Have to disagree, Mic. The aspirational language of those documents was NOT backed up by law or action, culminating in a civil war over the very idea that one "race" of people could legally own another and do with them as they saw fit.
Slavery was baked into the system and without it, the United States would have dissolved before the turn of the 19th century. After the civil war reconstruction had to be imposed on the south to protect the basic human and civil rights of those very citizens those documents claimed were equal...all the way to stationing federal troops down there to keep them from being killed by white-supremacist southerners. Once the worst president in our history pulled them out, the KKK flourished and Jim Crow took hold. And that legacy lasted another 80 years.
Your other points are generally correct as to recent times, but that wasn't my question originally. And the fact that one has to go more than half way through the 20th century to begin seeing more systemic equity is indicative of the premise of CRT. So I have to completely disagree with your last sentence. Teaching the history of slavery and all its affects resulting from, in my mind, absolutely should be taught. That doesn't mean making or implying current people should feel any guilt or feel responsible. Taihtsat, for now
Absolutely the history of slavery, civil war, KKK, jim crow, etc, should be taught.
But NOT that Racism, white supremacy, was embedded in the FOUNDATION, FOUNDING DOCUMENTS, LAWS of country, because it wasnt.
Its kind of like what church going people say. The Church, foundation, etc, is, was true, but people not true to the Church, Foundation.
The Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of independence, Federalist Papers, Founding Documents, Laws, were mostly, generally true, inspired, things that were generally, mostly not racist.
Were they perfect? No. Did they need to be amended, fixed? Yes.
But people were not true to the Foundation, and Racism, and white supremacy in the south, withered, corroded, rusted, started to ruin the foundation.
It took a long time to fix that, but it got fixed.
BUT the FOUNDATIONAL core is. was true, pure, not racist, etc. It was just too bad people werent true to that foundation.
Again nobody has problems with True, factual HISTORY being taught.
The problem is that kids are being wrongfully taught in school that ALL white people are CURRENT OPPRESSORS, Slavemasters, etc, and that ALL black people are CURRENTLY OPPRESSED, Victims, slaves, do not have equal opportunity, and are incapable of more then that because of their skin color, which is FALSE, and should NOT be taught to kids, in school, whether you call it CRT, or something else or whatever call it.