You can't erase race! Using CRT to explain the presence of race and racism in majority white suburban schools

Abstract

Employing a critical race analysis of contemporary suburban schooling in the US, the author challenges the ideology of colorblind racial contexts. The concepts of colorblindness, interest-convergence, racial realism, and white privilege are used to explain how federal mandates and common school policies and practices, such as tracking, traditional curricula, teacher classroom practices, and student surveillance, sustain a racially hostile environment for students of color in majority white suburban schools. Critical multicultural education is offered as a means to openly address issue of race and racism in the curriculum, school policies, and teacher practices.

Keywords:

• critical race theory
• students of color
• policy
• critical multicultural education
• urban
• suburban schools