Critical Race Theory (CRT) states… race matters race is a social construct (i.e., race is not permanent) racism is ordinary (i.e., way society operates)

Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory (CRT) states… • race matters• race is a social construct (i.e., race

is not permanent)• racism is ordinary (i.e., way society

operates)• racism serves a purpose (i.e.,

subordination)• racism is dynamic (i.e., dominant

group can identify one group differently at different times depending on the needs of the dominant group)

• different groups have different voices about racism based on experience


I ask, “Are you a racist?”

You are immediately offended by my inquiry. “I am not a racist. I treat everyone equally regardless of colour of skin. I do not use derogatory terms about a person’s race. I am not a racist,” you retort.

Everyone is the room has taken the same position. There is not a single overtly racist person within the room.

If no one is a racist, how is there racism? This is the premise of CRT (i.e., racism is ingrained and unconscious; it is not always overt).


CRT suggests• Individual racism need not exist since the institutional

racism is pervasive in the dominant culture. • Racism does not arise from individual prejudices or

hateful acts; rather, racism is structured and systematic. It is embedded in individual minds AND social relationships, institutions and cultural practices.

• Structures allocate economic, political and social resources (e.g., housing, voting rights, dignity) in racially unequal ways.

• Racism often operates in the invisible, “taken for granted” ways.

Critical Race TheoryCRT is based on (1) white privilege and white supremacy which works to marginalize persons of colour, AND (2) the premise that racism is one of the main threads in the fabric of the American foundation.

Interestingly, CRT crosses all categories of oppression to observe that oppression is multi-dimensional. • Race alone cannot account for disempowerment.• Intersectionality examines combinations of race, class,

ethnic origin, sexual orientation, etc. CRT was unique as it was not one-dimensional in explaining oppression.

• All oppressed people share the commonality of oppression. However, oppression varies by gender, class, race, etc., such that the aims and strategies differ for each of these groups.


CRT looked at the institutions of the legal system.• How was law taught in law schools?• What is the oral history of law within the subordinate

groups? (Recall: Black slaves were not legally permitted to learn to read)

• Is the application of law neutral and colour blind? • What existing institutional structures maintain the

marginalization of targeted groups? • How does legal tradition law adversely affects people

of colour as a group. In other words, how do law and legal traditions not reflect racial sensibilities / sensitivities of minorities.

• How does law maintain white supremacy?• How can the relationship between law and racial

power be transformed?


Meritocracy is the idea that our elite group of rulers achieve that position based on ability or skill, not privilege or wealth.

Liberalism is a political theory based on natural goodness of people, autonomy of individual, laws by consent, all equal without class privileges and protection from authority. Liberalism is “value-neutral.”

CRT rejects the “truths” of these theories. CRT argues that meritocracy and liberalism are stories from those with wealth, power and privilege. As such, the stories are false because they ignore the systemic inequalities provided by institutionalized racism.


• White Privilege refers to the myriad of social advantages, benefits, and courtesies that come with being a member of the dominant race (e.g., A store clerk not following you around; People not crossing the street at night to avoid you).

• Whiteness is the ultimate property which whites alone can possess. It is valuable and is property. The “property functions of whiteness” (i.e., rights to disposition, use and enjoyment, reputation and status property and exclude) make the American dream a more likely and attainable reality for whites as citizens. The white skin colour that some Americans possess is like owning a piece of property. It grants privileges to the owner that a renter (or a person of colour) would not be afforded.


• Microaggression refers to the sudden, stunning or dispiriting transactions that may occur to a non-dominant grouped person during the day. These include small acts of racism consciously or unconsciously perpetrated. They act like water dripping on a rock wearing away at it slowly. Microaggressions are based on the assumptions about race matters and it is absorbed from cultural heritage.

• Scenario…an ordinary day…a child raises her hand repeatedly in class; the teacher either recognizes her or does not. A shopper hands a cashier a five dollar bill to pay for a small item; the clerk either smiles, makes small talk, and deposits change in the shopper’s hand or does not. A woman goes to a new car lot ready to buy; salespeople stand about talking to each other or all converge trying to help her. A jogger in a park gives a brief acknowledgment to an approaching walker; the walker returns the greeting or walks by silently.

Critical Race Theory• You are a white person….the child, the

shopper, the jogger. The responses are from white people and are negative. Are you annoyed? Do you, for even a moment, think that maybe you are receiving this treatment because of your race? Do you think that all these people are having a bad day?

• Next, suppose that the responses are all from persons of colour. Are you thrown off guard? Angry? Depressed?

Critical Race Theory• You are a person of colour. Same

thing but all the responders are white. thing that comes to your mind? Do you immediately think that you might be treated in these ways because you are not white? If so, how do you feel? Angry? Downcast? Do you let it roll off your back?

• If the responses come from fellow persons of colour, what do you think?

• Suppose the person of colour is from a group other than your own. What are your reactions?

Critical Race Theory• Sometimes actions are mere rudeness or

indifference. The merchant is in a hurry; the walker, lost in thought. At other times, race seems to play a part. This is microaggression …one of those many sudden, stunning or dispiriting transactions that mark the days of women and folks of colour…acts of racism, consciously or unconsciously perpetrated, welling up from the assumptions about race matters…absorbed from our cultural heritage

• The assumption continue to inform our public civic institutions, government, schools, churches, as well as our private, personal, and corporate lives.

Critical Race Theory• You dispute the idea of microaggression. What a

farce…made up to make me feel apologetic.

• Change the scenario…one that is very familiar. You (young women) start to walk across a street. A car is stopped to let you cross….a male driver (any age). You try to avoid looking at him, but when you glance his way, you feel he is staring at you. He smiles. What is your reaction?

• You continue walking. A man…my age…passes you going the other direction. In typical male fashion, he looks you directly in the eyes and smiles. Your feelings?

• Male-to-Male in the same scenario?


• Empathic fallacy is the belief that one can change a narrative by offering an alternative narrative in hopes that the listener becomes empathetic. Empathy is not enough to change racism as most people are not exposed to many people different from themselves and people mostly seek out information about their own culture and group.


• Is racism declining? Well, lynching is way down. I think I have black friends.

• Studies show that blacks and Latinos who seek loans, apartments, or jobs are much more likely than similarly qualified whites to be rejected.

• Canada`s prison population is disproportionally Aboriginal, while CEO, surgeons and university presidents are predominately white.

• Aboriginal families have, on the average, about one-tenth of the assets of their white counterparts

Documents

Critical Race Theory (CRT) states… race matters race is a social construct (i.e., race is not permanent) racism is ordinary (i.e., way society operates)