5th Annual Critical Race Theory Summer School Honors The Anniversary Of Freedom Summer

CRT Summer School has themed this year's programming in honor of the Freedom Summer anniversary.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) Summer School is back for its 5th annual event in Nashville while paying tribute to the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer.

The CRT Summer School advocates for the necessity of critical race theory in education. This year’s “Freedom Summer 2024: No U-Turn on Racial Justice” program honors Mississippi’s 1964 Black voter registration project.

It began July 28 with its “Tip of the Spear: Tennessee on the Frontlines of the War on Woke” plenary. The discussion addressed the southern state’s place in CRT discourse. It included speakers such as State Rep. Justin Jones, Tim Wise, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Freedom Rider Bernard Lafayette.

The program’s ongoing mission is especially pertinent as anti-DEI legislation, book bans, and a crackdown on CRT spread nationwide. The weeklong event will feature additional plenaries and intensives, all meant to spark discussion and strategy to keep Black history taught in schools.

The intensives start with Crenshaw leading the conversation on Intersectionality and the #SayHerName Movement. Michael Eric Dyson will then focus on the Genealogies of Anti-Blackness. The following discussions pertain to American democracy and defending DEI initiatives.

“Color blindness has been weaponized to preclude any real, meaningful education about systemic racism, which connects to attacks on voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s reproductive freedom,” stated Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum, in a press release.

“That’s why anti-racism efforts must be intersectional, just like democracy must be multiracial. Racism is the Achilles heel of our democracy, a deeply-rooted weakness in this country used to forge a war against ‘wokeness,’ or what many of us call education and advocacy. This is the most important election of our lifetimes, and our very democracy is on the line.”

“So this year’s Critical Race Theory Summer School will empower participants with the essential knowledge and tools needed to confront systemic racism and advocate for transformative change in their communities.”

Moreover, plenaries will continue to focus on organizing, resistance, and survival against anti-CRT discourse. From its “Fight the Power: Using History to Find the Courage to Resist We Are the Majority!” to “How to Fight the Autocratic Takeover of Our Public Institutions” meetings, advocates will encourage attendees to fight for this pivotal matter.

All of the program’s discussions, ongoing until Aug. 2, will be available to stream or attend in person.