critical race theory

noun

: a group of concepts (such as the idea that race (see race entry 1 sense 1a) is a sociological rather than biological designation, and that racism (see racism sense 2a) pervades society and is fostered and perpetuated by the legal system) used for examining the relationship between race and the laws and legal institutions of a country and especially the United States

Critical race theory essentially forces legal scholars to ask questions, she [Kimberlé Crenshaw] continued. For instance, why does possession of less expensive drugs carry higher jail sentences than more expensive drugs? Could this have anything to do with the fact that more people of color are in prison? "It is a way of looking at law's role … facilitating, producing, and even insulating racial inequality in our country, ranging from health to wealth to segregation to policing," said Crenshaw …

—Columbia News

Critical race theory is a field of intellectual inquiry that demonstrates the legal codification of racism in America. Through the study of law and U.S. history, it attempts to reveal how racial oppression shaped the legal fabric of the U.S. Critical race theory is traditionally less concerned with how racism manifests itself in interactions with individuals and more concerned with how racism has been, and is, codified into the law.

—David Miguel Gray

also : a movement advocating the examination of this relationship

Ultimately, the liberal defense of critical race theory ignores an aspect of the movement that many of its founders considered fundamental: the "desire not merely to understand the vexed bond between law and racial power but to change it," as the editors of "Critical Race Theory" [Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement] wrote. … Critical race theory is not merely about making a better historical document but about movement toward the way things could be.

—Lauren Michele Jackson

—abbreviation CRT

critical race theorist noun

plural critical race theorists

Many CRT scholars had witnessed how the law could be used to help secure and protect civil rights. Therefore, critical race theorists recognized that, while the law could be used to deepen racial inequality, it also held potential as a tool for emancipation and for securing racial equality.

—Janel George

Examples of critical race theory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to his campaign website, some of King’s top issues are increasing border security, removing electronic voting machines and stopping schools from teaching critical race theory. —Reagan Priest, The Arizona Republic, 28 May 2024

The district was sued after banning the teaching of critical race theory and requiring that parents be notified if their children identified as a gender that did not match the one assigned to them at birth. —Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2024

Ahead of Election Day each of the last four years, Morris has promoted local conservative school board candidates who ran on promises to defeat the spread of critical race theory and LGBTQ inclusion policies in schools. —Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 17 June 2024

One episode broaches the subjects of critical race theory and the state’s conservative leanings. —Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above