Critical Race Theory

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A theoretical framework that examines the ways in which race and racism interact with social structures and institutions.

Historical Context: Understanding the history of colonialism and postcolonialism and its impact on race relations.
White Supremacy: The systemic ideology that promotes the superiority of white people in society.
Intersectionality: The interconnection of race, class, gender, and other social identities in the experience of oppression and privilege.
Social Construction of Race: The idea that race is a socially constructed concept rather than a biological fact.
Consciousness-raising: The process of becoming aware of the impact of race and racism on individuals and society.
Microaggressions: Subtle forms of discrimination and bias that perpetuate inequality.
Colorblindness: The belief that ignoring race will eliminate racism.
Implicit Bias: Unconscious attitudes and beliefs that affect our behavior towards certain groups of people.
Systemic Racism: The pervasive and institutionalized barriers and discrimination faced by people of color in society.
Counterstorytelling: A method of challenging dominant narratives by telling marginalized individuals' stories.
Anti-racism: Active opposition to racism and promoting equity and justice.
Whiteness: An analysis of the construction of white racial identity and its impact on society.
Critical Race Theory: This is the foundational theory of the movement, which emerged in the United States in the late 20th century. It questions the role of race and the cultural assumptions that underlie the law in perpetuating social injustices.
Postcolonial Theory: This theory examines the legacy and ongoing impacts of colonialism, imperialism, and neocolonialism on societies and cultures around the world. It looks at how power structures and social hierarchies influence cultural identity and provides a framework to understand the ongoing struggle for social justice.
Intersectionality: This theory considers how various forms of social oppression, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism, intersect and reinforce each other to create complex and interrelated systems of power.
Critical Whiteness Studies: This theory assesses and deconstructs the construction of whiteness as a central cultural and social norm, including the ways in which it has been maintained, reinforced, and enforced over time.
Critical Indigenous Studies: This theory examines the impact of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples and attempts to restore their history, culture, and agency. It considers the ongoing struggle for self-determination and cultural representation, for example, in the context of settler colonialism.
Decolonial Theory: This theory aims to challenge the structures and norms of colonialism and neo-colonialism, including through the restoration of Indigenous sovereignty and the decolonization of social, cultural, and political institutions.
Critical Race Feminism: This theory intersects Critical Race Theory and feminist theory to explore the experiences of women of color, including the ways in which socio-political systems and legal frameworks interact with race, gender, and other social factors to produce complex and intersecting forms of oppression.
Postmodernism: This theory re-examines the power structures and cultural assumptions of Western societies, such as capitalism, globalization, science, and technology. It critiques the idea of objective truth and the social and cultural norms that underlie it.
"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."
"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.