Critical race theory ban leads Oklahoma college to cancel class that taught ‘white privilege’

Melissa Smith says she has never used the words “critical race theory” in her community college course on race and ethnicity. Her syllabus does ask students to learn about racial inequality in the United States — from health to criminal justice to housing — and to “recognize the extent of privilege, prejudice, and discrimination in our society.”

Smith, 38, said she remembers taking a similar course at the University of Central Oklahoma in the early 2000s.

“These classes have been taught forever,” said the adjunct professor.

But Oklahoma is among a wave of Republican-led states scrutinizing and seeking to reshape how teachers talk about race.

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