Critical Race Theory

Understandings of race have moved beyond the scientific notions of “biogenetic categories”(Ladson-Billings, 2004, p. 50), yet questions about race and societal issues of racism still abound. This encyclopedia entry discusses Critical Race Studies as both a theory and a movement to address such questions of race and challenge white supremacy. Critical race theory (CRT) continues to evolve, grow, thrive, and confront “practices of subordination”(Delgado & Stefancic, 2012, p. xviii). Because of the expansive nature of CRT, this entry (a) explains the origins of the theory in the field of law;(b) describes several major tenets that critical race theorists include in their work;(c) recognizes historical voices in the genealogy of CRT;(d) and, discusses the role of CRT in the field of education. In the conclusion, this entry discusses the “indispensable” nature of CRT (Delgado & Stefancic, 2012), especially within the field of education.