北卡罗来纳州罗利——前总统唐纳德·特朗普对此表示反对。美国参议院的共和党人提出了一项决议，谴责任何对教师进行这方面培训的要求。几个共和党控制的州已经在立法中引用它来限制公立学校如何教授种族。
被称为关键种族理论的概念是共和党的新避雷针。但是到底是什么呢?
这个词似乎不知从哪里冒出来，出现在州议会和政治集会上。在过去的几个月里，它已经从左翼的一个模糊的学术讨论点演变成右翼的一个政治口号。
例如，周三，在国会就军方应对种族主义和极端主义的方法举行听证会期间，批判性种族理论成为一个热点，当时参谋长联席会议主席马克·米利(Mark Milley)将军强烈回击了共和党议员的指控，即这一努力正在造成分裂和打击士气。
然而，即使是那些谴责或试图在学校禁止批判性种族理论的人，也常常难以界定它是什么。很难找到学生被灌输其原则的真实例子。
什么是临界种族理论?
批判种族理论是通过种族主义的视角思考美国历史的一种方式。学者们在20世纪70年代和80年代发展了这一理论，以应对他们认为的20世纪60年代民权立法后种族进步的缺乏。
它的中心思想是种族主义在国家机构中是系统性的，它们的作用是维持白人在社会中的主导地位。
该理论的设计师认为，美国是建立在窃取土地和劳动力的基础上的，联邦法律保留了基于种族的不平等待遇。支持者还认为种族是文化发明的，而不是生物的。
金伯利·克伦肖是最早的支持者之一，他是总部位于纽约市的社会正义智库“非裔美国人政策论坛”的执行主任。她说，最初，这只是“讲述一个关于我们是谁的更完整的故事。”
批判种族理论在学校被教授吗?
几乎没有证据表明批判性种族理论本身正被教授给K-12公立学校的学生，尽管其中的一些核心思想，如奴隶制的挥之不去的后果，已经被。在康涅狄格州的格林威治，一些中学生接受了一项“白人偏见”调查，家长们认为这是该理论的一部分。
北卡罗来纳州的共和党人以威克县公立学校系统为例，称教师参加了一个关于批判性种族理论的专业发展会议。一旦被发现，县教育官员取消了未来的学习课程，但坚持认为该理论不是其课堂课程的一部分。
“批判种族理论不是我们教给学生的东西，”学校系统的女发言人丽莎·卢滕说。“这更像是学术界关于种族的理论，成年人用来讨论他们所处环境的背景。”
共和党人为什么不安?
许多共和党人将批判性种族理论背后的概念视为重写美国历史的努力，并说服白人，他们天生就是种族主义者，应该因为自己的优势而感到内疚。
但这一理论在某种程度上也成了描述一些保守派认为令人反感的种族概念的流行语，如白人特权、系统性不平等和固有偏见。
共和党的抵制是从哪里开始的?
共和党人经常将1619计划作为担忧的原因。2019年出版的《纽约时报》倡议旨在通过将奴隶制置于美国建国的中心来讲述一个更全面的国家历史故事。
去年9月，当时任总统特朗普将批判性种族理论和1619项目作为白宫聚焦国家历史活动的一部分时，批判性种族理论迅速成为主流。他称之为“对美国历史的讨伐”和“意识形态的毒害”...会毁灭我们的国家。”
各州如何解决这个问题?
根据《教育周刊》的一项分析，到目前为止，25个州已经考虑立法或采取其他措施来限制种族和种族主义的教育。八个州都是共和党领导的，通过法律或行政行动禁止或限制了批判性种族理论或类似概念的教学。禁令在很大程度上解决了课堂教学的问题。虽然一些州的法案点名提到了关键种族理论，但其他州则没有。
上周，德克萨斯州州长格雷格·艾伯特签署了一项法案，禁止公立学校教师将10个概念中的任何一个纳入他们的课程。这包括奴隶制在现在的美国的出现标志着这个国家的真正建立。
应佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)的请求，该州教育委员会上周批准了一项决议，称教授批判性种族理论和使用与1619项目有关的教学材料违反了州标准。佛罗里达州参议员里克·斯科特(Rick Scott)和其他两名共和党参议员上个月提出了一项决议，“谴责要求教师接受批判种族理论教育的做法”。
对共和党的行动有何回应?
