Just What Is Critical Race Theory and What's It Doing in a Nice Field Like Education?

International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education

ISSN: 0951-8398 (Print) 1366-5898 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tqse20

Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education?

Gloria Ladson-Billings

To cite this article: Gloria Ladson-Billings (1998) Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education?, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11:1, 7-24, DOI: 10.1080/095183998236863 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/095183998236863

Published online: 25 Nov 2010.

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Justwhatiscriticalrace theory andwhat’ sit doing in a nice ®eldlike education?

GLORIALADSON-BILLINGS DepartmentofCurriculumandInstruction UniversityofWisconsinMadison

Criticalracetheory(CRT)®rst emergedasacounterlegalscholarshiptothepositivistandliberal legaldiscourseofcivilrights.Thisscholarlytrad itionarguesagainsttheslowpaceofracialreform inth eUnitedStates.C riticalra ceth eoryb eginswithth enotionth atracismis normalin Americansociety.I tdepartsfrom m ainstreamlegalsch olarshipb ysometimesemploying storytelling.Itcritiquesliberalism andarguesthatWhitesh avebeentheprimaryb ene®ciariesof civilrightslegislation.SinceschoolingintheUSApurportsto preparecitizens,CRTlooksathow citizenshipandracemightinteract.Criticalracetheory’susefulnessinunderstandingeducation inequityisinits infancy.Itrequiresa critiqueofsomeofthecivilrightsera’smostcherishedlegal victoriesandeducationalreform movements,suchasmulticulturalism.Thepaperconcludeswith wordsofcautionabouttheuseofCRTineducationwithoutamoreth oroughanalysisofthelegal literatureu ponwhichit isbased.

Introduction

Almost®veyearsag oacolleagueandIbeganacollaborationin w hichwegrappled withth elegalsch olarshipk nownas``criticalracetheory’’(Delgado,cited in Monaghan,1993).Sotentativewerew eaboutthislineofinquiryth atweproceeded withex tremecaution.Wewereb othu ntenureda ndrelativelyn ew too urinstitution. Wewereu nsureo fhowthisn ew lineofinquiryw ouldb ereceivedb othw ithino ur universityandthroughouttheeducationalresearch } scholarlyc ommunity.Ourinitial stepwastoholdacolloquiuminourdepartment.Wewerep leasantlysurprisedtomeet witha room®lledw ithco lleaguesandgraduatestudentswhoseemedeagertohearour ideasandhelpu sinth esenewtheoreticalandconceptualformulations. Thatinitialmeetingledto manyrevisionsanditerations.Wepresentedv ersionsof thepaperandtheideassu rroundingita tconferencesa ndprofessionalm eetings. Outsidethesupportivecon®nesofourownin stitution,wewerem etwithn otonlythe expectedintellectualchallenges,butalsoo utrighthostility.Whywerew efocusingonly onrace?Whataboutgender?Whynotclass?Arey ouabandoningmulticultural perspectives?Bythefallo f1995o urmuchd iscussedp aperwasp ublished(L adson- Billings&Tate,1995).Wehave,however,h eldo urcollectiveintellectualbreathsfor almostayearbecause,despitetheproliferationofcriticalracelegalscholarship,wehave seensc antevidencethatthisw orkh asm adeanyimpacto ntheeducational research} scholarlyco mmunity.Thus,seeingcriticalracetheory(CRT)asathemein aneducationaljournalrepresentsour®rsto pportunityto ` `exhale.’’

Ithadbeenagoodday.Mytalkasapartofthe``DistinguishedLecture’’Series atamajorresearchu niversityh adgonewell.T heaudiencew asreceptive;the questionswerech allenging,yetrespectful.Mycolleagueswereex ceptionalhosts.

