Oklahoma's Anti-CRT Law Is Having A Chilling Effect On Speech
Sounds like some people are getting triggered by the truth.
Growing up, I thought that the idea of “The Red Scare” was a bit goofy. Terrified politicians, each vying to root out people sharing scary ideas that shook American life to its core. But that was at least about an economic system and propaganda that stemmed from an outside country. I w0uld have never thought that as an adult the problem would be scary ideas, that are true, which came down from our own policy makers, uncles, and grandmas.
HB 1775 is an Oklahoma law that aims to ban teaching that anyone is “inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,” or that they should feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress” because of their race or sex. Facially, this looks fine and common sensical. But the ACLU is going to court claiming that it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. And for good cause. Because what should happen when History professors get to the drug war and, as they ought to, mention John Ehrlichman’s explanation of it? Aren’t African American done a disservice for not being able to be taught about the policies that shaped their grandparents’ lives? Or if a student asks why some schools have GPAs above 4.0? Or why there isn’t more proportionate Asian representation if they are outperforming their white peers in a meritocracy? How can history teachers teach the lynching of Emmett Till in a balanced way? That may sound absurd, but some places are already being expected to give “balanced perspectives” on the Holocaust.
And that’s just an issue of pedagogy. What’s supposed to happen when already underpaid teachers are worried that they’ll get fired for saying something outlandish, like mentioning that the time Philadelphia police bombed their own community and burned the remains might have been race-related? (I mean, could you really see something like this happening in Princeton?)
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I think the way the law will play out will have a clear chilling effect on free speech in Oklahoma’s public schools, especially if teachers and students could get in trouble for how their lessons and speech are merely perceived. Just think about the wide backlash and accusations of racism Colin Kaepernick faced, even though his talking points were plainly backed by data. If this being the thing that the First Amendment was meant to stop is not enough, how about this? Use their rhetoric against them. Each time some slave owner is referred to as one of the country’s heroes, make the argument that the lesson has the effect of inculcating inferiority in Black students. Or when their “westward expansion” module glosses over the Native genocide that it requires, call that CRT. Each time they say the best way to get over race and sexism is to stop talking about it, draw attention to how their focus on colorblindness and meritocracy tends to focus white males who inherited wealth from their families. Isn’t that a little weird?
Oklahoma’s Anti-Critical Race Theory Law Violates Free Speech Rights, ACLU Suit Says [NBC News]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. Before that, he wrote columns for an online magazine named The Muse Collaborative under the pen name Knehmo. He endured the great state of Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.