CHAPTER 3: Critical Race Theory in Education

Critical race theory (CRT) is premised on the notion that select machinations of American society—the legal and educational systems in particular—foster political benefits for whites and assuage the racial underpinnings of a predominantly racist white America (Chandler, 2010). Though there is no patent doctrine to which all scholars of CRT adhere, there are some common definitional parameters that have come to shape both theory and practice. Five of the most significant parameters shall be delineated here.

First, racism and racial inequality are endemic to American society (Delgado, 1995). Such racial inequalities can be found in, amongst others, interpersonal relationships sought (or avoided), neighborhoods inhabited, and schools attended (Zamudio, Russell, Rios, & Bridgeman, 2011). These, and other “racial choices,” have created a natural, subliminal acceptance of race and racial spaces. The role of CRT is to unravel and ultimately unmask the various permutations of racism.