Critical Race Theory, My Sitdown Part! | By Louie Overstreet

Critical Race Theory, My Sitdown Part!

BY LOUIE OVERSTREET

Race in America is not a theory — it is a historical fact. However, race is always complicated by at least four facts:

1. Non-progressive whites fear losing “their” country and harbor the mistaken belief that Blacks are secretly seeking retribution.

2. We (Blacks) foolishly believe that because of the sacrifices made and the tough times experienced by our ancestors, we are entitled to some sort of a reverse-privilege for Black folks.

3. The treatment of racial minorities — and for that matter, females — is in direct conflict with the founding documents of our nation.

4. Any discussion of race in America — as an academic undertaking or based on raw emotion — is uncomfortable, even for the most fair-minded citizen.

How many Americans choose to deal with race can be characterized by the most famous line from the movie “A Few Good Men.” Jack Nicholson’s character, Col. Nathan Jessup, stated, “You can’t handle the truth!” In this case, “you” are the citizens of the USA.

Regarding Critical Race Theory, the most succinct (but not necessarily the best) definition I have reviewed was in the Encyclopedia Britannica: “Intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed category that is used to oppress and exploit people of color. Critical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create, maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African-Americans.”

Admittedly, I do not know much — just a little more than my detractors give me credit for. But our reality ain’t a theory, it is a historical fact as documented in the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, the Civil War, the lynching of over 4,000 Blacks, and Jim Crow laws.

(Chuck Bremer, now that you have egged me into writing this column, is it okay to send along the “what say you?” criticism I am going to receive?)