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In an era of intense political polarisation, teaching American History has become more complex and challenging than ever before.
Teachers of American History have recently found themselves the target of increased scrutiny as the phrase 'Critical Race Theory' (CRT) has moved to the forefront of public awareness, transforming the job of History education in an explosion of anger, misunderstanding, and distrust. This ongoing debate over how race and racism are presented to schoolchildren is not the first disruptive controversy in US public education, and certainly won't be the last. What separates those past debates from the current fervour is the degree to which the public has embraced the conspiracy theory that an inclusive, honest evaluation of history constitutes indoctrination, and that the professionals who make History education their calling are little more than ideological actors. As educators, we must make clear our true intent: to provide students with an unbiased, inclusive and relevant understanding of the past.
CRT originated in the 1970s to explain the continuation of widespread inequality in the aftermath of federal civil rights legislation.1 It has since become a framework for understanding how US social institutions-such as public education and the healthcare system-are embedded with systemic racism through the laws, policies and procedures that govern them.
Advocates of CRT dismiss the premise that racist outcomes are solely attributable to individual bad actors, and b elieve that it is only by recognising the role that race and racism play in shaping so cial outcomes that inequality can be challenged and undone.2 Teaching that racism is a reality of American life in both the past and present clashes with the traditional narratives of progress with which most Americans have been acquainted through their own education.3 Exposing children to new, racialised interpretations of the past is understandably controversial.
The degree to which CRT has actually permeated US public school curricula remains a matter of debate. Many American history teachers have in recent years taken a more progressive stance towards the issue of race in the classroom.
In the 1990s there were growing concerns among Social Studies educators that their discipline was not paying enough attention to the pervasive nature of race in American history. Prentice Chandler builds upon the work of Michael Omi and...