at the time of this writing, not a single grade school in the united states teaches or has ever taught Critical Race Theory (crt).

to understand why some pundits, politicians, and funders of politicians are saying otherwise and doing everything possible to spread fear about it, it helps to understand what critical Race theory actually is, and what these folks say it is.

so, the reality first: Critical Race theory states that many laws, the criminal justice system, education, the housing market, the healthcare system, and some other systems have different outcomes depending upon your race. it delves into the laws, procedures, rules, and processes that cause this to happen in an attempt to understand and address them.

this is very different from the fuzzy narrative being spun by its opponents and those paid to speak for them, who say that critical race theory is about blaming all white people for a host of ills, making reparations to blacks and native americans, or any other discussion of race, including its place in american history. lately, it has even been tied to being in favor of communism and/or socialism.

because these pundits intentionally keep the real definition of crt from their audiences, they can use it to mean anything that they believe will serve their cause, increase their viewership, or win votes.

they have turned crt into a vague, all-encompassing bogeyman that is being used to ban history, sociology, and even math textbooks.

this is largely the result of a man named christopher rufo. here is what he said about critical race theory:

"the goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory’. we have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with americans."

critical race theory does not teach that any race is superior or inferior to another. but the idea that it does - that any race might be viewed as equal or superior to another - causes fear and hate to bubble to the surface.