Critical Race Theory (1st 7 weeks)
S 2022

Description

 “Critical Race Theory” has become a fixture in the debate over how to teach children about the country’s history and race relations. Since President Trump's 2020 Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, the term CRT has become a political hot button, even though the original theory had nothing to do with the K-12 education. 

CRT was developed in the 1970s and 80s mostly at Harvard Law School in response to continuing racial discrimination following the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The original scholar of the movement was Derrick Bell. Bell himself won several civil rights cases but observed that even landmark civil rights cases were of limited practical impact to most Blacks. 

Developed as the practice of exploring the role of race and racism (originally against Blacks) in law and society, the original theory's core concept is that race is a social construct and that racism is not merely the product of individual prejudice, but is something embedded in the legal system, social system, and our assumptions. Over the years, this core concept has been expanded to include other minorities.

The objective of this SDG is neither to promote nor attack Critical Race Theory but to understand its relevance and  current concerns about inequality in the United States.



Weekly Topics


Week 1: Foundations of Critical Race Theory
Early Criticisms of Civil Rights Legislation, Liberal vs Critical Ideas of Race and Law

Core Text: Critical Race Theory: Key Writings.

Foreward (pp. xi-xii) and Introduction (pp. xiii-xxxii)
Derrick A. Bell, "Serving Two Masters: Integration Ideals and Client Interests in School Desegregation," pp 5-19
Derrick A. Bell, "Brown v. Board of Education and the Interest Convergence Dilemma. pp 20-28
Allan David Freeman, "Legitimizing Racial Discrimination through Anti-discrimination Law: A Critical Review." pp 29-45

Other required reading:

"The Man Behind Critical Race Theory," The New Yorker, Sept 13, 2021
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/20/the-man-behind-critical-race-theory. pp 20-26

"Critical Race Theory: A Brief History," by Malik Simba, BlackPast, Aug 4, 2021. 
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/critical-race-theory-a-brief-history/ Approx 3 pp



Week 2: Views of Legal Studies and Mainstream Civil Rights Ideology

Core Text: Critical Race Theory: Key Writings.

Kimberle Crenshaw, "Race, Reform, and Retrenchment: Transformation and Legitimation in Anti-Discrimination Law," pp 103-126
Harlan L. Dalton, "The Clouded Prism: Minority Critique of the Critical Legal Studies Movement," pp 80-85
Gary Peller, "Race Consciousness," pp 127-158
Duncan Kennedy, A Cultural Pluralistic Case for Affirmative Action in Legal Academia, pp 159-176

Optional reading:

"On Difference and Equality," Cynthia V. Ward, William and Mary Law School Repository, 1997. pp 66-99
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2503&context=facpubs

"Race, Equality and the Rule of Law: Critical Race Theory's Attack on the Promises of Liberalism," by Jeffrey J. Pyle, Boston College Law Review, May 1, 1999
https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol40/iss3/6/ pp 787 - 827

  
Week 3: Race and Gender

Core text: Critical Race Theory: Key Writings.
Kimberle Crenshaw, "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color," pp 357-383
 
Optional reading:

"What Does Intersectionality Mean in 2021?" Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Podcast
https://news.columbia.edu/news/what-does-intersectionality-mean-2021-kimberle-crenshaws-podcast-must-listen-way-learn, Approx 3 pp

"Intersectionality Is not the Problem," by Conor Friedersdorf. The Atlantic. March 8, 2018.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/intersectionality-is-not-the-enemy-of-free-speech/555014/, Approx 3 pp

"The Limits of Intersectionality," by Nate Hochman. National Review. July 10, 2019, Approx 3 pp
https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/07/intersectionality-limits-true-premise-wrong-conclusions/


Week 4: Critical Race Theory and Legal Doctrine
The Law as "Color Blind", Racial Realism

Core Text: Critical Race Theory: Key Writings

Neil Gotanda, "A Critique of 'Our Constitution is Color-Blind'." pp 257-275
Cheryl L. Harris, "Whiteness as Property'." pp 276-291
Derrick A. Bell, Jr., "Racial Realism,", pp 302-313

Optional reading:

"Reflections on Whiteness as Property," by Cheryl L. Harris, Harvard Law Review, August 13, 2020. pp 1-10
https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/134-Harv.-L.-Rev.-F.-1-2.pdf

"Some Critical Thoughts in Critical Race Theory," by Douglas E. Litowitz, Notre Notre Dame Law Review, June 1, 1999. pp 503-529
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1844&context=ndlr


Week 5: "Oppositional" Voice and Implied "Neutral" Voice of Mainstream Scholarship

