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Nicole Coffey Kellett is a professor of anthropology at the University of Maine at Farmington who specializes in gender, health, economic development, as well as social, environmental, and transitional justice. She is a member of the Maine chapter of the national Scholars Strategy Network, which brings together scholars across the country to address public challenges and their policy implications. Members’ columns appear in the BDN every other week.
Last year, my son came home reporting that he regularly heard racist comments while at school. He did not come to me out of concern, but rather mentioned it in passing, as if this was just a normal occurrence. I probed a bit further to learn that it was not unusual for students in his class to use the “N” word and other racist language at school and via social media (some perceiving it as merely cussing) and I wondered where this was coming from.
The younger generation is subject to the values and messages of their family and social media, but also where they spend most of their time – school. There has been a full-frontal assault on critical race theory (CRT) in K-12 education, yet there is plenty of race theory saturating the internet filled with bigotry, misogyny, and hatred. Without understanding the history behind the “N” word, yet hearing it in music lyrics and stumbling across material from individuals like Christopher Pohlhaus, a neo-Nazi who is building a compound in Springfield, students can easily reinforce ideas without understanding their potential harm. Not only can this foster divisiveness in the classroom, but it also leads to an overall degradation of human empathy.
Overall, the United States has arguably become meaner with hate crimes rising in 2020 to a 12-year high, racist inspired mass shootings, and plummeting social trust. Hate groups have been increasing throughout the country including here in Maine. In March, the Anti-Defamation League released a report demonstrating that white supremacist activity increased by 50 percent in Maine and 96 percent in New England in just one year. White supremacists groups such as NSC-131, the Colchester Collection in Machias, New Albion in Jackman, and Patriot Front with roots in Charlottesville, Virginia, are stoking violence and fear in communities throughout the state.
Critical race theory is a key counter to the spread of hate groups, yet following former President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13950, federal, state and local government agencies across the country introduced 250 measures to ban teaching critical race theory. Since the order was revoked the number of attempted bans has risen to 619 with over 90 percent targeting K-12 education.
This year, New Hampshire passed into law House Bill 554 that bans any instruction or training in the state on systemic racism. Here in Maine, LD 618 proposes the elimination of any instruction related to critical race theory, social emotional learning, and initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion in school curricula.
Already, students commonly feel that much of history has been omitted in their K-12 education. For example, just last month when discussing the development of Black Codes that criminalized recently freed slaves, which then led to the precursors of contemporary mass incarceration, my university students exclaimed, “How did I not know this until the age of 20?”
Critical race theory is not about dividing the world into victims and oppressed versus privileged and oppressors. It is about understanding the roots of structures that have caused harm. CRT provides critical insights into what is happening today and builds empathy for the experiences of others, which fosters happiness. CRT can prevent children from perpetuating divisiveness that fosters hate groups and terrorizes communities and CRT can help students imagine and build systems that serve everyone.
My son did not comprehend the gravity of the use of language in his class, yet once we provided a few examples of how racialized language has been weaponized for harm, he started to understand. But this learning cannot be limited to a few discussions, rather it must be incorporated holistically into all aspects of the school curricula. We must fight against the anti-critical race theory fervor that has spread throughout this country to prevent the spread of hate throughout the great state of Maine, and beyond.
