Men's Club - April 2022
During our last Sunday of the month meeting on
February 27, using zoom, our Men’s Club was extremely
honored in having a guest speaker who is such an important,
unique, personable and brilliant leader who devoted
our entire meeting to a vital topic. Rebecca Reinstein,
president of Sisterhood and so important to our temple in
so many undertakings, led our discussion on the topic of
Critical Race Theory. Using the computer illustrating her
non political discussion, an outline of her presentation is as
follows:
—What is Critical Race Theory or CRT and why is it so
important. It had been defined as a cross disciplinary intellectual
and social movement of civil right scholars who
seek to interact race into law in the United States and to
challenge mainstream liberal approach to racial justice.
There were so many features of this presentation that a
summary will be highlighted:
—To open, it focuses upon amendments 13, 14 and 15
in our Constitution.
—During the 1970’s with President Johnson leading
changes in civil rights
—Civil Rights had been eroding in certain places and its
laws had been unequal in sections of our nation,
—Support for our public schools had been declining
—Critical legal studies were based upon critical thinking
which tried to analyze issue problems objectively to examine
laws and legal systems and to publicize historical,
social, economic and psychological aspects of legal decisions.
—Academic studies in some law schools never gained
wide spread acceptance.
—Derrick Bell (1930 to 2011)–had been a lawyer with
the Department of Justice, then professor at a California
university, then Dean at a University of Oregon followed by
being a professor of law at Harvard University where he
became the first tenured African American professor and
the first to be tenured.
However, when he protested that black women in the
academic field in that university had not been granted
tenure, he was somehow removed from his position. He
received a position in NYU where he spent the rest of his
life until his death in 2011. He was the first to codify in
establishing Critical Race Theory.
—Kimberly Crenshaw organized a CRT workshop at the
University of Wisconsin in 1989 and in 2002, more than 20
United States schools offered these courses in colleges
and universities.
—Critics of CRT cited that there was too much time
given to story telling and not enough factual analysis.
Many critics felt that children should be taught about the
facts of racism. Many feel that racism is embedded in the
legal system and in policies.
—Christopher Rufo, with the Manhattan Institute Think
Tank is a major critic of CRT. He claims that CRT will overturn
the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.
He contacted a former president to ban CRT in the federal
government.
—Governor DeSantis of Florida advanced anti-CRT legislation
with “Stop the Woke Act”. This act began in 1930
to alert to the injustices in society, especially to African
Americans. This movement examines places where African
Americans are being discriminated adapted to Black Lives
Matter.
—An Anti-CRT bill will ban CRT in all Florida schools
even though it has not been taught. Parents will be allowed
to see whether it will be taught in the Florida schools in the
future.
—1619 Project offers a version of the American past and
present and focuses upon 1619. At that time in the month
of August, a ship had arrived in the British colony of Virginia
carrying 20 to 30 enslaved people from Africa.
—Heritage Foundation—presents economic freedom
based upon the rule of law, property rights, government
integrity, regulatory efficiency, business and labor freedoms
and monitory freedoms.
—And a statement that one should learn from is that if
information that is offered to you is offensive, then you are
less likely to repeat it.
—Our club applauded Rebecca for her outstanding presentation
and valuable knowledge. She is so unique, brilliant
and has outstanding qualities.
Be Well and Stay Safe,
Bernie Stauber