In the 1970s, a number of lawyers, activists, and scholars saw the work of the Civil Rights as being stalled and in many instances negated. CRT is an amalgamation of concepts that have been derived from the Civil Rights and ethnic studies discourses. This is crucial to understand in order to fully realize the goals of CRS in SPA. The Critical Race Theory movement can be seen as a group of interdisciplinary scholars and activists interested in studying and changing the relationship between race, racism and power. This is the eventual goal of CRT and the work that most CRT scholars pursue as academics and activists. It challenges the notion of liberalism and meritocracy as colorblind or “value-neutral” within society while exposing racism as a main thread in the fabric of the American foundation.Īnother component to CRT is the commitment to Social justice and active role scholars take in working toward “eliminating racial oppression as a broad goal of ending all forms of oppression”. This is very important in preserving the history of marginalized groups whose experiences have never been legitimized within the master narrative. Counterstories take their cue from larger cultural traditions of oral histories, cuentos, family histories and parables. These stories challenge the story of white supremacy and continue to give a voice to those that have been silenced by white supremacy.
Narratives or counterstories, as mentioned before, contribute to the centrality of the experiences of people of color. “Intersectionality means the examination of race, sex, class, national origin, and sexual orientation, and how their combination plays out in various settings.” This is an important tenet in pointing out that CRT is critical of the many oppressions facing people of color and does not allow for a one–dimensional approach of the complexities of our world. Intersectionality within CRT points to the multidimensionality of oppressions and recognizes that race alone cannot account for disempowerment. These stories paint a false picture of meritocracy everyone who works hard can attain wealth, power, and privilege while ignoring the systemic inequalities that institutional racism provides. CRT also recognizes that liberalism and meritocracy are often stories heard from those with wealth, power, and privilege.
Legal discourse says that the law is neutral and colorblind, however, CRT challenges this legal “truth” by examining liberalism and meritocracy as a vehicle for self-interest, power, and privilege. CRT also rejects the traditions of liberalism and meritocracy. CRT identifies that these power structures are based on white privilege and white supremacy, which perpetuates the marginalization of people of color. This is the analytical lens that CRT uses in examining existing power structures. The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture.
These tenets are interdisciplinary and can be approached from different branches of learning.ĬRT recognizes that racism is engrained in the fabric and system of the American society. CRT has basic tenets that guide its framework. Since its inception within legal scholarship CRT has spread to many disciplines. It provides a critical analysis of race and racism from a legal point of view. Critical Race Theory was developed out of legal scholarship.