Several recent letters to this paper have misunderstood and mischaracterized critical race theory. It doesn’t assert, as Pamela Brant writes, that all whites are racist and should be shamed, and all blacks are oppressed victims. Rather, it re-examines history and concludes that individual racism cannot explain our racist past, so American society must be structurally racist. Once understood, the next step is to consider how we can forge a more equitable society.

The misunderstandings and mischaracterizations of critical race theory are remarkably similar to the misunderstandings of continuous improvement in private industry. Within corporations pursuing total quality management, a key activity is the post-mortem review. A project team reviews its outcomes and identifies what worked, what didn’t work, and how it can improve its processes.

During this self-evaluation, it’s common for team members who don’t fully understand and embrace total quality management to become defensive and resist the review, seeing only personal attacks on their individual integrity and performance.

For American society to improve, we must be willing to examine our history with clear eyes and without defensiveness. Like Ms. Brant, I too learned of the Tulsa race slaughter only recently. (So why didn’t we learn of it earlier?)

Unlike Ms. Brant, perhaps through my exposure to total quality management, I believe positive outcomes can be achieved by re-examining our racial past. Collectively we own our history, and collectively we must strive for a more equitable future. Characterizing critical race theory and the revelation of unpleasant truths as divisive only impedes the hard work ahead.

Mark Love
Falmouth

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