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A review by reidob
Critical Race Theory, An Introduction by Richard Delgado
4.0
Especially with all of disinformation being promulgated in this country about Critical Race Theory (CRT), it is particularly important that we go back to the source and get an idea of what it is actually proposing. Far from being an invitation to white guilt and shame—as has been widely reported—CRT sets out to do something very important, which is to step back and look at all aspects of race in our society (and, by extension, Western society more broadly). One of the core issues this philosophy exposes is that a civil rights lens leads to two harmful ways of thinking: that the dominant society has the authority to grant rights to those who should have had them all along, and that once a disfavored group has been given a few rights, that's job done. However, "the status quo is inherently racist, rather than merely sporadically and accidentally so," and "moral and legal rights are apt to do the right holder much less good than we like to think. In our system, rights are almost always procedural...rather than substantive." One need only consider the fact that schools today are more segregated than they were before the Brown Vs. Board of Education ruling to see the absolute truth of this. "Our system of civil rights law and enforcement ensures that racial progress occurs at just the right slow pace," that is, a pace that will not unduly inconvenience the white majority.
It is also worth reminding ourselves of the shortsighted, naïve idea that electing a Black president implied we were henceforth living in a post-racial society. Through this we can understand the essential nature of the CRT critique. "Critical race theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order."
This way of thinking can (and should) also be expanded to other areas of social justice. For instance, the idea that those who are housed can grant housing to those who are not is an essential misreading of the moral obligation we have to ensure that everyone is housed. The damage done by those who react to their internal struggles with these concepts by blaming the victims (they are all criminals and drug addicts, most of them prefer living rough) is very common in urban areas in the U.S. and elsewhere. A fundamental critique could successfully be launched against any similarly unjust condition that exists in our society.
One of the most important concepts in CRT is that of interest convergence, the idea that because the dominant (white) society benefits at every level from the continuance of racist policies, it is not in their interest to work toward changing the way things are. Guilt and shame motivate us to make superficial changes, but deep-seated bigotry remains. It is important to realize that this bigotry does not necessarily result in active racist behavior, blatant bigots (white supremacists) being in the minority. Rather, much of the bigotry in the U.S. is passive, an unwillingness to change the status quo because it is, after all, very comfortable where we are. Once again, this is also true in the areas of housing, hunger, health care, and many other essentials of social and physical well-being.
Intersectionality must also be taken into account, which does not only mean that a person may have more than one area in which they are societally disfavored, but also that because of this their priorities may be different than those in positions of power. The classic example is the black feminist, who may struggle to interest her white co-activists in her ideas of what is most important to change. (We are also currently seeing a divisive intersectional struggle around transgender rights and feminism). Our unwillingness to consider alternative viewpoints and our demand that those priorities take a backseat to the "larger struggle" (which is never resolved; therefore the minority voices are never heeded) reflects the narrowness of perspective through a dominant, largely white, lens.
The information contained in this book is truly transformative and intellectually challenging to the accepted ways of thinking in our society. Oddly, though, I found that it seemed to be written with some confusion about its audience. Is this for the general reader? The first year law student? Middle schoolers? While the content is clearly for mature minds primed to consider a different way of looking at the world, the tone seems to me a bit simplistic if aimed at adults, even those just beginning law school. In particular, the classroom exercises are more appropriately worded for much younger students. It may well be that it is too much to ask for radical thinkers to also be accomplished authors; the two do not often converge.
But I strongly advise you not to be put off by any of this. The information contained in Critical Race Theory will bolster your resolve to change the fundamental flaws underlying the way our society is structured. If the past decade has taught us anything, it is that racism is alive and well in the United States and in the West writ large. It will take much more than a few marches and a law or two to fundamentally change the unjust structures holding up the way we live today.
It is also worth reminding ourselves of the shortsighted, naïve idea that electing a Black president implied we were henceforth living in a post-racial society. Through this we can understand the essential nature of the CRT critique. "Critical race theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order."
This way of thinking can (and should) also be expanded to other areas of social justice. For instance, the idea that those who are housed can grant housing to those who are not is an essential misreading of the moral obligation we have to ensure that everyone is housed. The damage done by those who react to their internal struggles with these concepts by blaming the victims (they are all criminals and drug addicts, most of them prefer living rough) is very common in urban areas in the U.S. and elsewhere. A fundamental critique could successfully be launched against any similarly unjust condition that exists in our society.
One of the most important concepts in CRT is that of interest convergence, the idea that because the dominant (white) society benefits at every level from the continuance of racist policies, it is not in their interest to work toward changing the way things are. Guilt and shame motivate us to make superficial changes, but deep-seated bigotry remains. It is important to realize that this bigotry does not necessarily result in active racist behavior, blatant bigots (white supremacists) being in the minority. Rather, much of the bigotry in the U.S. is passive, an unwillingness to change the status quo because it is, after all, very comfortable where we are. Once again, this is also true in the areas of housing, hunger, health care, and many other essentials of social and physical well-being.
Intersectionality must also be taken into account, which does not only mean that a person may have more than one area in which they are societally disfavored, but also that because of this their priorities may be different than those in positions of power. The classic example is the black feminist, who may struggle to interest her white co-activists in her ideas of what is most important to change. (We are also currently seeing a divisive intersectional struggle around transgender rights and feminism). Our unwillingness to consider alternative viewpoints and our demand that those priorities take a backseat to the "larger struggle" (which is never resolved; therefore the minority voices are never heeded) reflects the narrowness of perspective through a dominant, largely white, lens.
The information contained in this book is truly transformative and intellectually challenging to the accepted ways of thinking in our society. Oddly, though, I found that it seemed to be written with some confusion about its audience. Is this for the general reader? The first year law student? Middle schoolers? While the content is clearly for mature minds primed to consider a different way of looking at the world, the tone seems to me a bit simplistic if aimed at adults, even those just beginning law school. In particular, the classroom exercises are more appropriately worded for much younger students. It may well be that it is too much to ask for radical thinkers to also be accomplished authors; the two do not often converge.
But I strongly advise you not to be put off by any of this. The information contained in Critical Race Theory will bolster your resolve to change the fundamental flaws underlying the way our society is structured. If the past decade has taught us anything, it is that racism is alive and well in the United States and in the West writ large. It will take much more than a few marches and a law or two to fundamentally change the unjust structures holding up the way we live today.