The recent killing of 10 people in a Buffalo supermarket by a self-proclaimed young white nationalist is the latest evidence of a growing concern: the dangerous acceptance of the “Great Replacement Theory,” a conspiracy promoted by white supremacists and far-right television hosts.
unfortunately theory that the influx of immigrants and people of color will lead to the extinction of the white race is gaining ground among Americans who fear that the changing racial composition of the US will eventually shift the country’s power base: Almost every third Americans say they are extremely or very concerned that Native Americans are losing “economic, political and cultural influence” in this country due to rising immigration.
Dylann Roof, the young white supremacist who killed nine black congregants at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, believed in GRT. He has manifesto, Dach made it clear that he was concerned about the loss of white supremacy in America and Europe. “I saw that the same thing happened in England and France, and in all the other countries of Western Europe,” he wrote, “in the homeland of the white people.”
Although GRT has been around for some time, I believe that K12 teachers have not taken into account the extent to which some young people will defend ‘whiteness’. History shows that violence is a tool of white supremacy: from killing native americans to The lynching of black Americans during the Jim Crow eraracial violence was used to protect the status quo of white supremacy and racism in the US
If our students continue to have access to unchecked racist propaganda and misguided history through social media, they will be vulnerable to racial violence.
So I believe the only way to combat racial violence is to teach young people to be “anti-racist,” which includes learning the history of American racism and global colonization. However, the teaching of this content has become a flashpoint, with many parents and school board members arguing that teaching about racism in schools is itself divisive and makes children hate white people.
Right-wing groups have begun to label anything in schools that focuses on racism, diversity, or equality, or acknowledges our country’s racist history, with the catch-all term critical race theory, or CRT. The term has been used by white supremacists to make people think that blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, and indigenous peoples are a threat to their power or their “whiteness.”
But CRT is not about creating division or hating white people. Rather, it is an academic concept that emerged from the study of how race and racism are embedded in legal systems and public policy. And as a result of studying racism, I believe students become more thoughtful in their actions and more likely to accept differences.
On the subject: Banning critical race theory ignores truths that all students need to hear
However, this fear of white supremacy and perceived threat were the driving factors behind the killer’s actions in Buffalo.
If our students continue to have access to unchecked racist propaganda and misguided history through social media, they will be vulnerable to racial violence.
So how do we combat the ideology of white supremacy and propaganda like GRT? There is only one way: anti-racism education. We must counter racist ideology with truth, facts, and the reality of American and world history. We must effectively teach students of all ages about the history of racism and how racism affects today’s systems (health care, education, criminal justice), policies, and structures.
On the subject: What do classroom conversations about race, identity, and history really look like?
Classrooms must embrace racial and cultural diversity and become places where students learn about the ramifications and long-term effects of hate. And teachers need to be equipped with an understanding of extremist propaganda like GRT.
Harvard University teachers Adrienne Stang and Julia Jeffries provided five useful guidelines for teaching the history of racism:
- Create a classroom culture that values students’ diverse social identities (eg, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender).
- Use primary sources. The exact words of people described in history books can help students relate the material to the present day.
- Make sure content is age and developmentally appropriate, and provide support for emotional processing.
- Highlight individual stories of success and struggle.
- Get the whole school involved. All teachers, not just history teachers, need to understand and incorporate the history of racism into their lessons.
Experts also advise that teachers become more aware of racial and cultural relations before teaching difficult stories about racism. Here, on American University School of Educationwe introduced an anti-racist teacher training curriculum in which ‘self-inquiry’ is a core component of teacher training.
We found that teachers also need training on how to apply their knowledge of racism and anti-racism to their actual classroom practice and strategies.
Ultimately, if we fail to teach the history of racism and its impact on modern society, we are doing our students a huge disservice. In effect, we leave them open to radicalization by white supremacists.
Perhaps if schools had paid more attention to teaching the truth about the history of racism in the US, rather than banning books about slavery in the US, we could have prevented the racist violence in Buffalo.
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy is the dean of School of Education at American University.
This story is about anti-racism training was produced The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Subscribe to Hechinger Newsletter.
