What is Critical Race Theory (CRT)

1.

A form of inquiry that incorporates theoretical and practical methodology to examine issues of race, structural racism and education. CRT scholars work from the premise that racism is embedded in U.S. society. A CRT lens can help students critically examine how the values and norms of cultures are accepted as ‘natural’. Learn more in: Pedagogical Opportunities to Foster Interaction and Deep Understanding Between International and Domestic University Students: Teaching Critical Reflexivity Through Interaction

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Is an intellectual movement and analytical framework emanating from legal studies. It is a useful framework for understanding how racism has shaped policy. Its core belief is that race is a social construct and that racism is not limited to individual bias or prejudice but is also structural (embedded in legal systems and policies). Learn more in: Why “Race Neutral” Policy Fails Black Small Business Owners: Lessons Learned From the Paycheck Protection Program and Mapping an Equitable Path Forward

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A theoretical and methodological approach that aims to unpack and disrupt the structural inequities experienced by disenfranchised racial groups. Learn more in: Critical Race Design: An Emerging Methodological Approach to Anti-Racist Design and Implementation

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A framework in the political and social sciences that uses critical theory to examine culture and society as they pertain to categorizations of race, law, and power. Learn more in: Integrating Critical Pedagogy With Teaching Statistics for Social Justice

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Critical Race Theory is a form of scholarship used to uncover racial inequities in legal and educational systems. Learn more in: Interrogating White Saviorism, Fragility, and Innocence in K-12 Teacher Education: An Ontology of Radical Love

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A field of academic inquiry created by legal scholars and coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1970s to bring awareness to the lack of consideration that race received in law. While there is no fixed set of tenets that CRT scholars subscribe to, they work with two goals in mind: (1) to acknowledge how White supremacy is created and preserved in America, and (2) to change how race and power affect the law. Learn more in: Patching the Pipeline: Reimagining the Roadmap to Higher Education

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Several principles of CRT related to education have been asserted such as the inherence of race and racism in American society, critical examination of the problems caused by neutrality, objectivity and colorblindness, the need to focus on the importance of maintaining a commitment to social justice, the importance of experiential knowledge, and whiteness as a property which includes the right to disposition, enjoyment, reputation, and the right to exclude. Learn more in: Maintaining a Socially Just Classroom: Ethical Decision-Making for Student Engagement as a Positive Outcome

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A theoretical framework that has roots in the field of legal studies. CRT scholars examine how race affects economic, political, and historical social structures in society. Scholars look for ways to rectify the imbalance of power between oppressed communities and their oppressor. Learn more in: Using Learner Centered Pedagogy and Social Justice Pedagogy in Post-Secondary Technical and Professional Communication Writing Courses

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A conceptual lens to support multi-scalar analyses on racism and its variegated effects on people, groups, and institutions in American society. It evaluates the effects of racism and white supremacist ideas and racial bias on human phenomena. CRT examines the role of power in a racial hierarchy, which perpetuate the marginalization of people of color systemically and institutionally. CRT, as an analytic tool, rejects the veracity and normalization of meritocracy and liberalism through master narratives that reinforce racist assumptions. Learn more in: Dealing With the Elephant in the Classroom: Reflections From a Graduate Course That Argues That Race Still Matters in Service Learning!

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An academic theory that suggests that all aspects of policy, law and curriculum should be examined through a racial lens to ascertain the ways in which race plays a role in the interpretation, application, and impact of their governance. Learn more in: Cultural Bias and Its Implications for Discipline Disparity