By Casey Harper

For years, activists on the Left rebuffed accusations of racist ideas in education with a pat on the head and a simple response: It isn’t happening, silly. 

But great reporting and investigative work have revealed that actually critical race theory (CRT) was being taught in K-12 schools and that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) polices were the norm across the country. To put it another way, kids are indoctrinated on the taxpayer dime and on classroom time.

A few years ago, I was assured that kids were not being brainwashed in school. “You really think critical race theory is in our K-12 schools?” they scoffed. They dismissed it.

In fact, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), one of the more mindless members of the governing body — which is really saying something — said at a congressional hearing last year: “So we can stop with the nonsense, because K-12 was not teaching critical race theory at least in this country.”

Now, we know better. It’s amazing they said it with a straight face, now that you think about it.

Since Trump’s executive order in January banning DEI in schools that take taxpayer money, those activist leftists have changed their tone from “It’s not happening” to “We won’t give it up. You can pry these programs that don’t exist out of our cold, dead, union hands.” From grade school to grad school, the story is the same.

Consider what just happened in Iowa. A school official was caught on hidden camera talking about how she is tweaking appearances to circumvent complying with President Trump’s executive order banning DEI in public schools. She is at the university level, but the video shows the mindset of administrators in education right now.

Defending Education released a couple of bombshell reports earlier this year backing up the anecdotes. One report found hundreds of colleges still have DEI programs, and dozens have rebranded them to avoid detection.

The other report found that at least 745 K-12 school districts across 46 states and the District of Columbia had DEI programs at the time the report was released. That is nearly 24,000 schools serving about 14,600,000 students.

Turns out the brainwashing that didn’t exist is far more entrenched than we ever realize. Once President Trump turned the lights on, the cockroaches started scurrying. And if you’ve ever had pests like that, you know when you see one that there are 100 more you don’t see.

To be clear, it’s not just DEI. It’s also critical race theory. Despite the denials and eyerolls on the Left, CRT was there all along.

As Rhyen Staley aptly pointed out for RealClear:

“For example, CRT and whiteness are part of a course in Hillsborough Township School District in New Jersey. The course titled ‘Race in the United States’ specifically states in the class guide that key content includes ‘critical race theory’ and other tenets of CRT such as ‘whiteness,’ ‘white fragility,’ ‘implicit bias,’ and ‘internalized racism.’ The course also includes the text ‘Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible.’

"An ethnic studies course at Coachella Valley Unified District in California teaches students about the ‘theoretical foundations of Critical Race Theory’ and ‘to understand how race is socially constructed through Critical Race Theory.’ The students use Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic’s Critical Race Theory: An Introduction as a primary text to help them come to these understandings. The required class also features the ideas of neo-Marxist Paulo Freire and his Pedagogy of the Oppressed.”

Or check out this survey from the Manhattan Institute of about 1,500 18-20 year olds, fresh out of high school and some in college, broadly saying they were taught in school many of the tenets of DEI and CRT.

Now, critics will ignore the evidence above and argue that DEI is different from CRT.

And this is true. DEI is about broad sweeping policies that usually discriminate against white and male students in favor of other groups. CRT is more of a historical teaching that informs students that America is inherently racist, from its founding until the present day. CRT says the beginning of America is not defined by the values in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but rather 1619, when the first African slaves arrived.

However, separating these two ideas is like separating the teaching of the Old Testament and New Testament in a church. I suppose it’s possible, but churchgoers know it is not practical.

The Old Testament shows us the need for a Savior. The New Testament unveils the solution, the Savior. CRT explains that America is bitterly racist and in need of a solution. DEI is the solution. Without accepting CRT, how can you justify the need for DEI in schools and the federal government at all? DEI and CRT go hand in hand, and they always have. Find me a believer in CRT who does not support DEI. Good luck!

But the CRT denial was really semantics. You should only care because this semantic argument was used by the Left to make you feel dumb for asking. What critics on the Right really meant with their allegations of CRT is this: are you teaching racially prejudiced ideas to our kids?

And the answer has always been yes.

Understanding this textbook leftist tactic of dismissal will make you bolder next time around.

We see a similar pattern of “deny and then defend” play out on the trans issue. When criticizing the ghoulish practice of trans surgeries and drugs for kids, one would inevitably hear the argument: “This basically never happens, so why do you even care? Why are you picking on such a fraction of the population?”

Of course, the truth inevitably came out. Nearly two dozen hospitals have announced they are shutting their trans treatment centers for those under 19.

So, I guess it was happening all around the country?

Am I allowed to care now?

Okay, okay, what’s the point? Well, when activists on the Left tell you something isn’t really happening, don’t believe them. Transing children. Indoctrinating kids in school. Leftist political violence. Hunter Biden’s laptop. Election tampering. Spying on Trump’s campaign. It was all happening, no matter what they say. The truth eventually came out.

When it’s finally exposed for the nation to see, they will go from denying it exists to defending it from removal. But at that point, you’ve largely won the battle.

Next time they roll their eyes, don’t look down in shame. You’re probably onto something. 

Casey Harper is managing editor for broadcast for The Washington Stand and host of the Outstanding podcast.