EP28: Mission Critical (ft. Robert Greene II & Nick from Fred Hampton Leftists)

It’s time to go war! Culture war, that is. This time, over critical race theory. Conservatives have mobilized an attack on CRT, and Democrats have defended a defanged version of these radical ideas. Even the military, by way of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley, has weighed in. He’s all for reading and understanding “white rage” — for strategic reasons, of course. This week, Darts and Letters tries to understand a powerful set of ideas dragged into the popular imagination through cynical politicking. But we also lodge left-wing critiques, and ask: is CRT good for the left, or should we embrace a universalist politics?

• First (@13:49), Robert Greene II is an intellectual historian at Claflin. He points out that until recently, few people outside of academia had even heard of critical race theory. He explores the origins and motivations of attacks on CRT, explains the historical and contemporary context, and argues that CRT should be embraced (at least partly) in the leftist theoretical toolkit.
• Then (@54:06), Nick Cruse is a Fred Hampton Leftist, co-founder of Ten Demands, and board member of National RCV. He calls out the faux radicalism of the center-left in general, and Democrats in particular, arguing they weaponize black identity in the service of dividing and conquering the working class — that is, in service of neoliberalism.

——————-FURTHER READING AND LISTENING——————-

• Read Robert Greene II’s piece on critical race theory in Jacobin and visit his page at Claflin University. Have a look at more of his work for The Nation. He’s on Twitter, too.
• Check out Nick Cruse’s work, and that of his colleagues, through the Fred Hampton Leftist page; be sure to check out his Twitter account, too.
• There are plenty of other important pieces to read and listen to as well. Those include a New Yorker take on how a conservative activist “invented the conflict over critical race theory,” historian Matt Karp’s piece in Harper’s on “History as End,” Freddie deBoer’s and Iram Osei-Frimpong’s take on CRT and the American dream on Bad Faith podcast, the Boston Review’s deep dive into “The war on critical race theory,” and Nathalie Baptiste’s assessment of the CRT “panic” in Mother Jones.
• Plus, for a critique of Robin DiAngelo’s work, check out this piece in the Conversation.
• For more from Matt Karp, listen to him talk CRT on Chapo.

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Darts and Letters is hosted and edited by Gordon Katic. Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn. Our managing producer is Marc Apollonio. David Moscrop provided research assistance and wrote the show notes. Our marketing assistant is Ian Snowden. Our theme song was created by Mike Barber. Our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop.

This is a production of Cited Media backed by academic grants that support mobilizing research and democratizing the concept of public intellectualism This episode received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The lead academic advisor is Allen Sens.

Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.