A New York Times Op-ed published this week looked to dispel the conservative belief surrounding the dangers of critical race theory by calling the effort to ban the doctrine "un-American," and likened its teaching to that of students in Germany being educated on the Holocaust.
The authors, conservative commentator David French, libertarian commentator Kmele Foster, Yale University philosophy professor Jason Stanley and cultural critic and author Chatterton Williams, wrote the Monday article that called anti-critical race theory laws dangerous.
They looked to critique recently passed laws in Tennessee, Texas and others that barred the teaching of critical race theory. In opposing the laws that would bar schools from using a curriculum that would make students feel discomfort, guilt or anguish due to their race or sex, the article said that, if such laws were in place in Germany, accurate teachings of the Holocaust would not be permitted.
"These measures would, by way of comparison, make Germany’s uncompromising and successful approach to teaching about the Holocaust illegal, as part of its goal is to infuse them with some sense of the weight of the past and (famously) lead many German students to feel anguish about their ancestry," the authors wrote.
I was honored to work with @kmele, @thomaschattwill, and @jasonintrator to write in the NYT against broad, vague laws designed to suppress CRT. They’re speech codes and thus “antithetical to educating students in the culture of American free expression.” https://t.co/y8kJKvAMBt
— David French (@DavidAFrench) July 5, 2021
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They also argued that red states banning the controversial doctrine is a form of censorship and that denying critical race theory from being taught is a way of turning history into propaganda.
"Let’s not mince words about these laws," the article read. "They are speech codes. They seek to change public education by banning the expression of ideas."
Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee have all signed legislation into law that would ban critical race theory in schools, according to NBC News. More than 20 additional states have proposed bills looking to enact similar bans.
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