One Librarian’s (Very Personal) Opinion on GOP Lawmakers Wanting to Ban ‘Woke’ Philosophies

About a month ago, the Texas Tribune published an article on the Texas Legislature 2021: GOP lawmakers want to ban “woke philosophies” like critical race theory in Texas schools. The article briefly explains what critical race theory (CRT) is with “an academic discipline that views race as a social construct and examines how racism has shaped legal and social systems.” Sounds fairly reasonable, given the history of what are now known as the United States and recent events around policing of black people and other movements toward racial justice for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). Why do Texas lawmakers want to prevent Texans from learning about race and racism both historically and how it resonates throughout our society today?

The Texas Tribune article quotes Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s statement: “Texans reject critical race theory and other so-called ‘woke’ philosophies that maintain that one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex or that any individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive.” The 87(R) SB 2202 Bill itself states:(6) No teacher, administrator, or other employee in any state agency, school district, campus, open-enrollment charter school, or school administration shall require, or make part of a course the following concepts: (1) one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex….(yes, in the bill as linked above, shall is in there twice).

So, does critical race theory say that one race is “inherently superior” to another race? Ladson-Billings stated that critical race theory is a scholarly tradition that “argues against the slow pace of racial reform in the United States. Critical race theory begins with the notion that racism is normal in American society” (1992). Racism isn’t necessarily inherent but it is part of the construct of our society. I was confused by the choice of the word “inherently” in the bill, so I went to my reliable pal, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). According to the OED, inherently means “in an inherent manner; by inherence; in the way of, or in relation to, an inherent quality or attribute; in inward nature, intrinsically.” Well, this didn’t help me all that much, so I looked at inherent: 3(a):

Existing in something as a permanent attribute or quality; forming an element, esp. a characteristic or essential element of something; belonging to the intrinsic nature of that which is spoken of; indwelling, intrinsic, essential. (OED).

Critical race theory doesn’t state that a particular race is inherently superior to another, rather, critical race theory analyzes the systems of our society and how that impacts people of various races.

I was also struck by the second part of Patrick’s statement: “by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive.” I honestly don’t believe any ‘woke’ theory, as Patrick refers to CRT and other unnamed theories, is calling individuals purposefully racist, sexist, or oppressive. But that’s where the choice of word ‘inherent’ comes in: because while systems and institutions can be systematically racist (or inherently racist) because they are built on a history of racist and oppressive systems, individuals can act or be racist through interpersonal racism. The bill addresses this with: “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.” Again, people are racist by nature, but CRT analyzes the ways in which our society is structured, people have prejudices and biases (Ladson-Billings 1992).

Janel George (A Lesson on Critical Race Theory) writes: “CRT observes that scholarship that ignores race is not demonstrating ‘neutrality’ but adherence to the existing racial hierarchy.” These bills, if passed and enacted (as of this writing it has passed the senate 18-13 (all supporters were white Republicans), will do just that, ignore race and continue the existing racial hierarchy. Jonathon Kozol’s Savage inequalities (1991) demonstrated the disparities in education for white and black students, Ladson-Billings points out that according to African American colleagues, “he had not revealed anything new about the differences that exist between African American and White schools” (20). What Kozol’s work does demonstrate is that critical race theory works to teach white people about the lived experiences (racism and oppression) of people of color. None of the information is new to BIPOC, but it demonstrates what white people don’t know and need to know if anything is ever going to change. Suppressing critical race theory continues oppression.

As a history student, I learned that history is told from the perspective of the victor. Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, criticizes the bill because “we cannot just pick and choose what we are going to teach as history and expect to change things and make things better…. It doesn’t work that way. This bill is eliminating and excluding some things, and including what you want to say” (McGee). With the events of the past year, with the Black Lives Matter movements, so many people are looking at why these things happen, why structures continue to exist that discriminate against people based on various demographics. Yet trying to limit what can and cannot be taught, what can and cannot be discussed, only perpetuates these issues.

Not incorporating critical race theory only perpetuates white dominancy and oppression of others. Swartz wrote:

Master scripting silences multiple voices and perspectives, primarily legitimizing dominant, white, upper-class, male voicings as the “standard” knowledge students need to know. All other accounts and perspectives are omitted from the master script unless they can be disempowered through misrepresentation. Thus, content that does not reflect the dominant voice must be brought under control, mastered, and then reshaped before it can become a part of the master script (341).

Because history, or the curriculum, is taught by the victor, or by those in power, those who are disempowered are left out of the “standard” knowledge. I had a history professor in college who said that when students got to college, professors have to re-teach them history, because they had only learned the glorified parts. (He also discussed that in K-12 most students are only taught names, dates, and events whereas in college we try to look at events and discuss how and why they occurred.) I had a different perspective: in my AP American History class in high school, we read Howard Zinn’s A people’s history of the United States: 1492-present alongside our textbook. A quote from the back of the book states: it “is the only volume to tell America’s story from the point of view of – and in the words of – America’s women, factory workers, African Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers.” Again, history is told from the victor’s perspective, but Zinn (and my AP history teacher) tries to supplement the accepted version of history, with the missing perspectives. Critical race theory attempts to do this as well: bring in the stories about people of color, by people of color.

