The US Army teaches critical race theory to cadets at its prestigious West Point Academy, newly surviving training materials show.
The documents, obtained by Fox News Digital from conservative watch group Judicial Watch, show that the army’s future leadership will be taught to acknowledge their “whiteness” and “privilege,” and to answer training questions through the lens of critical race theory.
According to Fox News, Judicial Watch had to sue the US military twice under the Freedom of Information Act before the training slides were released.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, called the racist training materials “anti-American” and “propaganda.”
“Our military is under attack — from within,” Fitton said in a press release. “These documents show that racist, anti-American CRT propaganda is attempting to radicalize our rising generation of West Point Army leaders.”
A slide from the lessons taught to West Point cadets. The slide gives the cadets a definition of “whiteness” and describes how it helps some but not others
A slide from the training materials that provides West Point cadets with a definition of critical race theory
West Point Military Academy’s main campus in West Point, New York. West Point is the US Army’s premier officer training academy
The documents consist of over 600 pages of training materials, including presentation slides and support questions.
While some focus on things as mundane as bullying, others focus on the experiences of Black people in America and apply critical race theory directly to the problem.
A slide titled “Whiteness” is followed by a definition of the term, describing it as “a place of structural advantage, of racial privilege,” “a vantage point or place from which white people view themselves and the rest of society.” “Refers to a range of cultural practices that are usually unlabeled and unnamed.”
A slide from the training asking cadets what WEB Du Bois would think of the film Barbershop
A slide from the West Point training materials that describes an unspoken barrier between blacks and whites in America
A page from the training materials showing the difference between blacks and whites in America
In other sections, cadets are asked to apply critical race theory to scenarios:
“Do you think affirmative action creates an environment for ‘reverse discrimination’? Use CRT to back up your answer,” read one.
Another says: “What is the difference between desegregation and integration? How would you approach a tenant of CRT about this idea?’
The materials inform the cadets that whites “have primarily benefited from civil rights legislation” and talk about “modern slavery in the United States.”
In another section, the cadets are asked the questions “What would WEB Du Bois think of Barbershop?” Referring to the Ice Cube film about a black owned barber shop in south Chicago.
One passage even quotes Communist Manifesto author Karl Marx to explain that capitalism creates social structures in which the less fortunate are exploited.
“Our military is under attack — from within,” said Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watch group Judicial Watch
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Neither he nor the Department of Defense has commented on the release of the West Point training materials
Neither the Department of Defense nor the Office of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have commented on the materials.
Critical race theory — the idea that racism is so ingrained in the fundamental systems of American equality that it ultimately benefits whites at the expense of blacks — is an increasingly controversial topic as its role in the American education system is debated.
Progressives have argued that it should be taught to all Americans and taught early, while conservatives have argued vehemently that it is anti-American and should be banned.
Some have argued that it has no place in the American military since it teaches soldiers that the Constitution they are sworn to defend is inherently racist.
President Trump established a commission aimed at banning critical race theory from schools in January 2021, but it was repealed by President Biden just two days later, on his first day in office.
A page from the training material that references Karl Marx when he argues that capitalism exploits people
A slide from the published training materials teaching West Point cadets what inclusion means