教师工会、教育家和社会研究组织担心，这些限制会淡化过去的不公正在今天仍然发挥的作用，从而粉饰美国历史。他们还担心课堂讨论会产生寒蝉效应。
主要的批判种族理论学者认为，共和党领导的措施劫持了关于种族不平等的全国对话，这种对话在明尼苏达州一名白人警察杀害乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)后获得了势头。
一些人说共和党人描述它的方式对他们来说是无法识别的。加州大学洛杉矶分校的法学教授谢丽尔·哈里斯(Cheryl Harris)教授了一门关于这一主题的课程，她说，批判性种族理论教授对白人的仇恨，旨在使美国社会的分裂永久化，这是一个神话。相反，她说，她认为这些提议有一个明确的政治目标——“确保共和党能够在2022年获胜。”
EXPLAINER: So much buzz, but what is critical race theory?
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Former PresidentDonald Trumphas railed against it. Republicans in the U.S. Senate introduced a resolution condemning any requirement for teachers to be trained in it. And several Republican-controlled states have invoked it in legislation restricting how race can be taught in public schools.
The concept known as critical race theory is the new lightning rod of the GOP. But what exactly is it?
The term seemed to appear in statehouses and at political rallies almost from nowhere. Over the past few months, it has morphed from an obscure academic discussion point on the left into a political rallying cry on the right.
On Wednesday, for instance, critical race theory became a flashpoint during a congressional hearing into the military’s approach to addressing racism and extremism, when Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pushed back forcefully against accusations by Republican lawmakers that the effort is creating division and hurting morale.
Yet, even those who condemn or seek to ban critical race theory in schools often struggle to define what it is. Real-world examples of students being indoctrinated in its principles are difficult to find.
WHAT IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY?
Critical race theory is a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism. Scholars developed it during the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.
It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation's institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.
The architects of the theory argue that the United States was founded on the theft of land and labor and that federal law has preserved the unequal treatment of people on the basis of race. Proponents also believe race is culturally invented, not biological.
Kimberlé Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum, a social justice think tank based in New York City, was one of the early proponents. Initially, she says, it was “simply about telling a more complete story of who we are.”
IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY BEING TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS?
There is little to no evidence that critical race theory itself is being taught to K-12 public school students, though some ideas central to it, such as lingering consequences of slavery, have been. In Greenwich, Connecticut, some middle school students were given a “white bias” survey that parents viewed as part of the theory.
Republicans in North Carolina point to the Wake County Public School System as an example, saying teachers participated in a professional development session on critical race theory. County education officials canceled a future study session once it was discovered but insist the theory is not part of its classroom curriculum.
“Critical race theory is not something we teach to students,” said Lisa Luten, a spokeswoman for the school system. “It’s more of a theory in academia about race that adults use to discuss the context of their environment.”
WHY ARE REPUBLICANS UPSET?
Many Republicans view the concepts underlying critical race theory as an effort to rewrite American history and persuade white people that they are inherently racist and should feel guilty because of their advantages.
But the theory also has become somewhat of a catchall phrase to describe racial concepts some conservatives find objectionable, such as white privilege, systemic inequality and inherent bias.
WHERE DID REPUBLICAN PUSHBACK BEGIN?
Republicans often cite the 1619 Project as a cause for concern. The New York Times initiative, published in 2019, aimed to tell a fuller story of the country’s history by putting slavery at the center of America’s founding.
Critical race theory popped into the mainstream last September when then-President Trump took aim at it and the 1619 Project as part of a White House event focused on the nation's history. He called both “a crusade against American history” and “ideological poison that ... will destroy our country.”
HOW ARE STATES ADDRESSING IT?
So far, 25 states have considered legislation or other steps to limit how race and racism can be taught, according to an analysis from Education Week. Eight states, all Republican-led, have banned or limited the teaching of critical race theory or similar concepts through laws or administrative actions. The bans largely address what can be taught inside the classroom. While bills in some states mention critical race theory by name, others do not.
Last week Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill prohibiting public school teachers from making any of 10 concepts part of their curriculum. That includes the idea that the advent of slavery in what is now the United States marks the true founding of the nation.
At the request of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, that state's education board approved a resolution last week stating that teaching critical race theory and using instructional material related to the 1619 Project violate state standards. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, and two other GOP senators introduced a resolution last month that “condemns the practice of requiring teachers to receive Critical Race Theory education.”
WHAT IS THE RESPONSE TO THE GOP ACTIONS?
Teachers’ unions, educators and social studies organizations worry the limits will whitewash American history by downplaying the role past injustices still play today. They also fear a chilling effect on classroom discussions.
Leading critical race theory scholars view the GOP-led measures as hijacking the national conversation about racial inequality that gained momentum after the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota.
Some say the ways Republicans describe it are unrecognizable to them. Cheryl Harris, a UCLA law professor who teaches a course on the topic, said it's a myth that critical race theory teaches hatred of white people and is designed to perpetuate divisions in American society. Instead, she said she believes the proposals have a clear political goal — “to ensure that Republicans can win in 2022.”
