.com/section/learning | © 2021 The New York Times Company
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