Critical Race Theory has apparently been around for decades, and while I may have heard of it before, it never registered. Not until this year when the debate about it started approaching a fever pitch did I grow some curiosity about it, and I did a little Googling. What I found left me more confused than ever. There are so many definitions and theories and opinions out there that it’s really difficult to even establish a baseline understanding, much less move forward and try to discuss it like rational adults. I looked at a lot of sites and was able to narrow it down a little bit by looking at the language used in the introductions. If any iteration of the phrases ‘left-wing’ or ‘right-wing’ appeared in the first paragraph, I crossed it off the list. If the approach appeared aimed at university level academics, I crossed it off the list. I’m trying to find a basic premise to discuss. I’m not trying to teach a course in it. Those two eliminations took almost everything off the table. What I finally found was what I am referencing here. It’s a little high-level and simplistic, but we’re only just now going into the hottest part of the day, and it’s 86 degrees and I’m grumpy. We’re not supposed to get this hot for another month. So I’m kind of done with the web-surfing. What follows is from the article:
Critical race theory is a way of looking at race relations, particularly within the United States, in a broader context than the traditional civil rights approach. The theory began sometime in the mid-1970s, as a number of people in the legal profession began to worry about the slow rate at which laws were changing to promote racial equality. These legal professionals also worried that many of the early victories of the civil rights movement were already eroding.
Learning to look critically at race relations is a key part of critical race theory. Examining everyday interactions, and finding the racial component in them, can help move the racial equality cause forward perhaps more than a sometimes simplistic “color blind” approach. Looking carefully at what sociologists call micro-aggressions can help to see the true extent of racism in the United States, and through critical analysis, it is hoped people can begin to work past it.
To better understand the theory, an individual can consider a scenario where two people pass one another while walking down a street and the first person smiles at the second. Let us imagine that the second person either smiles in response as they pass, or stares down at the pavement and shuffles past. In the case where the second participant shuffles by uncomfortably, an observer’s first instinct may be to imagine that they are simply unfriendly or have had a bad day. But what if the first participant is a person of color, and second is white? An observer will probably be wary of some form of racist micro-aggression. What if both participants are people of color? What if the first participant is white, and the second is black? In each of these situations, the observer’s understanding of the society’s race relations may be more nuanced than under a traditional approach.
What is Critical Race Theory? (with pictures) (infobloom.com)