Critical Race Theory

Black legal scholars developed critical race theory in the 1970s and ’80s as a framework for examining how racism has shaped the U.S.

Critical race theory is taught in some law schools and advanced undergraduate programs, but not in K-12 schools. Even still, Fox News mentioned the phrase “critical race theory” nearly 1,300 times between February and May of 2021, claiming it was being taught in grade schools across the country. Policymakers in over half of U.S. states have introduced bills or took other steps to restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism in the classroom.

Keeping Score: Bill Disenfranchising Women Voters Passes U.S. House, Heads to Senate; Barbara Lee Becomes Mayor of Oakland; Republicans Threaten SNAP and Medicaid

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Only 34 percent of single women are looking for a relationship, compared to 54 percent of single men; the House passed the SAVE Act which could disenfranchise 69 million married women; Sen. Booker (D-N.J.) broke Senate speech record; Medicaid and SNAP are at risk of cuts; Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains illegally deported and imprisoned, and Trump says “homegrowns” are next; marking Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Equal Pay Day; 13 states have recently introduced bills to improve menopause care; Democratic Women’s Caucus leaders and over 150 House members urged RFK Jr. to restore frozen Title X funding; Georgia dropped charges against Selena Chandler-Scott, who was arrested after being found unconscious and bleeding after a miscarriage; and more.

Pentagon Reverses Policy of Reimbursement for Abortion Travel—Fighting ‘Wokeness’ in the Military at the Expense of Service Members

The Pentagon’s decision to rescind abortion travel reimbursements—following Trump’s executive order enforcing the Hyde Amendment—has sparked fierce opposition from lawmakers and veterans’ advocates, who argue it endangers servicewomen and undermines military readiness.

Sen. Jean Shaheen condemned the move for sending a message that women in the military “are not as valuable as their male counterparts,” while Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy pilot, called it “deeply personal,” noting that if she were stationed in Texas or Florida today, she “wouldn’t have had healthcare.”

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America echoed these concerns, insisting that “those who are serving and sacrificing for us deserve so much more” than this “wrongheaded and out-of-touch” policy reversal.

Keeping Score: Devastating Attacks on USAID; Louisiana Indicts N.Y. Doctor; Autumn Lockwood Is First Black Woman Coach to Win Super Bowl

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Musk and Trump’s USAID attacks have devastating impacts; 80% of the clean energy investments from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act—which Trump wants to roll back—are in Republican congressional districts; Louisiana indicts a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills; new executive orders go after workers and LGBTQ people; the Laken Riley Act was signed into law; childcare costs affect the health of parents; and more.

‘Calling In’: Loretta Ross’ New Book Teaches How to ‘Model the World We Desire’

Reproductive justice founder Loretta Ross has a groundbreaking new book: Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather Cancel. Ross draws on over 40 years of experience as a feminist activist to offer hope and guidance for how we can learn to communicate and work together across our differences of identity, political opinion and priorities. Calling In is part activist memoir, part how-to guide for calling in and part strategic plan for growing the human rights movement.

Beautifully written and engaging, Calling In is a guide to “compassionate politics”—an antidote to infighting and calling out that is weakening the women’s movement and the left today. 

New College of Florida Destroys Gender Studies Books

On Jan. 6, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated a rightwing takeover of New College of Florida in Sarasota, the state’s only public liberal honors arts college. DeSantis appointed six new members to the college’s board of trustees who promptly voted to eliminate the diversity, equity and inclusion office and the gender studies program.

On August 15, administration at New College of Florida in Sarasota destroyed hundreds of books that had been housed in the Gender and Diversity Center on campus, placing them in a huge dumpster for disposal. 

From the Frontlines of the MAGA War on Higher Education: The Ms. Q&A With New College of Florida Professor Amy Reid

“New College is a flashpoint for what’s going on. We’re a cautionary tale.” —Amy Reid

With Project 2025 promising to do to higher education across the country what DeSantis has done to New College of Florida, Ms. sat down with New College professor Amy Reid to discuss how the college has changed since the takeover, and how faculty are fighting back. Reid joined the faculty at New College as a French professor in 1995 and helped develop the gender studies program at the college. After the takeover, her peers elected her chair of the faculty, making her a member of the board of trustees.

Inside Project 2025’s Secret Training Videos

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Project 2025’s plan to train an army of political appointees who could battle against the so-called deep state government bureaucracy on behalf of a future Trump administration remains on track.

Dozens of never-before-published videos coach future appointees on everything from the nuts and bolts of governing, to how to outwit bureaucrats. There are strategies for avoiding embarrassing Freedom of Information Act disclosures and ensuring that conservative policies aren’t struck down by “left-wing judges.” Some of the content is routine advice that any incoming political appointee might be told. Other segments of the training offer guidance on radically changing how the federal government works and what it does.