My View
Navigating the Vitriol Over Critical Race Theory
BY DOUGLAS B. REEVES/School Administrator, September 2021

DURING MY RECENT conversations with superintendents and senior leaders from around the nation, they report that the public comment periods at their school board meetings were being dominated by one subject: critical race theory.

Sorting the fact from the fiction ought to be the first priority of school leaders as they navigate this complex area of public discussion.

At board meetings, allegations are being aired that if schools fail to teach CRT, they are reflecting a racist viewpoint and if their curricula include aspects of CRT, then they are indoctrinating students with anti-American sentiments. Before the controversies grow more destructive, it will be up to superintendents and board members to be clear about their policies for curricula and teaching.

Facts, Not Interpretation

First, stick to the facts. Every public school in the U.S. teaches the facts of history based on state standards. There is no federal requirement to teach CRT. Every school teaches about the Constitution, westward expansion, slavery, the Civil War and other key elements of our history. Facts are not political — they are just facts.

Second, separate CRT from people who use CRT to advocate for or against a political viewpoint. CRT, hardly new, is an academic movement begun more than 40 years ago. At its essence, CRT suggests that a study of history consider not only individuals but laws, policies and systems.

We don’t just study the individual founders but also the words of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We teach that the Constitution is one of the world’s great and enduring governing documents and that it included the three-fifths compromise and the disenfranchisement of women. The 13th Amendment granted freedom to slaves and the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. We don’t just study the Trail of Tears and Andrew Jackson but also the laws and policies that fostered Manifest Destiny.

Unfortunately, political advocates, under the banner of CRT, veer from the facts of history and into the promotion of policies that suit their 21st-century political agenda. However interesting, these policies do not represent the study of historical facts. Similarly, others, in the name of criticizing CRT, insist that only the positive aspects of American history be taught. Such an incomplete education would leave students ill-prepared to consider arguments based on historical facts rather than political viewpoints.

Respectful Discourse

Third, insist on respectful debate. Civil discourse requires listening, not just shouting. School boards would be wise to use the public comment period as a model of civil discourse, in which parties forcefully but respectfully disagree with one another. 

Superintendents report to me that the current state of the debate veers far afield of civil discourse into accusations that if school officials do not agree with the speaker, they are guilty of child abuse or racism, words that are not within the boundaries of civil discourse and thoughtful dissent. If you would not allow the N-word to be used in a public comment period, then consider cutting off the microphone and the public access television to speakers whose words are not merely free expression, but personal assaults on their perceived enemies.

In the absence of these reasonable expectations of civil discourse, the parents and community members who might be willing to express contrary points of view will simply stay home. To put it bluntly: If you would not allow bullying on the playground, don’t allow it at a school board meeting.

From the emancipation movement to the suffragettes to the anti-war protesters of the 20th century to the debates of the moment, our nation is at its finest when debate, fierce advocacy and democratic rule allow us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, to move forward. The greatest issue confronting school leaders today is not critical race theory or any other controversy but rather how we navigate these challenging discussions with an insistence on civility, respect and modeling the best of American discourse for students and communities.

DOUGLAS REEVES is founder and CEO of Creative Leadership Solutions in Boston, Mass. Twitter: @DouglasReeves