A professor at the US Air Force Academy is calling critical race theory “vital” to her students as “our nation’s future military leaders” in a new op-ed.
Lynne Chandler García, an associate political science professor at the US Air Force Academy, began her Washington Post op-ed, published Tuesday afternoon, by referencing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley, who defended teaching “critical race theory” to West Point cadets at a contentious House hearing last month.
“Milley’s recent defense of teaching critical race theory at the US military academies shows that it is not unpatriotic to understand a fuller version of American history, nor does it promote division among our military members,” García said.
“As a professor of political science at the US Air Force Academy, I teach critical race theories to our nation’s future military leaders because it is vital that cadets understand the history of the racism that has shaped both foreign and domestic policy,” she continued, adding that cadets have an oath to the Constitution, making it paramount that they understand it closely.
Critical race theory dictates that race is an underlying dynamic of all human interaction and views the human experience as a constant power struggle between the races, often with a focus on “white privilege.”
Critics have argued against including it in students’ curriculum, with many arguing it teaches children to view each other based on race.
García continued by noting that she taught her cadets about the “duality” of the Constitution and freedom in the United States.
“[T]he United States was founded on a duality: liberalism and equal rights on the one hand; inequality, inegalitarianism and second-class citizenship on the other,” she wrote.
“Critical race theory provides an academic framework to understand these nuances and contradictions,” the political science professor continued. “It helps students identify the structural racism and inequality that has been endemic in American society. And it provides methods for deconstructing oppressive beliefs, policies and practices to find solutions that will lead to justice.”
When asked about the matter in late June at a House Armed Services Committee, Milley defended teaching the academic theory, arguing it’s important for those in uniform to understand “white rage.”
America’s top military officer told the panel that “on the issue of critical race theory, etc., a lot of us have to get much smarter on whatever the theory is.”
“I do think it’s important, actually, for those of us in uniform, to be open-minded and be widely read, and the United States Military Academy is a university, and it is important that we train and we understand,” Milley said.
“And I want to understand white rage, and I’m white, and I want to understand it.”
Milley also appeared to link “white rage” to the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying his electoral loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
“So, what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building, and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America. What caused that,” Milley said.