Understanding CRT beyond the headlines
A clear, scholarly pathway to understand Critical Race Theory’s intellectual origins and educational relevance—beyond its political distortions.
Learning Companion
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What we're exploring today
- Introduce CRT’s origins: from legal scholars like Derrick Bell and Kimberlé Crenshaw
- Clarify its core concept: race as a structural/social construct shaped by power, not a biological inevitability
- Demonstrate how CRT originally emerged to unveil systemic advantages and disadvantages, not to politicize K–12 curricula
- Surface the “deconstruct – confront – construct” framework for using CRT as a method of analysis
- Invite learners to explore CRT’s educational applications (e.g., curriculum audits, equity planning) without fear or confusion
Videos