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 … Critical race theory is not merely about making a better historical document but about movement toward the way things could be.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

The same way that terms like woke and critical race theory (CRT) have been hijacked, morphed, and mutilated, the term DEI is experiencing a similar fate. —Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Related Articles California school district’s critical race theory ban, transgender notification policy stand for now, judge rules Woodshop has been disappearing from California schools for decades. —Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2024

At fifty-four, Hughes has championed numerous controversial bills—including one that secured the right to carry a gun without a license and another meant to ban critical race theory in school—but he is best known as the architect of S.B. 8. —Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2024

Kendrick believes that topics like critical race theory and gender identity should be taught in public schools. —Charlotte Observer, 8 Feb. 2024

Parents groups, particularly those advocating for charter schools and others advocating against the teaching of critical race theory and for a return to in-classroom learning during COVID, received a tepid response from Mijares, who failed to take a stand for students on these and other issues. —Jon Fleischman, Orange County Register, 13 Feb. 2024

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne opposes the use of critical race theory, which examines how U.S. systems and institutions bear unevenly on people of different races. —The Arizona Republic, 12 Jan. 2024

Which is his big thing, is that critical race theory and diversity and inclusion initiatives are one and the same thing. —Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024

And sessions once devoted to little more than passing a budget now broke out into arguments over bills sponsored by new members to prohibit teaching critical race theory and transgender girls from competing in girls’ athletic events. —Kate Zernike, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above