Commentary There are numerous politicians who fervently wish critical race theory (CRT) to besquelched, cancelled, and ignored. This mostly pertains to elementary and high schools. I take no position on this whatsoever. My task is to assess the propriety of CRT being discussed, debated, talked about, and taught at colleges and universities. For example, Idaho is in the process of prohibiting the teaching of this theory at its institutions of higher learning (pdf). What is CRT? It can be defined, by proponents and opponents alike, as the claim that the United States is systematically racist—some say irredeemably so; others deny this. Whites (and Asians?) are in positions of power; they use this situation to exploit, oppress, and offend blacks and browns. Sometimes these rights violations are purposeful and explicit, as in the case of out-and-out prejudice and bigotry. But more often it’s an implicit part and parcel of institutions that …