CRT is frankly a legitimate, but somewhat obscure, legal and literary analytical lens alongside myriad others (Marxist, Jungian, Keynesian, Freudian, Darwinian) utilized by institutions of higher learning. I can guarantee with reasonable certainty that 99% of those who are currently railing against it could not define CRT without having first typed it into their Google machines because they had never heard of it prior to this summer. In almost three decades as an educator, I have not and do not “teach” critical race theory, and I know of no Tar Heel teacher who does. It’s not part of the curriculum, old or new, formal or informal.

I do, however, teach critical thinking theory, which I hope every parent would wish for their children. I ask my students to examine history from multiple angles and through multiple lenses: political, social, economic, religious and, yes, racial. In the examination of patterns in history, it’s imperative to hold history up to the most reflective mirror and shine on it the brightest light, revealing both its beauty and its blemishes.