A U.S. Air Force Academy professor who teaches Critical Race Theory (CRT) to cadets preached in The Washington Post that George Washington was a racist, the United States was founded partly on “inequality, inegalitarianism and second-class citizenship,” and “racism was ingrained in the system from the beginning, and the military still struggles with these issues.”
Lynne Chandler García, an associate professor of political science at the U.S. Air Force Academy, began by referring to the recent appearance by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley before Congress in which he defended teaching CRT in the military. García argued that his testimony “shows that it is not unpatriotic to understand a fuller version of American history, nor does it promote division among our military members.”
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Milley snapped, “I’ve read Mao Tse-Tung; I’ve read Karl Marx; I’ve read Lenin. That doesn’t make me a communist.” When Milley was given a chance to answer the question of CRT being taught in the military, he started by saying that it was important to delve into CRT to “get much smarter” about it: “First of all, on the issue of Critical Race Theory, etc., a lot of us have to get much smarter on whatever the theory is.”
Regarding “white rage,” Milley said, “But 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, and I want to understand white rage and I’m white.”
Milley got defensive about charges that the military has gone “woke”: “And I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned, non-commissioned officers, of being ‘woke’ or something else because we’re studying some theories that are out there.”
Watch: Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, just now on Critical Race Theory, ‘Wokeness’ & Jan. 6. “I’ve read Karl Marx. I’ve read Lenin. That doesn’t make me a communist. So what is wrong with understanding…the country which we are here to defend?” pic.twitter.com/KsRtOoWN0w
— James LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) June 23, 2021
García continued by referencing the Constitution:
In my classes, cadets learn about the ideals embedded in this founding document. We explore the liberalist theories that promoted these ideals, and we embrace our democratic system of government. But we also acknowledge that the United States was founded on a duality: liberalism and equal rights on the one hand; inequality, inegalitarianism and second-class citizenship on the other. Critical race theory provides an academic framework to understand these nuances and contradictions. 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.
García stated that the Constitution “has been used to perpetuate legal discrimination,” claimed “George Washington is said to have initially opposed the recruitment of Black soldiers,” and then pontificated, “In other words, racism was ingrained in the system from the beginning, and the military still struggles with these issues.”
García concluded by sermonizing, “I don’t coddle my cadets out of fear that exposure to certain literatures might make them uncomfortable or test their existing beliefs. Cadets must learn to be brave on the literal battlefield, yes — but they must also be equipped to participate bravely on the battlefield of ideas.”