Ignoring critical race theory, ignoring the systemic and systematic racism that affects all people whether they know it or not – like it or not – only perpetuates the history of oppression that we’ve all been witness to and complicit in. Are we bad people if we have privilege? Not necessarily. It’s what we do with our privilege that matters. And preventing anyone, at any age, from exploring ideas of race and racism throughout history and current events is simply abusing power and privilege to maintain power and privilege.

One of my favorite quotes in reading about this bill and researching CRT came from Georgina Perez, who serves on the State Board of Education: “They have no idea what critical race theory is, what it does, who the founders are. They’ve never read a book, much less a paragraph on it” (McGee). Before acting, one should know something about what they’re acting on. My advice to legislators would be to learn something about what they’re legislating on; or, better yet, leave educating to the educators.

Texas is not the only state to introduce or pass bills that impinge on intellectual freedom in the classroom: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, and Tennessee have all introduced bills that that mainly target one of three things: faculty tenure, curriculum, or freedom of speech. Critical race theory is also being criticized on a national scale.

Finally, I am not an expert on any of this. I have a Masters in History and Literature, but I did not study critical race theory until recently, through learning about what is being talked about nationally as well as reading a book about CRT in my own field: Knowledge Justice: Disrupting Library and Information Studies through Critical Race Theory. I am not a lawyer nor did I study political science: I probably could use a refresher on how bills come to be laws, etc. I am also not a professor or teacher, my opinions on whether critical race theory should be told in the classroom is from a relatively ignorant perspective. But what I’ve learned since high school, through college and even beyond, is how much I didn’t learn in K-12. I’m still learning, we all are but sometimes I think back to what my college professor said about re-learning and re-teaching: maybe if critical race theory was a part of my education, I wouldn’t have had to spend so much time after college learning about my privilege and how it makes me different from other people, whether it’s due to my class, race, gender, or other myriad of identities.

Check out the library’s Racial Justice Resources: Black Lives Matter

Check out 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission

Reminder: June 19th is Juneteenth

Resources:

A Lesson on Critical Race Theoryhttps://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/a-lesson-on-critical-race-theory/. Accessed 1 June 2021.

Agnew, Duncan. “GOP Lawmakers Want to Ban ‘Woke Philosophies’ like Critical Race Theory in Texas Schools.” The Texas Tribune, 5 May 2021, https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/05/texas-critical-race-theory-schools-legislature/.

Critical Race Theory — Britannica Academichttps://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/critical-race-theory/607715. Accessed 12 May 2021.

“inherent, adj. and n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2021, www.oed.com/view/Entry/95945. Accessed 1 June 2021.

“inherently, adv.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2021, www.oed.com/view/Entry/95946.    Accessed 1 June 2021.

“International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol. 16, no. 6, Nov. 2003, pp. 883–86. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.1080/714858243.

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. “Just What Is Critical Race Theory and What’s It Doing in a Nice Field like Education?” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol. 11, no. 1, Routledge, Jan. 1998, pp. 7–24. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/095183998236863.

McCleer, Adriana, and this link will open in a new window Link to external site. “‘This Has Never Really Been about Books’: A Latcrit Case Study of Intellectual Freedom.” ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, 2019. ProQuesthttps://www.proquest.com/docview/2305833849/abstract/CA6FFD66A6CA454EPQ/1.

McGee, Kate. “Texas’ Divisive Bill Limiting How Students Learn about Current Events and Historic Racism Passed by Senate.” The Texas Tribune, 22 May 2021, https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/22/texas-critical-race-theory-legislature/.

“Rockwood Controversy Spurs GOP Push To Ban Critical Race Theory In Schools.” NPR.Orghttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=993251350. Accessed 2 June 2021.

Swartz, Ellen. “Emancipatory Narratives: Rewriting the Master Script in the School Curriculum.” The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 61, no. 3, Journal of Negro Education, 1992, pp. 341–55. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2295252.

Sye, David. “Intellectual Freedom on College Campuses: An Update on Current State Legislation.” Intellectual Freedom Blog, 11 May 2021, https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=25799.

“Teachers Say Laws Banning Critical Race Theory Are Putting A Chill On Their Lessons.” NPR.Orghttps://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1000537206/teachers-laws-banning-critical-race-theory-are-leading-to-self-censorship. Accessed 2 June 2021.

“The Brewing Political Battle Over Critical Race Theory.” NPR.Orghttps://www.npr.org/2021/06/02/1001055828/the-brewing-political-battle-over-critical-race-theory. Accessed 2 June 2021.

“‘We Can And Should Teach This History’: New Bills Limit How Teachers Talk About Race.” NPR.Orghttps://www.npr.org/2021/05/25/1000273981/we-can-and-should-teach-this-history-new-bills-limit-how-teachers-talk-about-rac. Accessed 2 June 2021.