Critical race theory

This article is about the academic field. For other uses, see CRT (disambiguation).

Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between social conceptions of race and ethnicity, social and political laws, and media. CRT also considers racism to be systemic in various laws and rules, not based only on individuals' prejudices.[1][2] The word critical in the name is an academic reference to critical theory rather than criticizing or blaming individuals.[3][4]

CRT is also used in sociology to explain social, political, and legal structures and power distribution as through a "lens" focusing on the concept of race, and experiences of racism.[5][6] For example, the CRT conceptual framework examines racial bias in laws and legal institutions, such as highly disparate rates of incarceration among racial groups in the United States.[7] A key CRT concept is intersectionality—the way in which different forms of inequality and identity are affected by interconnections of race, class, gender, and disability.[8] Scholars of CRT view race as a social construct with no biological basis.[9][10] One tenet of CRT is that disparate racial outcomes are the result of complex, changing, and often subtle social and institutional dynamics, rather than explicit and intentional prejudices of individuals.[10][3][11] CRT scholars argue that the social and legal construction of race advances the interests of white people[9][12] at the expense of people of color,[13][14] and that the liberal notion of U.S. law as "neutral" plays a significant role in maintaining a racially unjust social order,[15] where formally color-blind laws continue to have racially discriminatory outcomes.[16]

CRT began in the United States in the post–civil rights era, as 1960s landmark civil rights laws were being eroded and schools were being re-segregated.[17][18] With racial inequalities persisting even after civil rights legislation and color-blind laws were enacted, CRT scholars in the 1970s and 1980s began reworking and expanding critical legal studies (CLS) theories on class, economic structure, and the law[19] to examine the role of US law in perpetuating racism.[20] CRT, a framework of analysis grounded in critical theory,[21] originated in the mid-1970s in the writings of several American legal scholars, including Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Richard Delgado, Cheryl Harris, Charles R. Lawrence III, Mari Matsuda, and Patricia J. Williams.[22] CRT draws from the work of thinkers such as Antonio Gramsci, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and W. E. B. Du Bois, as well as the Black Power, Chicano, and radical feminist movements from the 1960s and 1970s.[22]

Academic critics of CRT argue it is based on storytelling instead of evidence and reason, rejects truth and merit, and undervalues liberalism.[17][23] Since 2020, conservative US lawmakers have sought to ban or restrict the teaching of CRT in primary and secondary schools,[3][24] as well as relevant training inside federal agencies.[25] Advocates of such bans argue that CRT is false, anti-American, villainizes white people, promotes radical leftism, and indoctrinates children.[17][26] Advocates of bans on CRT have been accused of misrepresenting its tenets, and of having the goal to broadly silence discussions of racism, equality, social justice, and the history of race.[27][28]

  1. ^ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (June 18, 2021). "How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  2. ^ Meckler, Laura; Dawsey, Josh (June 21, 2021). "Republicans, spurred by an unlikely figure, see political promise in critical race theory". The Washington Post. Vol. 144. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Iati, Marisa (May 29, 2021). "What is critical race theory, and why do Republicans want to ban it in schools?". The Washington Post. Rather than encouraging white people to feel guilty, Thomas said critical race theorists aim to shift focus away from individual people's bad actions and toward how systems uphold racial disparities.
  4. ^ Kahn, Chris (July 15, 2021). "Many Americans embrace falsehoods about critical race theory". Reuters. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  5. ^ Christian, Michelle; Seamster, Louise; Ray, Victor (November 2019). "New Directions in Critical Race Theory and Sociology: Racism, White Supremacy, and Resistance". American Behavioral Scientist. 63 (13): 1731–1740. doi:10.1177/0002764219842623. S2CID 151160318.
  6. ^ Yosso, Tara; Solórzano, Daniel G (2005). "Conceptualizing a critical race theory in sociology". In Romero, Mary (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Social Inequalities.
  7. ^ Borter, Gabriella (September 22, 2021). "Explainer: What 'critical race theory' means and why it's igniting debate". Reuters. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Gillborn 2015, p. 278.
  9. ^ a b Curry 2009a, p. 166.
  10. ^ a b Gillborn, David; Ladson-Billings, Gloria (2020). "Critical Race Theory". In Paul Atkinson; et al. (eds.). SAGE Research Methods Foundations. Theoretical Foundations of Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications. doi:10.4135/9781526421036764633. ISBN 978-1-5264-2103-6. S2CID 240846071.
  11. ^ Bridges 2019.
  12. ^ Ruparelia 2019, pp. 77–89.
  13. ^ Milner, Richard (March 2013). "Analyzing Poverty, Learning, and Teaching Through a Critical Race Theory Lens". Review of Research in Education. 37 (1): 1–53. doi:10.3102/0091732X12459720. JSTOR 24641956. S2CID 146634183.
  14. ^ Crenshaw 1991; Crenshaw 1989.
  15. ^ Ansell 2008, pp. 344–345.
  16. ^ Crenshaw 2019, pp. 52–84.
  17. ^ a b c "Critical race theory". Encyclopaedia Britannica. September 21, 2021. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021.
  18. ^ Ansell 2008, pp. 344–345; Bridges 2019, p. 7; Crenshaw et al. 1995, p. xiii.
  19. ^ Ansell 2008, p. 344; Cole 2007, pp. 112–113: "CRT was a reaction to Critical Legal Studies (CLS) ... CRT was a response to CLS, criticizing the latter for its undue emphasis on class and economic structure, and insisting that 'race' is a more critical identity."
  20. ^ Bridges 2021, 2:06.
  21. ^ Crenshaw et al. 1995, p. xxvii. "Indeed, the organizers coined the term 'Critical Race Theory' to make it clear that our work locates itself in intersection of critical theory and race, racism and the law."
  22. ^ a b Ansell 2008, p. 344.
  23. ^ Cabrera 2018, p. 213.
  24. ^ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (June 18, 2021). "How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory". The New Yorker. OCLC 909782404. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021.
  25. ^ Caroline Kelly (September 5, 2020). "Trump bars 'propaganda' training sessions on race in latest overture to his base". CNN.
  26. ^ Duhaney, Patrina (March 8, 2022). "Why does critical race theory make people so uncomfortable?". The Conversation. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  27. ^ Bump, Philip (June 15, 2021). "Analysis | The Scholar Strategy: How 'critical race theory' alarms could convert racial anxiety into political energy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021.
  28. ^ Harris 2021.