As Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) questioned Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson at her confirmation hearing, Cruz held up books “either assigned or recommended” to students at a D.C. prep school where the judge is on the board of trustees. “If you look at the Georgetown Day School’s curriculum, it is filled and overflowing with critical race theory,” Cruz said, referring to the movement that examines the way policies and laws perpetuate systemic racism. In the stack was a white paperback with large, bright orange letters: “The End of Policing,” Alex S. Vitale’s 2017 book that makes the case for defunding the police, the Washington Post reports. Cruz’s use of the prop had a different outcome than he intended. Sales of the book are skyrocketing. “Thanks to Ted Cruz, The End of Policing is now the #1 Best Seller in Gov. Social Policy,” Vitale tweeted . As of Friday morning, the book is No. 1 in Amazon’s sociology of race relations category. Vitale said he was “honored” Cruz recognized his book as a critical race theory text. Still, he added that he found the senator’s reference to the book misguided in the context of questioning Jackson.
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