CFA Signs on with Dozens of Educational Organizations to Denounce Trump’s Assault on Critical Race Theory

During Fall Assembly, CFA joined on with more than 90 collectives, organizations, schools, and colleges to pushback against the Trump Administration’s racist-minded assault on critical race theory and racial bias training. 

In the statement by U.S. Educators and Educational Scholars, educators across the country wrote that:

“The research is clear that a race-conscious curriculum does not fuel divisiveness; on the contrary, it improves cross-racial attitudes and relationships. A race-conscious curriculum does not detract from academics; on the contrary, particularly for students of color, who are now the majority of U.S. K-12 students, it increases learning, retention, and graduation. None of this should be surprising: children and youth bring to school their ongoing experiences with racism, and many welcome curricula that help them name and make sense of those experiences.”

CFA stands against the teaching of only a white supremacist rendition of U.S. history, society, culture, and other areas of knowledge. Our unions stands for the teaching of critical race theory, the implementation of ethnic studies for all CSU students, and racial bias training in all workplaces. Many movements across the country and across the world have been led by educators. This statement to defend critical race theory continues that tradition as this administration tries to silences the voices of millions of Americans.

“A recent executive directive has banned critical race theory, anti-racism workshops and deemed these as un-American because of their central premise that racism is systemic, structured into the fabric of our society and culture,” said Sharon Elise, Associate Vice President of Racial and Social Justice at CFA. “We, as a social justice union, reaffirm that CFA is firmly committed to an active practice of anti-racism informed by critical race theory.  

“We are uncompromising in our defense of academic freedom.  Further, to be color-blind is to ignore the racial patterns in the impact of the twin pandemics—COVID-19 and systemic racism—currently devastating our communities.”

The administration’s attempts to reshape history and knowledge about terroristic acts in the United States is counter to the realities and experiences of Black, Native American and Indigenous, and people of color all across California and the country.

“In our current political times, we are confronting consistent acts of erasure politics,” said Margarita Berta-Ávila, Associate Vice President at CFA. “If the administration believes that through an executive order they will be able to put forth a false narrative and eliminate historical and current truths that they feel are a threat to their political position, then they are wrong.”

“We know that courses and trainings grounded in critical race theory or an anti-racism lens, are the venues in which students and communities alike learn to name, question, and challenge the racist inequitable conditions in which we live in. The latter is most essential to obtain justice and equity for the collective good.”