On behalf of the members of Hands United Building Bridges (HUBB), a multi-faith, multi-racial coalition of congregations and community partners, we are writing in response to the outcry about “critical race theory” and its relation to what is taught in public schools. It is clearly a resonant topic, which has fostered conflict at local school board meetings and has emerged as a key issue in political campaigns. The problem is that this discussion is full of misinformation.
HUBB was founded to encourage dialogue and action promoting racial healing and justice. One of our core values is the importance of learning our history and how it manifests today. We believe that it is impossible to understand the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement, for example, and its call for police and criminal justice reform, without learning the history of slave patrols, public lynchings, and the legacy of racial discrimination in our country’s legal system.
History matters, and it directly impacts the way we experience life today. That’s why we believe that it is vital for children to learn an accurate portrayal of history in Virginia and the United States. Our children need to learn about the plight of the indigenous peoples on whose land we reside, and about the trauma of American slavery, which has its roots in Hampton Roads. They should know about the legacy of Jim Crow, school desegregation and the on-going struggle for civil rights.
You will note that we haven’t said anything about critical race theory. We suspect that hardly anyone reading this column had ever heard that phrase until this year. It refers to a graduate-level academic concept, developed more than 40 years ago, that analyzes the way that racial discrimination is encoded in certain laws. It has nothing at all to do with grade-school education, and the K-12 curriculum in Virginia makes no mention of it.
In reality, critical race theory has been adopted as a catch phrase and talking point by those who see it as a wedge issue that will influence voters. It has no relation to what our children are learning, which is simply a more accurate and inclusive version of American history than we learned when we were kids.
The real tragedy is that this debate risks whitewashing what our children learn, leaving them uninformed about our shared history and unprepared for the critical debates that will shape their lives. In our cities, there are campaigns underway to ban textbooks and library books that discuss racism in historical terms. What kind of message does that send to our children, especially our children of color? Do we have so little confidence in their collective ability to learn from the past and forge a better future?
As people of faith, we are shaped by our history. On our holiest days, we recall Scriptural stories of slavery and liberation, sin and redemption. They are traumatic stories, but they do not foster shame or bitterness — just the opposite. Embracing the truth of those stories helps us live fully and freely today. It reminds us to live with compassion, humility and courage, and we want our children to learn similar lessons at school.
We encourage you to call your local school board representatives and tell them that you want your children — our children — to learn the accurate history of this commonwealth. Furthermore, take the time to learn that history yourself, and talk about it with your family, friends and neighbors. Our experience is that talking about it builds trust and begins to break down the barriers that divide us.
Racism is not primarily about individual animus, after all; it is much more systemic. It is like a wound or an illness that infects us all. The antidote is education and dialogue and action. It starts with telling the truth to ourselves and to our children.
Rabbi Roz Mandelberg of Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Riley of Faith Deliverance Christian Center in Norfolk and the Rev. John Rohrs of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk are co-chairs of Hands United Building Bridges.
