Critical Analysis
As Delgado and Stefancic point out, the critical race theory (CRT) as held by most pragmatists and civil rights activists helps in explaining the issue of racism that is so entrenched in the American society’s legal, social, political, and economic systems (23). According to them, race is not a biological but a social construct which means that it is embedded in people as they interact with people from different racial backgrounds. Critical race theory also helps in explaining some of the historical racial injustices such as discrimination that people of color have had to go through for a long time in the US.
Moreover, from the reading, it is evident that the critical race theory exhibits the kind of connection or interconnection that exists between race, law, and power. For, as Delgado and Stefancic note, even institutions such as the courts are sometimes also to some extent engaged in the promotion of racial stereotypes and attitudes through their rulings (42). An example according to them is the US Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which to some extent was a way by the White supremacists to satisfy the interests of the elite class (49). However, such an assumption that the black American community did not benefit from the decision may not be entirely true given the significance of this case in the civil rights movement. The critical race theory is therefore a theoretical framework for challenging the status quo and racial oppression. It does this through storytelling in which various presuppositions and myths or received wisdoms making up the culture of racism are analyzed in terms of their role in eradicating racism. According to Barlow, the critical race theory is usually associated with things like white privilege, institutional racism, and systemic oppression of people of color. According to this author, what lies at the heart of critical race theory is idea or notion of colorblind meritocracy. To the critical race theorists, meritocracy is merely a vehicle through which privilege, power, and self-interest are exhibited with the aim of perpetuating the power structures that exist on the basis of white supremacy. The critical race theory, he advocates for color-conscious and aggressive efforts aimed at challenging the state quo in the society with regards to the social ills and inequalities that exist.
CRT goes far beyond the affirmative action policies and questions whether race may ever be used to justify differential treatment or in correcting a perceived historical wrong in the society (Gillbron 12). Moreover, from the readings, it is evident that critical race theory tends to challenge and reject liberalism since liberal rights are merely procedural instead of being substantive. However, critically, given that the critical racial theory rejects objective neutral legal analysis, liberal individual rights, and the racial neutrality of the law, it may be argued that it offers a rather confusing explanation of race and racism.
Thoughts and Reflections
The readings on critical race theory raise a number of thoughts about the issue of racism and race relations particularly in the US where the issue of race is a divisive social issue. The most important aspect of the critical race theory is that it challenges the white supremacy and holds that even with the enactment of various civil rights laws that outlaw racial discrimination, unconscious biases and institutional racism still exists in the American society. Classical liberal ideals like colorblind justice, equal opportunity, and meritocracy still continue to serve the interests of the white elite as they simply cloak and reinforce the structural inequalities that are deeply embedded in the American society.
For, as Ledesma and Calderon point out, though CRT has its origins in the law, it demands a proper articulation of the ideological, structural, and material mechanisms of White Supremacy (14). The reading fits into what I have already read about race relations by affirming some of my observations about the treatment of people of color. However, it challenges my previously held belief that CRT is not all about challenging the white supremacy and the institutionalized discrimination, but rather just a theory explaining the significance of studying race as a social-cultural construct.
Works Cited
Barlow, Bill. Racism, justified: A Critical Look at Critical Race Theory. The Harvard Law Record, 29 Feb. 2016, Accessed at http://hlrecord.org/2016/02/racism-justified-a-critical- look-at-critical-race-theory/
Delgado, Richard and Jean Stefancic. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. New York University Press.
Gillborn, David. Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, and the Primacy of Racism: Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in Education. Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 21, no. 3 (2015), 1-18
Ladesma, Maria and Dolores Calderon. Critical Race Theory in Education. Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 21, no. 3(2015), 1-26
