Edward Taylor’s The Foundations of Critical Race Theory
Question One
The author discussed the foundations of critical race theory, a theory that was conceived from the efforts in resisting political and social injustices based on gender and race. The author analyzes all the aspects, such as historical and academic contexts, concerning the critical race theory that started.
Question Two
The author develops his ideas in three critical steps. First, he explains the historical and academic contexts that contributed to the conception of the critical race theory. For instance, he mentions how the civil rights movements saw the liberation of African-Americans from racial discrimination. He argues that the civil rights movement birthed Critical Legal studies, a movement that resisted the whites’ status quo to achieve a society that is fair to all regardless of racial disparities. He also mentions Derrick Bell, one of the first people to apply the critical race theory, when he confronted the Harvard University management for not hiring women of color. The author’s second step in developing his idea is explaining how the critical race theory was extended to education learning institutions. The author argues that the critical race theory has been instrumental in deepening the understanding of the educational barriers of people of color. He explains that the theory challenges the dominant concentration of the “status quo” races by allowing participation in the minority racial narrative.
Lastly, the author introduces significant pieces regarding critical race theory. He analyzes works by notable critical race theory thinkers like Derick Bell, Marvin Lynn, Tara Gosso and Laurence Parker. The author’s goal is to analyze the research methodologies used by these thinkers in making the critical race theory instrumental in fighting racial oppression and America, and then the world.
Question Three
The author argues the importance of resistance in achieving change in a discriminative racial society. He also argues the need for educational strategies to apply critical race theory to achieve effective resistance.
Question Four
The author concludes that critical race theory encourages educational strategies to be accommodative resistance efforts. According to him, resistance helps society to remain “in check,” morally wise. He argues that resistance is the refusal to remain silent while the status quos mistreat some social groups.
Question Six
The reader must understand that racial disparities exist in America. He must also be familiar with critical historical contexts like slavery and racial segregation that saw people of color undergo inhumane social, political, and economic oppression. Notably, these contexts will allow the readers to understand the author’s interest in discussing the critical race theory.
Question seven
The new terminology the author introduces is interest convergence. The author defines this terminology as the instances when blacks gain racial equality only when they “work” with the powerful whites.
Question Eight
The article will help me to be fair to my students, especially if they are from different racial backgrounds. Most educational studies and approaches have concentrated on white people, who are regarded as the superior race. The critical race theory challenges this notion by insisting on the importance of allowing all races to voice out their needs and culture. Therefore, I believe that this article will help me address my students of color needs’ appropriately.
Question Nine
The following are the questions I have after reading the article
- Does the COVID-19 pandemic have an impact on the efficacy of critical race theory?
- What are the ways through which critical race theory can be abused? What are the solutions?
Question 10
This reading relates to the previous ones because it focuses on racial studies. Like the other readings, this one also echoes the resistant efforts against racial discrimination.
