Civil Rights History vs. Critical Race Theory

Last month, Osceola County School District canceled a professor’s civil rights history seminar for teachers, citing in part concerns over “critical race theory” — even though his lecture had nothing to do with the topic. When I dug a little deeper, I found the history professor was  Dr.  Michael Butler – who has been our go-to resource on the civil rights movement in our area.

“This is history, Rick,” said Butler, who teaches at Flagler College. “It’s not supposed to make us comfortable. That’s not the point of history. History is supposed to help us think critically, write clearly, make evidence-based arguments, and more importantly, understand how the past informs the present on issues that still matter, like race relations.”

Share:

Author: Rick Outzen

Rick Outzen is the publisher/owner of Pensacola Inweekly. He has been profiled in The New York Times and featured in several True Crime documentaries. Rick also is the author of the award-winning Walker Holmes thrillers. His latest nonfiction book is “Right Idea, Right Time: The Fight for Pensacola’s Maritime Park.”