Hi, John: 

“When you make racism unspeakable, you make equality unachievable.”

Those are the wise words of Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading law professor, scholar and co-founder of the African American Policy Forum, in her conversation with Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson. The two civil rights activists got together to kick off Black History Now Live, a video series pushing back against the whitewashing of Black history. Their conversation: “Preserving Black History in the Classroom.” Check it out on COC’s YouTube and Facebook channels starting at 7 p.m. ET.

As COC members, John, we watched the racial justice movement notch historic victories since the summer of 2020. But we also are witnessing a growing backlash from folks who are threatened by our challenge to the status quo.

People and institutions who benefit from white supremacy see us building collective Black power. They see us in the streets, in schools and in halls of government, telling the truth about how structural racism is embedded in American life. They know that teaching accurate, honest history to the next generation is critical to achieve racial equality and justice.

That’s why you might have noticed the coordinated attack against “critical race theory” (CRT) in schools and popping up in school board meetings and state legislatures across the country in recent years.

Bills to ban CRT in schools have nothing to do with actual critical race theory, which – ask Professor Crenshaw – is a graduate school-level framework to understand how the law perpetuates inequality.

The right simply rebranded CRT as a catchall term to block white students from learning Black history. They don’t want their children to hear Black stories or know the truth about the founding of this country.

Professor Crenshaw made a larger point in her conversation with Robinson.

“Even people foaming at the mouth at school board meetings couldn’t define critical race theory if their lives depended on it. They’re trying to make racism unspeakable – so the disparities it produces have no source,” she says. “When you make racism unspeakable, you make equality unachievable.”

Watch the video here for more from Robinson and Crenshaw. And stay tuned for even more from Color Of Change’s Black History Now Live series in the weeks to come.

Until justice is real,

— The Color Of Change Team