In a recent Opinion (“CRT presentation,” Fountain Hills Times Independent, July 25), Dave Long offered his take on a presentation he attended on Critical Race Theory, entitled “The Truth About CRT,” presented by Stephen Davis of Turning Point USA (TPUSA).

Right off the bat, Mr. Long advises us that TPUSA is “an organization maintaining ties to far-right extremists including…white nationalists.” In other words, a bunch of racists. Curiously, the presenter, Stephen Davis, was an African American. Is this to suggest that an African American can be a white nationalist? Really? How does that work, exactly?

Didn’t the achievement of civil rights provide every American the right to free speech? Or is speech to be limited to a certain political agenda for members of a given race? That is exactly what Critical Race Theory (CRT) is all about.

Simply put, CRT is cultural Marxism. Karl Marx advanced his theory of class struggle with the “haves” economically exploiting the “have-nots.” Modern-day “woke” is just a pale reflection of this discredited ideology. Seeking to somehow redeem Marxism, critical theory emerged. The class struggle is now presented as racial identity politics – a racial conflict highlighted by white privilege and systemic racism.

When this divisive ideology is presented in our schools, it claims that all whites are oppressors, even if they never utter a racist comment. As TPUSA’s Stephen Davis stated, we do indeed need to “protect our kids” from this corrosive Marxist ideology masquerading as a legitimate academic endeavor.

Mr. Long states that we should profit “from the lessons learned throughout history in relation to race.” Granted. But truth demands an honest review of American history, both the warts and the successful efforts to achieve equality. We do not need our schools infiltrated by CRT’s devious cultural Marxist agenda.