In March, the Alabama House of Representatives proposed a bill that would ban “divisive concepts” from K-12 and public institutions of higher education. House Bill 312, proposed by House Republican Ed Oliver, specifically targets critical race theory (CRT) in publicly funded institutions, including, but not limited to, The University of Alabama.

CRT has been a hot topic of conversation in recent years; in fact, Fox News reportedly mentioned CRT over 900 times in July of 2021 alone, saying everything from CRT has infected the military to calling it an Obama-era racial equity discipline that turned American Classrooms into war zones. 

Amid the political pamphleteering, the honest answer to “What is CRT?” can be hard to find, but it may be much closer than we think. And it should stay that way.  

Critical race theory is a complex legal theory with a long and storied history.

CRT has its foundations in the philosophical writings of lawyer Derrick Bell. The theory came from the idea that American law had historically benefited the rich while putting the poor at a distinct disadvantage. 

Bell noticed that the conversation revolving around the systematically disadvantaged didn’t include any Black lawyers, and from this, he developed critical race theory. In short, the theory is the idea that many American institutions have been historically discriminatory towards people of color, and the effects of that discrimination didn’t end with the Civil Rights Act. 

Author Vicky Osterweil goes as far as to say that “Property, state, government and economy in America rise from the pillars of racialized dispossession and violence.”

Republican Alabama Representative Ed Oliver says, “We are fighting for a colorblind America and we believe that it is an abuse of power to subject students or employees who are in a subordinate position to learn racist concepts.” Essentially, this bill would stop teachers from forcing students to “assent” to certain ideologies like CRT. While no teacher has ever forced me to agree with class material, this bill creates an uneasy working environment for teachers simply trying to do their jobs. 

Some may argue that fighting for a “colorblind” America when the roots of this country are anything but colorblind is intellectually dishonest. At a university, especially in Alabama, we need to fight for our educational freedom at every step. 

In February, HB312 was modified as a compromise to House Democrats. However, the compromise of this bill is still riddled with the same legal rhetoric that endangers the safety of American teachers to do their job freely. 

Students at the University should fight for their educational freedom. Bills like this and any compromise offered aren’t about critical race theory at the end of the day — but protecting our rights to learn. 

Settlements to bills that threaten our rights to learn about topics no matter how “divisive” shouldn’t be entertained, simply because the education of students isn’t up for debate.