Civil Rights and Wrongs for April 5, 2022

The term Critical Race Theory (CRT) is often heard in the news these days, especially in right wing media, even though few really understand its meaning.  This Tuesday we present an encore of a show that first aired on August 17, 2021.  We discuss CRT and historical revisionism with David DeMatthews, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at UT Austin.  Last July he wrote an opinion piece for the Austin American-Statesman titled, “SB3 Seeks to Rewrite History. That Should Concern All Texans.”  We’ll hear about efforts of the Texas Legislature to regulate the teaching of Social Studies in Texas schools through HB3979 and SB3 – both of which are now law in the State of Texas.  We also have regular guest Jim Harrington, retired founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project.  And Michelle Manning-Scott, associate producer of this program, joins us as well.

In a new segment later in the program, we speak with Brant Bingamon about two recent articles he wrote for the Austin Chronicle.  The first deals with a recent suicide at the Travis County Jail, which exposes the porous boundary where mental illness meets criminal justice.  The second reveals that racial profiling is still plainly evident in the latest statistics from APD for traffic stops, arrests and use of force.