Trump Order Would Purge “Tired, Old and Evil Idea” from Federal Employment

Press Release | Project 21

Members of the Project 21 black leadership network applauded the Trump Administration for seeking to defund all federal training rooted in “critical race theory,” a radical philosophy promoting a false notion of systemic American racism and pitting races against each other.

“Critical race theory is bigotry, pure and simple. Its advocates should apologize to Jim Crow and South African apartheid supporters for ever offering a critical word,” said Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper. “Claiming that people have characteristics and behaviors due solely to their race is a tired, old and evil idea that has no business being supported by taxpayer dollars.”

Last week, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought instructed the heads of executive branch departments and agencies to “identify all available avenues within the law to cancel” any contracts involving training programs that promote critical race theory, white privilege and the notion that the United States and/or any specific racial or ethnic groups are “inherently racist or evil.” Vought wrote that “[t]he divisive, false and demeaning propaganda of the critical race theory movement is contrary to all we stand for as Americans and should have no place in the Federal government.”

“The methodology of critical race theory and the ideology of antiracism are dangerous,” said Project 21 member Derryck Green. “The logical conclusion of indoctrinating people with the idea that whites have racial privilege and that America is an irredeemably racist country is what has propelled the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots seen in various cities across the country. The president should be congratulated for canceling these so-called training sessions. Too bad the order can’t be extended to colleges and universities where critical race theory is even more heavily reinforced.”

Critical race theory is an inherently flawed practice due to the fact that it instructs people to view race through a “singular lens,” wrote the Heritage Foundation’s Eleanor Krasne in a Daily Signal commentary this summer. It is considered harmful to improving race relations because “it precludes any meaningful conversation about racism and race” and “creates a chasm between two presumably well-meaning people who most likely agree racism is bad, but disagree on the best way to address it.”

“Critical race theory argues that – when it comes to improving their lives and controlling outcomes – black Americans are powerless and must rely on the forbearance of racists or government interference,” said Project 21 member Vince Everett Ellison. “It therefore gives value to the lie of black inferiority and white supremacy. And it deprives black Americans the basic privileges of citizenship and freedom by declaring our inability to compete equally in the nation of our birth.”

“The truth is that critical race theory is just rebranded identity politics designed to keep the liberal hierarchy in place. But it is much more damaging because it perpetuates the bias they claim to end,” said Project 21 member Donna Jackson. “Dwelling on whiteness and white supremacy now has the same physiological impact that the n-word did during slavery and segregation. It creates a superiority-inferiority relationship that implies that white people have to give minorities permission to succeed – which is not true. As a black American, I’ve always believed that what I think about myself is more important than what others think of me and that my success depends on me.”

According to Vought’s memo, OMB will issue detailed guidance for severing ties to critical race theory-based training, and current training and contracts should be immediately terminated.

“This Administration should be applauded by Americans of all races for ending these programs and policies,” Cooper added.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over 25 years, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research.