Randall Kennedy

The United States is still, to a very large extent, still a pigmentocracy, but that doesn't mean that a lot hasn't changed.

A lot has.

So I disagree with certain tenets of critical race theory and have been very outspoken in my disagreement.

There's another one, by the way, I need to mention because we've talked so much in our discussion about freedom of speech, freedom to teach, freedom of listening.

Another big problem that I've had with some of the people who talk of themselves as critical race theory people has to do with their attitude towards freedom, freedom of speech.

Some critical race theory people think that the American legal system is wrong in the latitude

that it gives to what they call hate speech or the latitude that it gives to what they would view as racist beliefs.

Some of the people who associate themselves with critical race theory think that racist beliefs ought to be expunged with the aid of state power if need be.

Well, I'm against that.

And I think we are at a moment, an ironic moment, in which actually it's the right wing that has embraced some of the ideas that were championed by some of the people who call themselves critical race theorists.

They say, oh, we ought to expunge hate speech.

Well, the right wing is saying this critical race theory, that's hate speech, so let's expunge it.

And so I, you know, again, I've been very outspoken in my criticism of some of the illiberal dimensions of

of critical race theory.

So I've been a critic of certain features of critical race theory.

I have applauded certain features of critical race theory.

Critical race theory, there's some aspects of it that I think have been useful.

There's some aspects of it that I think have been profoundly wrong at it.

So that's where I am.

And I certainly, and above all,