Core Text: Critical Race Theory: Key Writings

John O. Calmore, "Critical Race Theory, Archie Shep, and Fire Music; Securing and Authentic Intellectual Life in a Multicultural World," pp 315-329
Tanya Lovell Banks, "Two Life Stories of One Black Woman Law Professor," pp 329-335
Charles R. Lawrence, III, "The Word and the River, Pedagogy as Scholarship As Struggle, pp 336-355

Optional reading:

"Story Telling and Legal Scholarship," by Richard T. Matasar. December 1992. Chicago-Kent Law Review. pp 353-361
https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2873&context=cklawreview


Week 6: Race and Postmodernism

Core Text: Critical Race Theory: Key Writings

Richard Thompson Ford, "Boundaries of Race: Political Geography and Legal Analyses, pp 449-465
Kendall Thomas, "Rouge et Noir Reread: A Popular Constitutional History of Angelo Herndon Case," pp 465-490.

Optional reading:

"The Social Construction of Race: Some Observations on Illusion, Fabrication, and Choice," by Ian F. Haney-Lopez, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. pp 1-62
https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1115043?ln=en

"Asian Americans Emerging as a Strong Voice Against Critical Race Theory | Opinion," by Helen Raleigh. Newsweek. Sept. 24, 2021.
https://www.newsweek.com/asian-americans-emerging-strong-voice-against-critical-race-theory-opinion-1574503. Approx 2 pp

"The Unfortunate Fallout of Campus Postmodernism," by Michael Shermer, Scientific American, Sept. 1, 2017. Approx 2 pp
 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-unfortunate-fallout-of-campus-postmodernism/


Week 7: Counter Arguments, CRT's Impact on the Present, Current Issues, Does CRT Inflame Racism?, What Might The Future Hold?

There are numerous articles and newscasts available on concerns about CRT.  The following were selected to illustrate particular issues, but members are encouraged to do their own research on areas of interest.

References:

President Trump's Executive Order Approx 4 pp
https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-race-sex-stereotyping/ 

"How Critical Race Theory Went From Harvard to Fox News"
NPR Broadcast 16 minutes, July 6, 2021
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/02/1012696188/how-critical-race-theory-went-from-harvard-law-to-fox-news

"The Moment in 1986 When Critical Race Theory Ousted the Civil Rights Movement," by Eric Felten, National Association of Scholars website, July 28, 2o21. Approx 3 pp
https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/the-moment-in-1986-when-critical-race-theory-ousted-the-civil-rights-movement

"What's Wrong with Critical Race Theory? Reopening the Case for Middle Class Values," by Daniel Subotnick. Vol 7, Issue 3, Spring 1998, Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy. pp 681- 756
https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1238&context=cjlpp

"I Can't Be a Racist — I Teach in an Urban School and I'm a Nice White Lady!", by Lisa A. Miller & Victor W. Harris, World Journal of Education, May 17, 2018. pp 1-10
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1182572.pdf

"Derrick Bell's Dilemma," 20 BERKELEY J. AFR.-AM. L. & POL'Y 1 (2019): pp 1-26
https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1128898?ln=en

"Growth of Virginia Universities' Diversity-Industrial Complex," by J.P. Greene and James D. Paul. The Heritage Foundation. Sept 17, 2021. Approx 2 pp
https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/growth-virginia-universities-diversity-industrial-complex

"The New Puritans," by Anne Appelbaum, The Atlantic, Aug 31, 2021. pp 60-69
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/10/new-puritans-mob-justice-canceled/619818/

"Critical Race Theory: Full List of States that have banned teaching of CRT," by Divya Kishore. Approx 2 pp
 https://meaww.com/critical-race-theory-full-list-of-states-that-have-banned-teaching-of-crt-anti-racism

"The Real Problem with Critical Race Theory," by Amy L. Wax and Richard Vedder. Newsweek Magazine, July 21, 2021. Approx 3 pp
https://www.newsweek.com/real-problem-critical-race-theory-opinion-1605771

Op-Ed: "Just teach the truth about America’s less-than-glorious history," Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2021. Approx 2 pp
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-09-19/racism-critical-race-theory-american-innocence-myth-japanese-internment

"What the ‘Majority Minority’ Shift Really Means for America," by Justin Gest, The New York Times, Aug 24, 2021. Approx 2 pp
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/opinion/us-census-majority-minority.html




Bibliography

Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement, Ed. Kimberle Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, and Kendall Thomas. The New Press, 1995.

Other required references are listed in the syllabus. These include legal counter-arguments,critiques of liberalism, applications and extensions of the theory, political debates, and unintended consequences.