Benefits Of Critical Race Theory

To many people across a variety of different nationalities and cultures, race has been proven to be a key factor for how society views you in the eyes of those who are prominently in charge. The term race has been brought up in recent years, to be considered a form of identification, as the word race is used to describe physical characteristics such as a person’s color of skin, hair, and eyes. When in reality, the correct term they should be using is Ethnicity. As a result, the term race is used to separate people into sub-categories based on the color of their skin. This type of classification, is a man-made creation used by society to classify certain groups of people into lower classes, while keeping the predominate group in charge at the top.

In The Comet, W.E.B DuBois juxtaposes the racial prejudices of American society in the 1920's with a post-apocalyptic human unity in order to critique the lack of foundation in systematic racism. A comet is believed to have wiped out society leaving alive only a white woman and a black man. Upon their first encounter neither Jim nor Julia had noticed each other’s skin color or societal position. As the characters look for survivors we see a back and forth battle between their double consciousness. Jim battles between helping Julia and not disrupting the institution of power of white society. Julia battles between seeing Jim as “human” and “a man with alien in blood and culture.” Towards the end of the story as both Julia and Jim recount their roles in a racially divided society Julia tells Jim, “How foolish our human distinctions seem- now.”

The film reminds us that “slavery and its aftermath involved the emasculation-physical as well as psychological - of black men, the drive for black power was usually taken to mean a call for black male power, despite the needs of (and often with the complicity of) black women. That continues to result in the devaluing of black female contributions to the liberation struggle and in the subordination of black women in general.”4

The overarching theme of critical race theory is centered on race and racism, however in higher education, critical race scholars recognize that racial identity and this form of oppression (racism) intersects with other subordinated identities (such as gender, class, religion, ability/disability, sexual orientation, etc.) and forms of oppression (sexism, homophobia, ableism, etc.) to influence People of Color’s lived experiences (Bartlett & Brayboy, 2005; Brayboy 2005; Kumasi, 2011; Lynn & Adams, 2002; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001). This means that in higher education, critical race theory challenges the dominate discourse on race and racism as it relates to educational theory, policy and practice (Solórzano, 1998).

In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B DuBois pioneers two concepts that describe the Black experience in America— the notions of “the veil” and “double-consciousness.” The meaning and implication of these words not only describe the plight of being Black and American then, it also refers to what it means to still be Black and American today – the remnants of the past live on. DuBois explains the veil concept in reference to three things: the literal darker skin of Blacks, which is the physical demarcation of the difference from whiteness, white people’s lack of clarity in order to see Blacks as “true” Americans, and lastly Blacks’ lack of clarity to see themselves outside of what white America prescribes for them. The idea of double consciousness refers to the two-ness, caused by our nations flawed and polarized system, felt by many Blacks. I argue that although DuBois was the first to coin these two terms, it is clear through analyzing Uncle Tom’s Cabin and 12 Years a Slave that these two significant concepts gave a name to what African-Americans had been feeling for years but previously could not define.

In today’s society, many have come to believe what they have been instructed over the years, whether it is fiction of facts. Living in a world, where only certain race can be seen as superior to others. Schomburg was a pioneer beyond his times. In the article “The Negro Digs up His Past”. The beginning of this essay revealed a powerful statement, “The American Negro must remake his past in order to make his future” (Arthur Schomburg). It is very clear, Schomburg realized the importance of being knowledgeable on your true history. “History must restore what slavery took away, for it is the social damage of slavery that the present generations must repair and offset”. Therefore, I acquiesce with such statement, it is up to the present generation to fight, and to aspire on restoring what was taken away. As we acquired more intelligence, today’s generation must continue on indoctrinating one another on our true history. However, let’s not forget, slavery was not the onset of the Negro history; when in fact, slavery interrupted the Negro history. Meanwhile, long ago, before slavery, Africans ruled the world, built nations, mastering in architectural ideas, philosophies, etc. Nonetheless, it is crucial for the Negro to dig up his past, for from it; today’s Africans shall conceive their true potential, and their ancestor’s greatest achievements. Just as Schomburg found his motivation after being told “Negroes has no history. On the other hand, he then stated “The Negro thinking

