The Mississippi Senate passed a bill on Friday, Jan. 21 that would ban schools from teaching critical race theory. Not all senators were a part of the vote, however, as all Black lawmakers walked out in protest of the bill before voting began. Considering critical race theory deals directly with the inequality of race in America, the fact that only white senators voted to pass it speaks volumes as to the nature of the issue. The bill is just one of many similar bills that have been passed in Republican-led states such as Arkansas and Tennessee. As the superintendent of education has said that critical race theory is not being taught in Mississippi schools and there is no compelling evidence to the contrary, the question is this: what’s the point?
Critical race theory is typically defined as “an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped public policy and institutions such as the legal system, and how those have perpetuated the dominance of white people in society.” Though the bill in question is titled “Critical Race Theory,” this definition and any other are absent from its main text. The bill instead says that no school could teach that any “sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.” By using the title of critical race theory and then going on to say it is wrong to teach anyone is inherently superior or inferior, lawmakers are likening the teaching of racism in Mississippi to teaching students that there are differences in the value of different races.
Black lawmakers have claimed that the bill is unnecessary, with Democratic Sen. David Jordan of Greenwood saying that all people are created equal, and children should be taught “the good, the bad and the ugly about what has gone on.” Jordan also said he believed the bill would do more harm than good. If Black senators, who have been impacted by racism themselves, do not believe the bill is necessary, the motives of the Republicans leading the charge against critical race theory come into question. Considering the bill came into prominence directly following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, it feels like the true goal of the law is to further silence African American stories and the history of white supremacy in the American South.
If passed, Mississippi will become the 10th state to enact legislation banning critical race theory being taught in schools, despite there being no evidence that curriculum includes any discussion of the topic. These laws follow former President Donald Trump’s repeated critiques of critical race theory, claiming that teaching the topic in schools borders on “psychological abuse.” Trump uses the term critical race theory to describe any instance of teaching the history of systemic racism in the United States and even signed an act before leaving office that promoted “patriotic education” by downplaying the role of slavery in U.S. history.
There is no proof of critical race theory being widely taught in Mississippi schools, or any other state for that matter, so the bill is looking to police an issue that does not exist. Not only is this legislation a waste of congressional time and resources, but also a clear attempt by the Mississippi government to make it more difficult for schools to teach children about the racist past of the state. Attempts to remove curriculum surrounding historical issues like slavery and Jim Crow leave openings for America’s racist past to repeat itself. Despite the public statements of good intent, the critical race theory bill is a perfect example of using government resources to underplay the effects of racism in Mississippi and put up educational barriers against problems that do not exist.
Briley Rakow is a sophomore majoring in integrated marketing and communications from Lemont, Illinois.
