Shoutout to Educational Leadership faculty Maria Ledesma, who was quoted in the article “Manufactured Boogeyman: Latino Critical Race Theory Pioneers, Advocates Push Back” by NBC News!

“To María Ledesma, associate professor at San Jose State University, critical race theory is about truth-telling, a way of looking at history in a comprehensive way.

Ledesma is not surprised by the theory’s current controversy. “It is a manufactured boogeyman on behalf of conservative politicians and pundits to distract attention from the global racial reckoning movement. By making critical race theory the boogeyman, we hear less about Black Lives Matter, less about police brutality, and less about the real actions needed to change our society.”

The biggest misconception about the theory is that it somehow teaches students of color to hate white people, Ledesma said. “Not true at all; critical race theory does not villainize one group over another.”