Despite changes in the landscape for treatment of ethnic minorities in the United States over the past 200 years, issues with racism has never stopped being an issue and continues to tarnish and tatter the very fabric of our nation. There has been a history of violence against Black people that dates back 400 years, to a time when the first slave was forcefully brought here to the USA (Rogers, 2015). From that time on, people of African descent have been dehumanized and treated as second-class citizens and this has become an ongoing community issue (Diversi, 2016). Racial classification was created as a way to condone slavery and maintain the primacy of the white race (Tolliver, Hadden, Snowden, & Manning, 2016). Aymer (2016) explains that the Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a way to understand that the violence that Blacks face in America originates from the societal belief in White superiority and, when trying to understand the Black reality, centuries of racial oppression must be discussed (Aymer, 2016). CRT acknowledges that racism is primarily a problem in America and has contributed to the social disparities in the U.S. In addition, it notes other forms of oppression that are important to discuss and work through. CRT does not believe in the legal rhetoric that there is an impartial, equal way of dealing with individuals in the community that has nothing to do with color and everything to do with achievement and hard work. It also takes on an interdisciplinary

"Privilege" implies the concrete benefits of access to resources and social rewards and the power to shape the norms and values of a society, which whites receive, unconsciously or

We live in a society where race is seen as a vital part of our personalities, the lack of racial identity is very often an important factor which prevent people from not having their own identity (Omi & Winant, 1993). Racism is extemely ingrained in our society and it seems ordinary (Delgado & Stefanic, 2000), however, many people denounce the expression of any racist belief as immoral (Miles & Brown, 2003) highlighting the complicated nature of racism. Critical Race Theory tries to shed light on the issue of racism claiming that racism is ingrained in our society both in legal, cultural, and psychological aspects of social life (Tate, 1997). This essay provides us the opportunity to explore this theory and its

The world has been characterized with inferiority and superiority complexes with every individual seeking to be superior over the other. John Hope Franklin presents this situation elaborately in the book “The Train from Hate.” The author was born in 1915 in the town of Oklahoma. As a young African American, Franklin experienced the first cases of early discrimination in the Midwest state. It is upon these experiences that Franklin develops his pieces of literature such as From Slavery to Freedom and A history of African Americans among others. John Hope Franklin is considered more than just a literature author; he was a public figure. In the course of his lifetime, Franklin served as a leader in the National Association for Advancement of Colored people (NAACP) (John Hope Franklin Biography 1)

An intelligent Black boy, who dumbs himself down to avoid criticism. The Hispanic girl who stays at home to take care of her family, instead of going to school. The Asian who pursues a career in medicine, despite wanting to be an actor. All of these strange actions can be explained by the Critical Race Theory. In short, the Critical Race Theory examines how victims of racism and stereotypes counter prejudice. Under the Critical Race Theory falls stereotype threat in which victims assume the roles that they think are prescribed for them based on popular stereotypes. The aim of stereotype threat and the Critical Race Theory is to explain both negative and positive ways minorities are effected by their race and how this reflected in our society as a whole.

The role of Critical Race Theory provides us with the idea of “racial realism”, the idea that racism, the normalcy of white supremacy is part of the everyday life of an ‘other’, in other words, racial or indigenous minorities in Canada. Consequently, the Critical Race Theory gives an understanding of the power that can be given to a definition such as ‘race’, and how heavily influence the way society functions and sparked in a cultural divide in Canada due to the simple idea that biological and aesthetic difference. The Critical Race Theory gives us the understanding of how common it is for an individual, but most dominantly, a person who is Caucasian or who has light complexion can easily identifies with their ‘race’, and view a person of another colored complexion as an ‘other’ because this normalized.

As has been presented above, many definitions and terms applicable to the purpose of this thesis are directly connected with the history of African Americans. For that reason, New Historicism as a literary approach will be discussed. New Historicism is a theory which developed from the New Criticism. New Historicists state that contemporary problems should be interpreted in their historical context because setting events in their historical perspective helps to grasp their meaning (Lennox, 1992: 160). Apart from that, New Historicists emphasize the role of cultural ancestry which, according to them, should be passed on to coming generations.

Racial relations in America have been stressed between all parties. Everyone has either felt racism towards them, seen it directed towards others, or felt guilt regarding their race. Because race is easily identifiable, it becomes a calling card that weaves its way into a person’s identification. I am biracial and have been able to interpret how my skin color seems different between people of varying races. Many white people have seemed surprised after hearing my voice because they assumed my race would accompany a different tone. I have been on the outskirts of both black and white groups. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 before my father was born. Rosa Parks said, “No,” in 1955 before my grandmother

There have been several explanations proposed about why African American minorities and police officers have disagreements when they come in contact with each other. Social media, peers, and family members can influence African American minorities to retaliate against police officers. Many outdated studies regarding racism and behavior towards African Americans from police officers have examined African Americans views of police officers as a whole, such as African Americans of any age, but comparatively fewer have examined the minorities of the African American population. African American minorities between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four should be the main focus in any further research because majority of this specific age group have an attitude of us versus them towards police officers (Smith & Holmes, 2014).