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Conservative author and activist Christopher Rufo dedicated his speech at the National Conservatism Conference to denouncing the spread of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the American educational system.
Rufo claimed that it is not necessary to “indoctrinate” children with the “left-wing political ideology” that CRT implies in order to teach them about the history of racism.
Instead, he argued that “what we can do is provide a moral vocabulary and intellectual framework to which they can understand these issues.”
“I think it’s just patently absurd to any normal person that kids 3, 4, 5 years old could be racist,” said Rufo. “and yet our elite institutions are hammering home this message every day, and it’s become the conventional wisdom in many school districts across the country.”
Rufo’s fight against CRT
The conservative author stresses that the ultimate purpose of CRT is not a competition or the transmission of knowledge, but to “play on the psychology of race and politics” and impose it on school children, which is why he decided to expose the reality of CRT head-on.
“So what I did was set out really to embarrass these people, to pin up their documents, always with hard evidence, hard reporting, documentation to expose it and drive attention towards it,” Rufo recounted.
Rufo argues that stories about CRT teaching in schools led to a national debate, and an “unexpected and totally organic, grassroots uprising” by parents in school districts saying enough is enough.
“I want you [the teachers] to teach reading, writing, math, and the essential skills that are going to get my kids ahead, I don’t want you indoctrinating them in your left-wing political ideology.”
Rufo insisted that “what is happening in our schools is not right” and that it is a matter of national interest: “if we accept the conditions of the cultural revolution, we must fight on those same terms.”
CRT, for the author, is today “the dominant ideology in federal agencies” and in the public education system, and the goal of Americans must be to “protect the United States” from the “nihilistic and hostile elite” that promotes indoctrination.
“If the public school is failing to educate (…) every parent should have the right to take those dollars and move them to any school of their choice,” Rufo suggested.
Regardless, the reaction the researcher perceives among parents and the effects of his fight against CRT show him that Americans “still have the instinct of self-governing.”
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.
Daniel is a Political Science and Economics student from the University of South Florida. He worked as a congressional intern to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) from January to May 2020. He also is the head of international analysis at Politiks // Daniel es un estudiante de Cs Políticas y Economía en la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Trabajo como pasante legislativo para el Representate Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) desde enero hasta mayo del 2020. Daniel también es el jefe de análisis internacional de Politiks.