Critical Race Theory on WBAI: UFT Member Daniel Alicea tackles the issue as guest host of Leonie Haimson's Talk Out of School

Daniel Alicea: 

I’m really excited to announce that I will begin guest hosting Leonie Haimson’s Talk Out of School on WBAI 99.5 FM!

My 1st show is this coming Saturday, 7/3/21, at 1 PM.

We will be discussing Critical Race Theory in the context of NYC public schools w/ Dr. Denisha Jones and Dr. David Kirkland

Please join me this Saturday.

Listen to archive - https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=23488

All of us who have worked with Daniel over the past year are excited to see him get this gig. Daniel was one of the few working teachers to come to our rally on Wednesday -- he really gets the idea of bringing people together. We had a great time hanging out at The Dark Horse along with Sean Ahern, who I introduced to Daniel at the rally and they really hit it off, along with the legendary Al Zucker.

Daniel may be taking phone calls. Let me say that I am not a "jump on board because it's progressive" person. I doubt everything and have to be convinced and I will be listening carefully. That's why I joined a history book club focused on race and slavery to educate myself. We began about 4 months ago starting in the 14th century with a list of suggested readings and just hit the pre-Civil War last week. Critics of CRT, mostly from the right but also some on the left - actually those focus on the 1619 project - will jump at anything racially related to carp about and throwing facts at them is useless. 

Some bloggers have been on the case:

• gadflyonthewallblog
• Muzzling America’s Teachers with a Ban on Critical Race Theory is What Orwell Warned Us About 

• CRT Warriors Are Coming For Individual Teachers

• 
  
• Anti-Critical Race Theory warriors are coming for schools, and for the teachers in them.

And: Diane Ravitch: Time for Honesty About “Critical Race Theory”

This issue is personal to me, for two reasons: I grew up in Houston in the 1940s, when it was a completely segregated city; and many years later, I was a friend of the late Derrick Bell, the founder of critical race theory.

Many of our group of 70s activists have a sort of connection to Derrick Bell through Gabrielle Prisco who was his student and very close to him and his family. Her late parents, Gene and Loretta, were part of our core crew until their deaths about 8 years ago. Gene ran for Congress from Staten Island against Vito Foscella, an aweful human being who is trying a comeback as SI boro pres. Randi wouldn't endorse Gene against a Republican right wing slime and then told Gene with her usual bullshit that not endorsing him was the worst decision she made -- I can think of a few more.