It is not uncommon in today's racially saturated political climate for a student of higher education to receive a handful of emails from their university's president or provost with a reminder that it is no longer satisfactory to unostentatiously declare yourself "not racist."  Instead, you must "do the work" (as Karl Marx would say) and be a fervent "anti-racist."

Students with little or zero understanding of their university leaders' unadulterated ignorance, or a calculated warped propaganda campaign (which is more likely the case), would be forgiven for taking the term "anti-racist" at face value, believing that being an anti-racist is a sign of good faith and a much-needed practice for the betterment of society.  In fact, anti-racism does not merely mean "against racism," but instead reflects the core pillars of Critical Race Theory (CRT).  Many students blindly follow their university commissars, who are intent on grooming the next generation of revolutionary Marxists.

Often by design, anti-racism is one of the most poorly misunderstood words in the English language.  By acting on their new phrase, Marxist institutions were able to redefine America's commonly held premise that "racism" is a form of prejudice that derives from either hatred or ignorance toward another individual or group.  However, within the ivory towers of America's elite institutions, Ibram X. Kendi's gospel reigns supreme as students are disciplined to believe that the prevailing definition of racism is outdated, fundamentally flawed, and even racist itself.  In fact, claiming you are "not racist" is a form of denial, commonly referred to as the "heartbeat of racism."

In Kendi's words:

The opposite of "racist" isn't "not-racist." It is "anti-racist." What's the difference? One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an anti-racist. One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an anti-racist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an anti-racist. There is no in between safe space of "not racist." The claim of "not racist" neutrality is a mask for racism.

He lays out his configuration in the following manner:

A racist policy is any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between racial groups. An antiracist policy is any measure that produces or sustains racial equity between racial groups. By policy, I mean written and unwritten laws, rules, procedures, processes, regulations, and guidelines that govern people. There is no such thing as a nonracist or race-neutral policy. Every policy in every institution in every community in every nation is producing sustaining either racial inequity or equity between racial groups.

Kendi enlightens us to this apparent indisputable truth that racism is no longer a belief or attitude predicated on disdain for another individual or group based solely on inherent features.  Rather, any figure of disparity is a consequence of visible or latent racism.  Plausible explanations for inequity such as culture, time spent studying, criminal history, and home environment are not to be taken into consideration, as doing so would make you a racist.

Ironically, while archetypes of racism and racist sentiments have notably dwindled in the past many decades, the delineation of racism remarkably continues to expand.  Public progress on race is rejected, or worse, denied, as anti-racist partisans maintain that racism is more prevalent, and more subtle, than ever before.

The debate over what racism entails has purposely become confusing, overwhelming, and unhinged.  We are taught by a select group of wealthy ivory-tower elitists that racism is up, down, interpersonal, structural, and woven into the fabric of our nation as the left never tires of reminding us.

As a handful of scholars have pointed out, most notably author James Lindsay, anti-racism goes hand in hand with Critical Race Theory (CRT), whose underlying principle is that racism is ordinary and pervasive. As Lindsay often articulates, one of CRT's intrinsic ideals is that it raises critical consciousness.  Or, as Robin DiAngelo would say, "the question is not 'did racism occur?,' but 'how did racism manifest in that situation?"  Anti-racism, and thereby anti-racists, mimic this approach as students are "trained" to recognize the racism involved that leads to disparate outcomes. 

For all of anti-racism's abominable and implausible teachings, perhaps most alarming is that anti-racism advances and even encourages discrimination in the name of racial equity.  In this sense, discrimination is considered not "racist," but rather essential in the overthrow of the current status quo — essential in the overthrow of the U.S. capitalist system.  Kendi explains, vividly, "The only remedy to racist discrimination is anti-racist discrimination.  The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.  The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination."

In what can be described as a totalitarian religion dressed up in noble language, anti-racism champions an ever-expanding culture of fear.  The cult of anti-racism is far more interested in silencing dissenters and overturning the liberal order than authenticating the betterment of society.  Why?  As the Marxist left howls religiously, the system itself is inexorably racist, regardless of if any racists actually occupy it.

J.B. Cohle is a college student.

Image: JMacPherson via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.