Ninety associations and academic organizations have signed a letter opposing a slew of state laws that ban public schools and universities from teaching "divisive concepts" such as critical race theory.

Lawmakers in at least 20 states have introduced or passed laws and policies targeting lessons and discussions on racism and related subjects in classrooms, according to the letter. Republicans are leading the effort, pointing in particular to critical race theory, which they say teaches kids to focus on racial differences. Critics say such efforts are aimed at preventing any serious discussions about the role of race in U.S. history and modern life.

The letter's signatories fall in the latter camp, saying that the true intent of such laws is "to suppress teaching and learning about the role of racism in the history of the United States." Groups that signed the letter include the American Association of University Professors, the American Historical Association and the Association of American Colleges & Universities.

"Educators must provide an accurate view of the past in order to better prepare students for community participation and robust civic engagement," the letter states. "Suppressing or watering down discussion of ‘divisive concepts' in educational institutions deprives students of opportunities to discuss and foster solutions to social division and injustice."

The associations added the laws in question never really define the divisive concepts that are banned, instead relying on "a litany of vague and indefinite buzzwords and phrases including, for example, ‘that any individual should feel or be made to feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological or emotional distress on account of that individual's race or sex.'"

"Americans of all ages deserve nothing less than a free and open exchange about history and the forces that shape our world today, an exchange that should take place inside the classroom as well as in the public realm generally," the groups said. "To ban the tools that enable those discussions is to deprive us all of the tools necessary for citizenship in the twenty-first century."

Signatories also include the American Anthropological Association, the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO, the American Library Association, the American Sociological Association and the Anti-Defamation League.

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