"Critical race theory (CRT) is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity."
Critical Race Theory emphasizes the importance of activism and social change in achieving racial equity. This includes exploring the ways in which individuals and groups can work towards creating a more just society.
Power and privilege: Power and privilege explores the dynamics of authority and advantages in society, analyzing how certain groups obtain and maintain power while others are marginalized, and aims to dismantle systems that reinforce inequality.
Systemic racism: Systemic racism refers to the structural and institutional practices, policies, and discrimination that result in unequal treatment and disadvantage for individuals and communities of certain races or ethnicities.
Race relations: Race relations involves the study and analysis of the interactions, perceptions, and power dynamics between individuals and groups of different racial backgrounds in order to address and challenge racial inequalities and promote social harmony.
Advocacy: Advocacy in Ethnic and Cultural Studies and Activism and Social Change involves actively supporting and promoting the rights and interests of marginalized ethnic and cultural communities to bring about equitable and inclusive social transformation.
Intersectionality: Intersectionality refers to the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, gender, and class that create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or privilege.
Community building: Community building refers to the process of creating and nurturing inclusive and empowered communities that foster social cohesion and collective action towards positive social change.
Communication strategies: Communication strategies involve the deliberate use of various methods and techniques to effectively convey information, ideas, and experiences in Ethnic and Cultural Studies and Activism and Social Change, fostering understanding, solidarity, and meaningful dialogue across diverse communities.
Political systems and policy-making: Political systems and policy-making refers to the study and analysis of the structures and processes that shape governance, decision-making, and the formulation of policies within a society, particularly in relation to ethnic and cultural issues, with the goal of promoting equality and social justice.
Activism and social movements: Activism and social movements refer to collective efforts that seek to bring about significant social, political, or cultural change and advocate for the rights and recognition of marginalized communities.
Allyship: Allyship refers to individuals who support and advocate for marginalized groups, using their privilege to challenge and dismantle systemic oppression.
Protest Movements: Protest movements are organized social movements that attract large numbers of people to demand and advocate for social change. These can be in the form of marches, rallies, and demonstrations.
Civil Disobedience: Civil disobedience is a nonviolent form of social activism that intentionally breaks the law as a means of highlighting and drawing attention to an unjust law or policy. This type of activism was popularized by Mahatma Gandhi during India's struggle for independence.
Petitions: Petitions are a traditional method of activism where people sign their support for a particular cause or issue. Petitions are typically addressed to government officials and can be a way to put pressure on those in power to act.
Boycotts: Boycotts are a strategy of social activism where a group of people refuse to buy or use a product, service, or institution. This can be an effective way to put economic pressure on a company or organization to change its policies or practices.
Lobbying: Lobbying is a form of advocacy where individuals or groups attempt to influence government officials or policymakers to take action on a particular issue. This can be done through letters, emails, phone calls, and meetings.
Online Activism: Online activism, also known as digital activism or internet activism, is a form of activism that uses social media platforms and the internet to raise awareness and organize around a particular cause or issue.
Community Organizing: Community organizing is a grassroots approach to social change that involves building relationships and networks within a community. This can involve training, education, and organizing events or campaigns.
Street Art: Street art is a form of activism that uses public spaces to raise awareness and provoke discussion around social issues. This can include murals, graffiti, and public installations.
Direct Action: Direct action is a form of activism that involves taking direct and often illegal action to address a particular issue. This can include occupying a space, chaining oneself to a building, or other forms of civil disobedience.
Academic Activism: Academic activism is a form of activism that is centered around the academic community. This can involve research, teaching, and advocacy for social justice and social change within academia and beyond.
Intersectional Activism: Intersectional activism is an approach to social change that recognizes the interconnectedness of different forms of oppression, including race, gender, class, and sexuality. This approach seeks to address multiple forms of oppression simultaneously.
Cultural Activism: Cultural activism is a form of activism that uses cultural expressions, such as music, literature, and visual arts, to promote social change. This can involve creating content that highlights social issues and inspires action.
"CRT also considers racism to be systemic in various laws and rules, and not only based on individuals' prejudices."
"The word critical in the name is an academic reference to critical thinking, critical theory, and scholarly criticism, rather than criticizing or blaming individuals."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Scholars of CRT view race as a social construct with no biological basis."
"One tenet of CRT is that racism and disparate racial outcomes are the result of complex, changing, and often subtle social and institutional dynamics, rather than explicit and intentional prejudices of individuals."
"CRT scholars argue that the social and legal construction of race advances the interests of white people at the expense of people of color, and that the liberal notion of U.S. law as 'neutral' plays a significant role in maintaining a racially unjust social order."
"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."
"CRT, a framework of analysis grounded in critical theory, 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."
"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."
"Academic critics of CRT argue it is based on storytelling instead of evidence and reason, rejects truth and merit, and undervalues liberalism."
"Since 2020, conservative U.S. lawmakers have sought to ban or restrict the instruction of CRT education in primary and secondary schools, as well as relevant training inside federal agencies."
"Advocates of such bans argue that CRT is false, anti-American, villainizes white people, promotes radical leftism, and indoctrinates children."
"Advocates of bans on CRT have been accused of misrepresenting its tenets."
"Advocates of bans on CRT have been accused of... having the goal to broadly silence discussions of racism, equality, social justice, and the history of race." Note: Due to the length and complexity of the passage, not every question may have an explicit quote matching it exactly. However, the selected quotes provide relevant information related to the study questions.