Critical Race Theory, or CRT, has become the latest point of contention in our particularly contentious society.

Conservatives and liberals argue about what it is, and what it is going to do to our country. Conservatives feel it is a wild-eyed, marxist condemnation of White people as racists in control of a racist society, and is being used to sully our nation’s history, poison our school children’s minds and divide the people. Liberals see it as a recognition of the how racism has shaped policies in our social system, and that recognition is the first step to eliminating the racism that continues to permeate our society.

If we are going to argue about Critical Race Theory, we ought to at least be able to agree on what it is. That’s why the program sponsored Monday by the New Ulm Human Rights Commission was so valuable. The presentation by Dr. Andy Johnson, professor of education at Minnesota State University, Mankato was made to a crowd that packed in to the New Ulm City Hall council meeting room. He presented information on CRT, to explain what it is, and what it isn’t, where it started and where it is going.

CRT is an academic social theory developed in the late 1970s that says racism is a social construct that is embedded in our legal system and policies. With the eruption of protests against police violence against Blacks, CRT has become a focal point.

We appreciate the Human Rights Commission’s efforts to present information on CRT, and we agree with those at Monday’s meeting that we could use a few more of these discussions, not to argue about CRT but to help define what it is we are arguing about.