What is the central tenet of critical race theory?

Today, I read an article named “The Role of Critical Race Theory in Higher Education” by Payne Hiraldo (2010), who explored Critical Race Theory (CRT) in higher education in the following three aspects.

First, Hiraldo (2010) provided an explanation of CRT. Originating from critical legal studies (CLS) movement in the USA during the mid-1970s,CRT analyzed the role of race and racism in perpetuating social disparities between dominant and marginalized racial groups, with an aim to unearth what as been taken for granted in analysis of  race and privilege, and the patterns of exclusion in U.S. society traditionally and historically (Parker & Villalpando, 2007). This inspired researchers to explore the role that CRT has been playing in increasingly diverse and inclusive higher education.     

Second,  Hiraldo (2010) analyzed how the five tenets of the Critical Race Theory (CRT) , namely, counter-storytelling; the permanence of racism; Whiteness as property; interest conversion; and the critique of liberalism, can be used to analyze the different forms of social inequities reinforced through the institution of higher education (Ladson-Billings, 1998; Delgado Bernal & Villalpando, 2002; DeCuir & Dixson, 2004; McCoy, 2006).

Tenet One: counter-storytelling. The use of this tenet in higher education provides faculty, staff and students of color a voice to tell their narratives with regards to marginalized experiences in college campus where an institution is becoming inclusive and not simply superficially diverse.

Tenet Two: the permanence of racism. This tenet asserts that  racism controls the political, social, and economic realms of American society, where, from CRT perspective, racism is regarded as an inherent part of civilization, privileging white people over colored ones in higher education and where diversity action plans become ineffective when racism is ignored in this regard. 

Tenet Three: Whiteness as property. This tenet originated from the embedded racism in American society, where the notion of whiteness operated on different levels, such as the right of possession, the right to use and enjoyment, the right to disposition, and the right of exclusion (DeCuir & Dixson; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 1998).

Tenet Four: interest conversion. This tenet acknowledges White people as being the primary beneficiaries of civil rights legislation (Ladson-Billings, 1998; DeCuir & Dixson, 2004; McCoy, 2006), which is exemplified in affirmative action and diversity initiatives.

Tenet Five: critique of liberalism. This tenet comes from the notion of color-blindness, the neutrality of the law and equal opportunity for all. According to this tenet,  colorblindness is a mechanism allowing people to ignore racist policies that

perpetuate social inequity, which can be found in the lack of inclusivity in the academic curriculum (Ladson-Billings, 1998) and student development theory used by student affairs professionals in higher education.

Third, Hiraldo (2010) listed the criticism faced with CRT. One of the critics is the perspective that CRT perpetuated racism as a fundamental part of U.S. societal structure, which is unsettling when it was dismantled by many people, resulting in the fact that American society is still benefiting the dominant. The second critic is that CRT focused too much on race, forgetting to take social class and gender into its framework.

Based on the analysis above, Hiraldo (2010) concluded that CRT made very limited progress since its introduction into education, partly due to that the theory is relatively new and partly because that many scholars only focus on the two tenets of counter-storytelling and permanence of racism when applying the theory.

This article encouraged me to discover more resources on the achievements made on the application of the two tenets in higher education and how the other three tenets are adopted in analysis on the relation of the theory to higher education in the following week.    

Reference:

Hiraldo, P. (2010). The Role of Critical Race Theory in Higher Education.  The Vermont Connection, 31: 53-59.

What exactly is Critical Race Theory?

Good morning!

The very first time I heard about Critical Race Theory (CRT) I was in college. I hadn’t learned about it in school because I attended predominantly white institutions. During this time I was trying to figure out why the education I was paying for was not meshing with the lived experience I possessed being a black woman from the south side of Chicago. It was like I was living in a totally different world than what my professors were teaching about.

CRT showed me I was.

A friend of mine said that Freedom School is basically my way of bringing Critical Race Theory to the folks in my life. She’s was right! I know that Critical Race Theory sounds incredibly academic but I have a feeling many of you are already doing work based on CRT and just don’t know it, so I pulled together a little overview for y’all.

Brief History: In the 1970’s and 80’s a group of lawyers, activists, and legal scholars* recognized that they needed a new framework to combat racism and oppression in America. They blended concepts from critical legal studies and radical feminism with the influences of the Black Power and Chicano movements of the time and critical race theory was born. At first it was mainly referenced in legal scholarship, but now it’s used across many different fields and disciplines. You can read a much more detailed history here.

Critical race theory asks us to consider how we can transform the relationship between race, racism, and power and work toward the liberation of People of Color. 

How many of y’all where asked this in school? I would guess too few if any.

These super smart scholars identified 5 basic tenets** of Critical Race Theory –the core components.

1. The centrality and intersectionality of racism. Racism exists everywhere in American life –from within our own thoughts, to our personal relationships, to our places of work, to our educational and judicial systems. CRT says that racism isn’t just the actions of individuals but that it’s embedded in our institutions, systems, and culture. It is our way of life.

2. The challenge to dominant ideology. In law and other arenas there is a belief that concepts like neutrality, objectivity, colorblindness, and meritocracy can be fully actualized. CRT says, “not so fast, how can one be truly neutral on issues of race when racism is baked into the fabric of America?” (Ummm, it can’t).

CRT pointed out that claims of objectivity and colorblindeness can be ways in which dominant groups camouflage their interests in order to get what’s best for them—check out housing and education in this country if you don’t believe me.

3. The commitment to social justice. CRT as a framework acknowledges how all oppression interrelates and focuses on eradicating racism and other forms of oppression by centering People of Color and taking a stance on issues of social justice. People of Color have been fighting before this country was formed for justice and this has never stopped in some form or fashion.

4. The importance of experiential knowledge. This is huge y’all, CRT says that the lived experiences of People of Color however expressed (storytelling, family history, biographies, scenarios, parables, cuentos, chronicles, narratives)** are crucial to understanding racism and oppression, that they are necessary in our quest for liberation. From the academic, to legal, to activist arenas lived experience must be taken seriously.

5. The use of an interdisciplinary perspective. CRT draws from many different fields in order to create a powerful and nuanced framework for engaging with race and racism. There is no one answer, no one discipline, no one path to freedom. CRT says let’s use all the tools in the toolbox to help educate folks so we can get free.

Of course CRT is more theoretical then I have described but this is it boiled down at its core. CRT is the education that most of us never got—or we did not get until after we left school. It is an education that values challenging the status quo and prioritizing lived experiences.

It is rooted in collective learning and community building and ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Let’s go get free together.

*Scholars at the forefront of developing CRT: Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado, Mari Matsuda, Kimberle Crenshaw, Charles Lawrence, Neil Gotanda, Patricia J. Williams, Angela Harris
**Solorzano, D., & Yosso, T. (2000). Toward a critical race theory of Chicana and Chicano education.

If this overview left you wanting for more, Freedom School starts next week!
You can watch me talk all about it here.

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