On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pastor Corey Brooks wanted to share some of his thoughts with his readers. Today marks the 58th day of his 100-day rooftop vigil to reduce violence by building a transformative community center that will increase the equality of opportunity for those that live on the South Side of Chicago.
What follows has been lightly edited. We strongly encourage you to watch the accompanying video so you may hear the pastor in his own words.
CHICAGO – Today, I want to share with you something that has been a hot topic around the country. I want to talk about critical race theory.
I believe that critical race theory hurts black America. Critical race theory is a cancer in our society. It is a race-obsessed worldview. Over the past several years, this dangerous far-left ideology has managed to creep into our schools. Critical race theory says that America is an inexplicably racist nation. All of our institutions are based on oppression of racial minorities.
In my work as a pastor on the South Side of Chicago, I have seen critical race theory in various forms taught in our local school and have witnessed firsthand how this ideology hurts the Black community.
Critical race theory is based on many lies, but I want to focus on three of those lies that are especially damaging in the black community.
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The first lie is an integral part of the ideology. This lie says that an individual's race is his or her defining trait — nothing is more important than one's race. Race determines our position in life, our ability to achieve and how others will treat us. This lie distorts not only an individual's identity, but also his or her entire ability to be relational.
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Christianity teaches that our most important relationship is the one we have with Christ, and that relationship comes with the proper understanding of who we are: children of God.
Critical race theory only understands relationships as defined by race, which makes an identity such as "fellow Americans" an impossibility.
The second lie is that there is an enduring power struggle because most people are racist to their core. Building a community on the South Side of Chicago requires setting aside our own biases and assumptions about other people. Black Americans are absolutely, I believe, hurt by an ideology that tells them their White neighbors are racist oppressors, forcing them to think of themselves outside of the community and to distrust their fellow citizens.
The third big lie is that capitalism is a form of White supremacy. According to critical race theory, capitalism excludes blacks. Not surprisingly, this lie does nothing to encourage black youth to apply themselves or to participate in the economy.
The objective here is to clearly to stir up Marxist grievances. Karl Marx used class struggles to spark enthusiasm for his call for world communism. Well, critical race theorists use race in place of class, aiming to instill that same hatred for free-market capitalism.
One of our most successful projects has been Project H.O.O.D. (Helping Others Obtain Destiny), a community-based resource center that provides job training programs, entrepreneurship, internships, mentorships, counseling and homework help for students, among other services. Critical race theory teaches that capitalism holds Black people down, but the exact opposite has been our experiences.
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One of our job programs is a construction course. Participants include former gang members and individuals who recently were released from prison. They receive everything they need to get started, even the work boots to wear for their own physical training projects. At the end, many of those who complete the program go on to have successful careers in the construction field.
I've seen firsthand how rejecting the lies of critical race theory is the beginning of doing the transformative work in individuals' lives. We see daily the power of transformed lives through our jobs program, through the promise that comes from participating in honest work in our capitalist system.
On the south side of Chicago, we are empowering and overcoming racial divisions, teaching people to love their neighbors, regardless of race, and equipping individuals to escape poverty and crime through jobs programs and other programs that are needed. Critical race theory cannot accomplish any of these things, and I believe it only undermines our work. That's the reason why, at Project H.O.O.D., we don't go by critical race theory. We believe in the systems of America and that they will work if you work them.
Follow along as Fox News checks in Pastor Corey Brooks each day with a new Rooftop Revelation.
For more information, please visit Project H.O.O.D.
Eli Steele is a documentary filmmaker and writer. His latest film is "What Killed Michael Brown?" Twitter: @Hebro_Steele.
Camera by Terrell Allen.
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