This post will summarize Gloria Ladson-Billings’ critical “Just What is Critical Race Theory and What’s it Doing in a Nice Field like Education?” written in 1998 for the journal “Qualitative Studies in Education.”

Definition

Critical race theory grew out of critical legal studies. Critical legal studies attempted to move the focus of legal scholarship away from doctrinal and policy analysis to a focus on groups in cultural and social contexts. What critical race theory did that was unique was to focus primarily on race instead of other groups such as gender, class, etc. A criticism of critical race theory was its obsession only with race rather than looking at injustice in broader ways.

When dealing with ideas such as critical race theory it is impossible to find consensus on what it is about. However, according to Ladson-Billoings critical race theory has some of the following tenants.

• Racism is normal in the US
• Racial reform through traditional means is too slow and thus
• there is a need for radical reform

Race is the main idea discussed within critical race theory. However, race is not just one’s appearance or genetic phenotype. Ladson-Billings states this because who is considered white has changed throughout US history. For example, Mexicans at one time were considered white. Therefore, there is more to race than biology as race is also a social construct. Essentially, one goal of critical race theory is to break the subordination of blacks to whites by changing the dynamics of law and power even though what is defined as white has been fluid throughout history.

For critical race theory scholars, a major problem with America is that “Whiteness” is positioned as normative and everyone is categorized or ranked according to how well they align with the norms of this culture and people group. For example, a black man who goes to college, speaks American English, and dresses in a suit and tie is more aligned with being “being” than a black man who dropped out of high school, uses slang, and wears baggy clothes. However, even the black man who conforms to “whiteness” is a second-class citizen to a person who has the appearance of being white while having the behavior of the unsuccessful black man.

The goal of critical race theory is to deconstruct, reconstruct, and construct equitable power by exposing the injustice of “whiteness” as normative. All of the critical theories do this with the difference being from what angle. Critical race theory attacks race, queer studies attack everything that is normative, fat studies attack norms around weight, etc.

Traditional means of reforming the system are moving too slowly for critical race theorists. Therefore, they want rapid and radical reform. This is a polite way of saying revolution which is also at the heart of all Marxist’s derived philosophies. By stirring up racial frustration it is possible to radicalize people so that they push or cause rapid changes in the system.

Ladson-Billings also discusses the use of storytelling within critical race theory. Storytelling allows the speaker to name their reality and connect emotionally with the listener. Notice how there is no mention of reasoning or thinking as these are Western forms of communication. Sharing emotional stories of how individuals have suffered under racism helps to shame oppressors and elicit anger from people who are not considered “white.” It is difficult to refute the lived experience of someone who has experienced racism without sounding harsh and callous. It is also difficult to dispute the claims of individuals since one cannot fact-check them.

Examples of Race Relations

Ladson-Billings also shares that white people were the main beneficiaries of the Civil Rights movement. She supports this claim with the example of how anti-discrimination laws benefit white women first before people of color. Allowing white women to get jobs first helped their families which were probably also white.

Another example is Brown V Board of Education. Ladson-Billings states that this court ruling benefits whites by stopping the spread of communism in the USA mong frustrated blacks, it also reassured black WW II veterans of their place in society. To be fair the Soviet Union used to point out the racism in the US during the Cold War.

CRT and Citizenship

The latter half of the article focuses on “whiteness” as property. This argument is not unique to this article. Ladson-Billings’ point is that the US is built on property rights and not individual rights. A person was free because of property ownership and not because of self-worth. This is a problem because blacks did not have property but were rather considered property. Therefore, over time, “whiteness” becomes a form of property that provides privileges that others do not have.

Ladson-Billings then provides examples of how non-whites are pushed to the sides. Within the curriculum, black stories have traditionally been missing in place of the status quo. Another focus has been on supporting a colorblind perspective which may be something no critical race scholar would agree with. Lastly, there is an emphasis on critical thinking, reasoning, and logic in Western schools that discounts other ways of knowing.

When it comes to learning in the classroom black students are often seen as deficient. However, Ladson-Billings argues that this is due to poor curriculum and teaching. Another major problem has been school funding. Schools receive money from local property taxes. Therefore, schools in nicer neighborhoods have more tax dollars available. For Ladson-billings, this is unfair and a form of oppression.

Ladson-Billings ends the article with some warnings. First, she warns against letting critical race theory become watered down like cooperative learning and multicultural education. Cooperative learning was originally about helping students of color perform better but it was eventually reduced to workshops and lesson plans without regard to race. Multicultural education was originally about reconstructing society and examining the contradictions within it. This too was reduced by singing ethnic songs and eating foreign foods.

A much more interesting warning Ladson-Billings made was to protect critical race theory from becoming a tool of the radical left. This warning was not heeded and the political left has used critical race theory to stir up their base and to galvanize society in ways that seem prophetic after examining Ladson-Billings’ warning from the late 1990’s.

Conclusion

Ladson-Billings article provides a great overview of critical race theory and some main tenets and beliefs. The merit of this belief system is left to the individual to judge.