"That Sounds Scary, Let's Ban It": Manufactured Ignorance and the Attack on Critical Race Theory

• In Event: Let's Ban It: Navigating Polarizing Political Climates and Race Critically

Abstract

As we begin to transition into a post-pandemic life, and students will resume learning in their school buildings, K-12 educators are faced with a new set of challenges as a result of the attack on critical race theory (CRT). The conservative attack on culturally relevant pedagogy and social justice curriculum is nothing new, and their discourse consistently promotes colorblind ideologies. As we analyze some of their documents regarding banning and controlling conversations about racism in K-12 classrooms, we determine that the ideas they propose actually manufactures ignorance in an attempt to maintain hegemony.

Authors

• Erin Christine Scussel, Georgia State University

• Jennifer R. Esposito, Georgia State University