Where are We? Critical Race Theory in Education 20 Years Later

ABSTRACT

This article explores the territory that has been covered since the publication of Ladson-Billings and Tate's 1995 article, “Toward a Critical Race Theory in Education.” We organize our review of the CRT literature is organized around what we are calling CRT “boundaries.” We identify six boundaries for CRT and education: 1) CRT in education argues that racial inequity in education is the logical outcome of a system of achievement presided on competition; 2) CRT in education examines the role of education policy and educational practices in the construction of racial inequity and the perpetuation of normative whiteness; 3) CRT in education rejects the dominant narrative about the inherent inferiority of people of color and the normative superiority of white people; 4) CRT in education rejects ahistoricism and examines the historical linkages between contemporary educational inequity and historical patterns of racial oppression; 5) CRT in education engages in intersectional analyses that recognize the ways that race is mediated by and interacts with other identity markers (i.e., gender, class, sexuality, linguistic background, and citizenship status); 6) CRT in education agitates and advocates for meaningful outcomes that redress racial inequity. CRT does not merely document disparities. We suggest that these core ideas provide a framework for analyzing the work that has been done in education in the past and a way to determine what might be left to do.

Author Bios

Adrienne D. Dixson, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a scholar of race and gender equity in urban educational contexts and an author of over 30 scholarly journal articles and book chapters and editor of five books on critical race theory and education, research and race and urban education.

Dr. Celia Rousseau Anderson is an associate professor in the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership at the University of Memphis. Her scholarly interests include equity in mathematics education, urban education, and critical race theory. Her previous publications related to critical race theory have appeared in Theory into Practice; Race, Ethnicity, and Education; Urban Education; and Teachers College Record. She also served as co-editor of the book Critical Race Theory in Education: All God's Children Got a Song.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adrienne D. Dixson

Adrienne D. Dixson, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a scholar of race and gender equity in urban educational contexts and an author of over 30 scholarly journal articles and book chapters and editor of five books on critical race theory and education, research and race and urban education.

Celia Rousseau Anderson

Dr. Celia Rousseau Anderson is an associate professor in the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership at the University of Memphis. Her scholarly interests include equity in mathematics education, urban education, and critical race theory. Her previous publications related to critical race theory have appeared in Theory into Practice; Race, Ethnicity, and Education; Urban Education; and Teachers College Record. She also served as co-editor of the book Critical Race Theory in Education: All God's Children Got a Song.