The right-wing furore over critical race theory is manufactured, says Charles Siler

American public schools have become aggressively anti-white, pushing radical racist theories into our publicly funded classrooms that threaten the very fabric of our society. And Critical Race Theory (crt) is the reason why. Tune into any conservative news programme on TV or radio, read any conservative publication, or pop into any conservative Facebook or Telegram group, and you’ll encounter this message whenever schools are brought up. How did this obscure, arcane legal theory become the latest inflammatory buzzword in the anti-public-school debate?

I was once one of the libertarian-conservative movement’s pitch men, a public-relations specialist and lobbyist working with the Goldwater Institute and the Foundation for Government Accountability. Depending on the context, I would work with teams of people or semi-independently at these two think-tanks to hone messaging so as to advance our policy objectives. I have a unique insight into how groups pushing radical rhetoric about public schools craft their campaigns.