Critical Race Theory. What Is It? Founders Of The Term Explain

Critical Race Theory is also known as CRT. What does the term mean? Where did it come from, who created it and why? Is it being taught in American schools to children in grades K-12?

FOUNDERS OF THE TERM

Based on their writings concerning racial disparities in American Harvard Law School students and legal scholars Kimberlé Crenshaw, Richard Delgado, Cheryl Harris, Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, Charles R. Lawrence III, Patricia J. Williams, and Mari Matsuda coined the theoretic term.

EXPLANATION OF WHY OR HOW THE THEORY CAME ABOUT

According to the American Bar Association, "CRT is not a diversity and inclusion “training” but a practice of interrogating the role of race and racism in a society that emerged in the legal academy and spread to other fields of scholarship."

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a theoretical framework officially developed in the '70s, Its precursor from the '60s was Critical Legal Studies (CLS). It is the study of how systemic racism can cause disparities and racial gaps in society that directly affect the poor and the marginalized economically, socially, and educationally. It is meant for legal scholars to think in systemic terms, so they can examine and understand how structural and racial disparities endure in society. In short, CRT examines the influence of institutional racism on the nation's laws.

IS IT OR HAS IT EVER BEEN TAUGHT TO CHILDREN K-12

No.