The US is suffering from toxic polarization. It’s fueled by the abdication of the truth in favor of an alternative reality that now divides us along ideological lines. Race is one of our most polarizing issues, and along with it, critical race theory (CRT), which examines how systems and policies perpetuate racism. Critical race theory is a specialized intellectual field established in the 1980s by legal scholars that describes how discrimination and racism in the United States is not a coincidence, but rather an outcome that is the result of the biased and slanted policies and practices that have disadvantaged non-white people in the US for more than three centuries.

Now, many conservative lawmakers are latching on to the concept of CRT as a way to stoke fear of inclusion and change, using CRT as a catch-all phrase for restricting how racism and history are taught in schools. Currently, at least 35 states have passed or considered legislation on race education.

The goal of this book is to create some clarity out of the chaos and panic surrounding CRT, and to provide intervention strategies, tactics, and approaches to address the critiques and assertions of CRT skeptics and the anti-CRT lobby. Gaslights and Dog Whistles—Upholding Critical Race Theory and the Real History of Racism in the U.S. illuminates the path we can take to engage our peers in constructive dialogue to both understand their point of view and open up a world of new possibilities for them to move from fear to partnership.