“What are they afraid of?” is the question that comes to mind watching people’s frantic faces as they descend on school board meetings across the country with their signs decrying critical race theory.

Race and racism have played a significant role in this country from the beginning, and many of our institutions and policies reflect that. From the Homestead Act of 1862 to the GI Bill after WWII to the “red lining” and federal housing policies that kept Black people from owning homes, people of color have been marginalized and denied opportunity from the beginning (“The Sum of Us,” Heather McGhee, page 21-22).

It’s possible for us to know this history and still love our country. Acknowledging that these practices existed and still exist in other forms allows us to do better, to become that “more perfect Union.”

But this is really about stirring up another culture war in advance of the 2022 midterm elections. That is why the Heritage Foundation, American Legislative Exchange Council and other conservative groups are behind these efforts, even though it may appear to be “grassroots,” according to opinion contributor Jim Jones in The Hill.

If they can keep us at each other’s throats they hope we won’t notice as they pick our pockets again and again, working to keep the wealthy and powerful in control. Divide and conquer.

Mary Ann Larson
Cumberland