The Debate Over Critical Race Theory

<p>In Loudoun County, Va., a fierce debate has been raging for months inside normally sleepy school board meetings.</p><p>At the heart of this anger is critical race theory, a once obscure academic framework for understanding racism in the United States.</p><p>How, exactly, did critical race theory enter American public life, and what does this debate look like on the ground?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/trip-gabriel?smid=pc-thedaily">Trip Gabriel</a>, a national correspondent for The New York Times. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>In a culture-war brawl that has spilled into the country’s education system, Republicans at the local, state and national levels are trying to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/critical-race-theory.html"> block curriculums that emphasize systemic racism</a>.</li><li>More than 20 states have introduced legislation<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/arts/critical-race-theory-scholars.html"> restricting lessons on racism</a> and other so-called divisive concepts.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>