7 Critical Race Theory
Sunayani Bhattacharya
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to
- Summarize a working definition of Critical Race Theory (CRT)
- Understand the relationship between CRT and embodied identity
- Reflect in writing upon the relationship between CRT and writing
Defining Critical Race Theory
When we look at our bodies, we see not just a biologically structured object, but also a socially constructed one. We slot ourselves, or are told to do so, into socially identifiable categories, some of which are derived from our bodily characteristics. Critical race theory (CRT) offers one legal and philosophical framework for understanding how our bodies become the basis of a socially oppressive and exploitative category—race. CRT suggests that while race appears to be natural and grounded in biological features shared by distinct human groups, it is in reality a socially constructed category that is entirely crafted by human beings. Social and political systems are mobilized to both support race as a natural phenomenon and to maintain social, political, and economic inequalities between whites and nonwhites. CRT is a product of legal and critical thinkers from the US, and is the study of systemic racism in the US in particular. CRT thus analyzes social conditions in the US, both in the current moment and historically, as it traces these conditions to questions of race.
For our purposes, critical race theory can be defined as follows:
Race is a social construct that masquerades as a natural phenomenon because it appears to be grounded in biological features. Racism is a systemic problem that is embedded in the US’s legal and moral institutions, and it promotes a hierarchy separating white from nonwhite, particularly African American, bodies.
You can also learn more about CRT from the following video (view time is 4:06):
Video 7.1. Saint Mary’s College, Dr. Daniel Solorzano: Critical Race Theory part 1 by Saint Mary’s College of California
If you are interested in learning more about the theoretical framework, you could read more about it in Richard Delgado and Jean Stefanic’s “Critical Race Theory: An Annotated Bibliography Essay Critical Race Theory: An Annotated Bibliography Essay.”
Breaking It Down
These are the key takeaways for critical race theory as a theoretical and practical approach to writing
- While race appears to be biological and natural, it is a socially constructed idea
- Systemic racism is the norm, rather than an aberration in the US, and can be found in all parts of life, from healthcare, education, housing to employment
- Because racism is systemic, it goes beyond individual beliefs and practices, and is to be found woven into laws and institutions in the US
- Given that we write with our bodies, we also write with bodies that are marked as belonging to a particular race or mixture of races
- Our access to ideas, institutions and resources that help us write is determined by where in the racial hierarchy our bodies are placed
- All aspects of writing, including composition, interpretation, and communication are affected by the power relations identified by CRT
CRT and Literacy
Let us examine some of the above claims more closely, particularly the relationship between CRT and literacy. The following paragraph is from Ibrahim X. Kendi’s article “How Racism Relies on Arbitrary Hierarchies,” which he later published as a book, How To Be an Antiracist (2019). As you read, think about how the author is positioning his body vis-à-vis his understanding of race. How is he writing as a young black boy moving through the world? And what is Kendi implying by his question, “Why are you the only Black teacher?”
A Black woman greeted us at the front door of Grace Lutheran School. She had been waiting. She was the school’s third-grade teacher, and after a quick greeting, she took us down a corridor. Classrooms stood on both sides, but I fixated on the class photos outside the rooms: all those adult White faces and young Black faces looking back at us. We occasionally peeked inside nicely decorated classrooms. No sounds. No students. No teachers. Just footsteps.
She took us to her third-grade classroom, a long throw from the entrance. We could see the materials laid out for a science project, the details of which she explained to us. I couldn’t care less about raising chicks. Then she took us over to a round table and asked if we had any questions. Sitting down, my mother asked a question about the curriculum. I did not care much about that, either. I started looking more intently around the classroom. A pause in the discussion caught my attention—Dad had just asked about the racial makeup of the student body. Majority Black. I took note. My mind drifted away again, this time wandering around the classroom and around the school, trying to imagine the students and teachers, remembering those pictures in the hallway. A pause caught my attention again. A question popped out of me.
“Are you the only Black teacher?”
“Yes, but–”
I cut her off. “Why are you the only Black teacher?”
Puzzled, she looked away at my parents. My parents exchanged curious looks. I kept staring at the teacher, wondering why she was looking at my parents. Ma ended the awkward silence. “He has been reading biographies of Black leaders” (Kendi, “How Racism Relies on Arbitrary Hierarchies,” 2019).
Putting the Theory into Practice
Reflect on your relationship with race
As this chapter suggests, there is an intimate relationship between our racial identities and our literacy experiences. The kinds of information and ideas that we have access to, and how easily we can access them, are determined by our racial identities. The following is an article by Jonathan Rothwell on exclusionary zoning in the US and the effects this policy has had on education. Select the linked item below to read the article.
Zoning laws and literacy
Works Cited
Bryant, Kendra N. “Critical Race Theory – Beyond Myths: What the Debate Misses,” Writing Commons, 2023.
Delgaldo, Richard and Jean Stefancic. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction, New York University Press, 2017.
Delgaldo, Richard and Jean Stefancic. “Critical Race Theory: An Annotated Bibliography Essay Critical Race Theory: An Annotated Bibliography Essay,” Alabama Law Scholarly Commons, 1993.
Rothwell, Jonathan. “Housing Costs, Zoning, and Access to High-Scoring Schools,” Brookings, April 19, 2012.
