Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois Family Institute is singling out Wheaton College Professor Nathan Cartagena over his attacks on those opposed to critical race theory (CRT).

“Cartagena writes about CRT—a lot and favorably,” the group posted on its website. “Much of his writing is academic in nature, picking apart arguments from scholars critical of CRT—you know, dancing on the heads of pins kind of stuff. He takes particular aim at Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow, Christopher F. Rufo, who has been influential in exposing the tenets and influence of CRT in academia, the corporate world, and the government.”

In one instance, Cartagena charges “'culture-war agitators such as Rufo aren’t interested in offering a just, charitable understanding of CRT.' As evidence for this claim, Cartagena provides a decontextualized tweet.”

No matter what approach Cartagena or other supporters of CRT teachings take, Jason Kassis is convinced skepticism remains.

“It’s not supported by a majority, regardless of political party,” Kassis recently commented on Facebook in response to a WMBD post that branded it a “lightning rod of the GOP.”

Kassis later added “it was constructed by the left to divide people.”

Radio host and black father Ty Smith agrees and hasn’t been shy about expressing his sentiments.

Smith recently appeared on Fox Business Channel, where he laughed off all the criticism and resistance to his position.

“How do I have two medical degrees if I’m sitting here oppressed,” he said. “The very type of person that they were talking about, that was down, and suppressed, and oppressed, and … disproportionate, and for me to be able to come out of that, to work my way through school to get where I am, I just call BS on it – it’s nonsense.”

Smith raised those same concerns and then some during a recent District 87 School Board meeting where he again called foul and warned the he fears the teachings will do more harm than good, especially where the minds of young, impressionable students are concerned.

“How to dislike each other, that’s pretty much all it's going to come down to,” Smith said in a video posted to YouTube. “You’re going to deliberately teach kids this white kid got it better than you because he’s white. You’re going to purposely tell a white kid all the black people are down and oppressed. How do I have two medical degrees if I’m sitting here oppressed? No mom, no dad in the house, I worked my way through college.”

The issue of critical race theory has sparked a national debate over teaching about race and racism in school districts. Often compared by critics to actual racism, CRT is a school of thought that generally focuses on how power structures and institutions impact racial minorities.