Critical Race Theory & Contempt for America

On July 27, 2021, Weingarten penned a CNN.com opinion piece in favor of teaching the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT), an academic discipline which maintains that: (a) society is divided along racial lines into (white) oppressors and (black) victims, similar to the way Marxism frames the oppressor/victim dichotomy along class lines; and (b) America is permanently racist to its core, meaning that the nation’s legal structures are, by definition, racist and invalid. “Culture warriors are suddenly labeling any discussion of race, racism, discrimination or struggle as critical race theory in an attempt to drive a wedge between Americans and prevent the full and accurate teaching of the American Experiment,” wrote Weingarten. Although “it’s a contrived uproar over something that is not even taught in elementary and secondary schools,” she added, “we need to know the unvarnished truth about our history so we can do better.” “My union, the American Federation of Teachers, will defend any member who gets in trouble for teaching honest history,” pledged Weingarten. “We have a legal defense fund ready to go. And we are preparing for litigation as we speak.”

During a July 2021 broadcast of the MSNBC program Deadline: White House, Weingarten condemned a newly passed Texas law that, by her telling, “basically says that teachers are supposed to say that slavery is a betrayal of the founding principles of our country.” “Now, you know that that’s not true,” Weingarten continued. “I mean, there’s lots of great founding principles of our country, but slavery was embedded in the Constitution.”