The Maricopa Community Colleges District (MCCCD) library houses an online collection of Critical Race Theory (CRT) articles, videos, and guiding questions about white privilege, social justice, and racism that are made available for community college students.
The materials are not labeled as CRT curriculum but as “Cultural Diversity Resources.” In a statement on the Arizona Department of Education’s website explaining Critical Race Theory, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said, “Critical Race Theory is real, no matter what it’s called.”
Horne also stated that because those who support Critical Race Theory understand the off-putting associations of CRT, “efforts are made to use other terms or no terms at all. That leaves enough room to deny that something labeled CRT is taught.”
The online collection features information on equity, diversity, inclusion, microaggression, racial profiling, and unconscious bias. Community college students with access to the resources in the online library can also follow a link and take a test from the Learning for Justice website, a Southern Poverty Law Center project, to measure their “hidden bias.”
Also available among the materials are videos such as “How to Recognize Your White Privilege and Use It To Fight Inequality” and “How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time.” Students are encouraged to read definitions about racial profiling and biased policing in an encyclopedia on racism. There are also links to information about reparations and an article called “Dear White People…10 Ways You Can Show Up for your Black Friends and Colleagues.”
In a section called “Gender Identity and Representation,” students are presented with focus questions that ask them to think about how they formed their gender identity and how they know what defines masculinity and femininity. In addition, there are articles about men’s and women’s social roles and a video about “Why Gender Identity Justice Matters for Everyone.”
The reaction against teaching CRT has not been confined to addressing the issue on college campuses. In March 2023, Arizona Senate Bill 1305 sought to prevent CRT from being taught by teachers in K-12 schools across the state, but Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill.
While CRT curriculum continues to be used on many college campuses, proponents are still trying to implement its ideas into K-12 classrooms nationwide. Some teachers who favor CRT are determined to continue pushing the controversial beliefs. Horne said Critical Race Theory “is being taught in many public schools. It’s not a myth, and it’s not just a college-level curriculum. It’s an ideology that can wear many different labels.”
Horne said he the beliefs a concern because the students going through the education system can become influenced by CRT, and those who become future educators will bring the ideas of CRT into the classroom. He warned, “the principles of CRT are conveyed to children, which is happening today because at the very least it permeates many colleges of education that produce today’s classroom teachers.
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Debra McClure is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Debra on X / Twitter.
