Educational Overview of the Critical Race Theory
Lately, the Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been the center of so much political controversy. I refuse to get involved in discussions based on political or personal opinions and I will not start today. However, as a public health practitioner, it is my duty to educate and I do so based on cold hard facts! Therefore, if you are not open and willing to learn then this is not the space for you.
The Critical Race Theory is a theoretical framework. Theoretical frameworks are structures that summarize concepts and theories. It is a synthesis of concepts from leaders in the field that relate to the proposed research or study. The CRT is a specific type of framework called an explanatory framework. This particular framework accounts for the role race and racism play in the experiences of people of color in the US. It also challenges all forms of oppression (Jones, 2021). The main premise of this theory is that racism is ordinary and engrained in the fabric of our society, thus it cannot simply be eradicated by targeting individual acts of prejudice. Let me pause here to say that I do not care what your personal opinion is, racism is in fact ordinary and engrained in our society. And that’s on Mary’s little bald lamb! The main goals of CRT are the following:
1) To utilize storytelling and narratives as approaches to examine racism;
2) To argue for the eradication of racism while understanding that race is a social construct and is in no ways biological;
3) To draw important relationships between race and other areas of domination.
The CRT originally emerged from Critical Legal Studies and has been adapted to fit multiple disciplines. There is a multitude of information on Google so please let us utilize it!
What is provided here is only a brief overview of information as the details would be too much for a blog post. However, I think we can all agree that even based on the information provided there is no reason to be banning or even considering banning its use in public schools. First of all, no teacher has enough resources or is paid enough to even teach the use of theories and their applications in public school classrooms. The use of theories and frameworks is usually introduced in undergrad at the earliest! If theories and frameworks are taught in K-12 classrooms I am pretty certain that those classrooms are housed in private schools and in those institutions the ban would not apply to them anyways. Secondly, while there are many similarities CRT is in no way tied to anti-bias, anti-racism, or other Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion approaches. It is imperative that we stop utilizing CRT as a catch-all phrase for all antiracism curriculum.
The use of CRT is vital because before the systems of oppression can be dismantled and rectified they must first be identified. The use of CRT provides the tools necessary to think critically and decenters the typical white narrative (Jones, 2021). CRT instead focuses on the root cause of racism and other forms of inequality. In conclusion, the use of CRT in research and teaching is not racist. Not discussing racism at all and pretending it does not exist is racist. As a black woman in America when someone says they do not see color, what I understand is they do not see me. My socially derived race is perceived and acted upon the moment I step into a public space. Is it too much to ask that before an opinion or idea is acted upon and demonized we effectively educate ourselves? Ignoring or denying a problem does not make it go away, it only makes it worse. The same thing happened when I tried to ignore and deny my mental health issues, but that’s been covered in previous blog posts.
Recognition and IG Pages to Follow:
@angelijonesphd
@katerslater
@sylviaduckworth
Academically Sound Resource: Angel M. Jones (2021): Conflicted: How Black women negotiate their responses to racial microaggressions at a historically White institution, Race Ethnicity and Education, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2021.1924136
