CRT is no issue in Missouri schools

Eric Schmitt, the attorney general of Missouri and a candidate for U.S. Senate is quoted as having said, "I think what's happened in a lot of our school districts is crazy. We've exposed a lot of them with this radical ideology, critical race theory, and people who tell you it's not happening in our schools, that's not truthful. That's not truthful at all."

I am disturbed by the fact that Schmitt has sought records from school districts he suspected of teaching Critical Race Theory. I am disturbed for a couple of reasons. To date, I have not seen a statement from him which provides his working definition of Critical Race Theory (CRT). Additionally, I have not seen a statement from him that provides a succinct and easy to understand reason(s) explaining why learning about CRT is harmful to the students of Missouri.

CRT is generally understood to be an academic framework denoting that systemic racism is part of American society -- from education and housing to employment and healthcare. CRT states that racism is more than the result of individual bias and prejudice.

This theory was first developed by Harvard Law Professor Derrick Bell and Alan David Freeman of the University of Buffalo Law School. It has been a theory discussed in law schools and not a set of principles taught in the secondary schools in Missouri.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has a website that goes into depth on this topic, it is americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/a-lesson-on-critical-race-theory/

JOHN PIEPHO, 806 Sharon Drive, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 63701