One thing that isn’t contestable is the evil of Critical Race Theory, yet according to some, the fight against it is just an attempt by white supremacists to keep their narrative about America’s past alive. This is absolute nonsense since CRT is effectively the left trying to rewrite almost every aspect of American history to revolve around race as if nothing but slavery ever happened in America.

Moreover, it’s hard to claim it’s only white supremacists trying to topple CRT when many of the people fighting against it, especially parents, are minorities of all stripes.

(Know Your History: Critical Race Theory Is an Old Marxist Plot)

But many on the left seem to have an alternate view of what CRT is, and one painting currently making its way around the internet proves that they misunderstand what it is on a fundamental level. It’s either that or those who fight for it know exactly what it is and are trying to mislead you.

According to the Detroit Metro Times, a painter named Jonathan Harris created a painting called “Critical Race Theory” and will be displaying it at the Irwin House Gallery, and has already begun inciting support and “infuriation” around the world:

Named in response to the raging national argument on race teachings, Harris’ “Critical Race Theory” depicts a non-specific white male rolling over images of Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, and Malcolm X with opaque white paint, in a gesture that boldly and beautifully communicates the white-washing of Black history. While many artworks from TRIPTYCH have continued to appear in the media and on social platforms since the start, when Harris posted his “Critical Race Theory” toward the end of November, it took a swift, fiery, and continuing trip around the world — sparking conversation, support, and even infuriation across at least four platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit.

This painting called "Critical Race Theory" that's making the rounds across Twitter proves that the left either fundamentally misunderstands what CRT is or they know exactly what it is and are trying to mislead you. pic.twitter.com/U5YMeSKdgr

— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) December 15, 2021

The painting is, in itself, a lie about what CRT is.

No one who bashes CRT and fights against it wants our history covered up. In fact, we fully embrace the works of people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman. They were important to the fight for civil rights and are celebrated on both the left and the right. I would argue that they’re far more respected on the right given the principles people like Tubman and King stood for.

Secondly, no one is trying to “whitewash” history. America fully acknowledges its past when it comes to slavery. It takes pride over the fact that we wanted it gone so badly that we went to war over it. We celebrate those who helped to abolish slavery, who fought for civil rights and consider the treatment of black people in our nation’s past as a shameful part of it. We consider it such an important example of what not to do that we consider racism to be a great sin among free men and women of the west, something not every country comes down hard on.

Critical Race Theory is the lie that America doesn’t acknowledge its past and doesn’t want to learn from it. It’s the lie that we still live in a nation complete with the worst racism the world has ever seen. As mentioned earlier, it’s the idea that America is nothing but racism. It’s a concept that is demonstrably false, and you don’t have to look hard to see that.

(READ: Lincoln Himself Debunked the Idea that the United States Was Founded On White Supremacy)

But lastly, I want to point out the fact that this painting is trying to make a racist message.

“White people are trying to whitewash our history” is the message here. The man doing the painting is white and wearing a red shirt with what looks like stars on the shoulder, giving off the impression that patriotism for America has some part to play in the erasure of black history.

It’s a message that will inspire more distrust between the black community and white people, which is exactly what you want if you’re goal is to get people to divide along racial lines in order to push a racial mistruth.

So either this painter has bought the lie or he’s trying to spread it. Either way, it’s a false image.