0951± 8398} 98 $12± 00 ’ 1998Taylor &FrancisL td 8 gloria ladson -billings

Ispentthedaysharingideasandexchangingviewsonvariousphasesoftheirwork andmyown.Therehadevenbeenth enotsosubtlehintofajoboåer.Thewarm, almosttropicalclimateofthisuniversityst oodinstarkcontrasttotheoverlylon g, brutalwinterso fmyowninstitution.Butita lsoh adbeena tiringday±allt hat smiling,listeningwithraptinteresttoeveryone’sresearch,recallingminutedetails ofmyown,tryingtobewittyandsimultaneouslyserioushadtakenitstoll.Icould notwaitto g etbackto th ehoteltorelaxforafew hoursbefored inner. Oneofthenicep erksthatcomesw iththeselec ture``gigs’’isadecenthotel. Thison ewasnoexception.Myaccommodationw ereo nthehotel’s VIP¯oor± equippedw ithsp ecialelevatoraccessk eya ndprivateloungeon t hetop¯oor overlookingthecity.AsIsteppedoåtheelevator,I decidedtog ointotheVIP lounge,readth enewspaper,a ndhaveadrink.Iarrivedearly,ju stb eforeth e happyhour,andnooneelsew asinthelounge.Itookaseatononeofthecouches andbegancatchingupontheday’snews.Shortlya fterIsatdowncomfortably withm ynewspaper,a Whitem anpeekedhisheadintothelounge,lookedatme sittingtherein mybest(andconservative)``dressforsuccess’’out®t±highheels andall±andsaidw itha pronouncedSoutherna ccent,` `Whattimearey’ all gonnabeservin’?’’ Itellthisstorybothbecausestorytellingisapartofcriticalracetheoryan dbecausethis particularstoryu nderscoresa nimportantpointwithint hecriticalracet heoretical paradigm,i.e.rac e[still]matters(W est,1992).Despitet hescienti®c refutationofrace asalegitimatebiologicalconceptandattemptsto m arginalizeracein m ucho fthe public(political)discourse,racecontinuestobeapowerful social constructandsigni®er (Morrison,1992): Raceh asbecomemetaphorical±awayofreferringtoanddisguisingforces, events,classes,a ndexpressionsofsocialdecayandeconomicd ivisionfarmore threateningtothebodypolitict hanbiological``race’’everwa s. Expensivelykept,economicallyu nsound,aspuriousanduselesspoliticalasset inelect ionca mpaigns,ra cismis a shealthytodayasitw asduringthe Enlightenment.Itsee msthatith asautilityfar b eyondeconomy,b eyondthe sequesteringofclassesfromon eanother,a ndhasassumedametaphoricallifes o completelyem beddedin d ailyd iscourset hatitis p erhapsmoren ecessarya nd moreon d isplaythaneverbefore.(p .63) Iamintriguedbythemanyfacesa ndpermutationsracehasassumedinco ntemporary society.Ourunderstandingofracehasmovedb eyondthebio-geneticc ategoriesa nd notionsofphenotype.Our`àdvancedid eas’’aboutraceincludetheracializationof multipleculturalforms.SociologistSharonLee(1993)suggeststhat``questionsofrace havebeenincludedinallU.S.populationcen susessincethe®rsto nein1790’’(p.86). AlthoughracialcategoriesintheU.S.censushave¯uctuatedovertime,twocategories haveremainedstable±Blackan dWhite.A nd,whilet hecreationofthecategoryd oes notrevealwhatconstituteswithinit,it doescreateforusasenseofpolaroppositesthat positsaculturalrankingdesignedtote llu swhoisWhiteo r,p erhapsmorep ointedly, who is not W hite! Butdeterminingwhoisa ndisn otWhiteis n otmerelya projecto findividual constructiona nd } orbiologicaldesignation.Forexample,in earlyc ensusdata,citizens ofMexicandescentwereco nsideredW hite,t houghovertime,p olitical,eco nomic, social,andculturals hiftsh aveforcedM exicanAmericansoutoftheWhiteca tegory. Conversely,HaneyLo ! pez(1995)p ointedoutthatsomegroupscametotheUSAand just what iscritical race theory ? 9 broughtsuitin t hecourtsto b edeclaredW hite.O miandWinant(1993)argue, however,t hatthepolarnotionsofraceaseitheranideologicalconstructo rasan objectivec onditionbothh aveshortcomings.T hatis,thinkingofracestrictlya san ideologicalconceptdeniestherealityo faracializedsocietyanditsim pactonpeoplein theireverydaylives.Ontheotherhand,thinkingofracesolelya sanobjectivecondition deniesth eproblematica spectso frace±howtod ecidewho®tsintow hichracial classi®ca tions. Ournotionsofrace(a nditsu se)a reso co mplexthatevenwhenit failst o``make sense’’wecontinuetoemployanddeployit.Iwanttoargue,then,thatourconceptions ofrace,ev eninapostmoderna nd } orpostcolonialworld,arem oreem beddedand®xed thaninapreviousage.However,th isembeddednessor``®xed-ness’’hasrequirednew languageandconstructionsofraces othatdenotationsares ubmergedan dhiddenin waysthatareo åensivethoughwit houtidenti®ca tion.Thus,w edevelopnotionsof ``conceptualwhiteness’’and``conceptualblackness’’(King,1995)thatbothdoanddo notm apn eatlyon t obio-geneticor c ulturalallegiances.C onceptualcategorieslik e ``schoolachievement,’’ ``middleclassness,’’``maleness,’’ ``beauty,’’`ìntelligence,’’and ``science’’becomenormativeca tegorieso fwhiteness,w hileca tegorieslike ` `gangs,’’ ``welfarere cipients,’’ ``basketballplayers,’’and``theunderclass’’becomethemargin- alizedandde-legitimatedc ategorieso fblackness. Thecreationoftheseco nceptualcategoriesisn otdesignedto re ifya binaryb ut rathertosuggesthow,inaracializedsocietyw herewhitenessispositionedasnormative, everyone isra nkeda ndcategorizedinrela tiont othesep ointso fopposition.These categoriesfu ndamentallysc ulpttheextantterraino fpossibilitiesevenw henother possibilitiesexist.And,althoughthereisa®xednesstothenotionofthesecategories,th e waysinw hichtheyactuallyo perateare¯ uida ndshifting.Forexample,a sanAfrica n Americanfemalea cademic,I canbeandamso metimesp ositioneda sconceptually Whitein re lationto,perhaps,aLatino,Spanish-speakinggardener.In th atinstance, myclassandsocialpositionoverridemyracialidenti®c ationa ndforthatm omentI become``White.’’ Thesigni®c anceo fracen eedn otbeoverlyd ebatedin t hisp aper.Bu t,a sToni Morrisonargues,raceisalwaysalreadypresentineveryso cialcon®guringorourlives. Roediger(19 91)asserts,`Èvenin a nall-whitetown,racew asneverabsent’’(p.3). However,moresigni®ca nt } problematicthantheomnipresenceofraceisthenotionthat ``whitesreachtheconclusionthattheirw hitenessismeaningful’’(Roediger,p .6).It is becauseofthemeaningandvalueimputedto w hitenessth atCRTbecomesa n importantintellectualandsocialt oolfo rdeconstruction,reconstruction,andcon- struction:deconstructionofo ppressivestru cturesa nddiscourses,reconstructionof humanagency,andconstructionofequitableandsociallyjustrelationsofpower.In this paper,t hen,Iamattemptingtosp eakto in novativet heoreticalwaysforframing discussionsaboutsocialjusticeanddemocracyandtheroleofeducationinreproducing orinterruptingcurrentpractices. Ihopetop rovideabriefs ynopsisofCriticalRaceTheory " anddiscusssomeofits prominentthemes.ThenIwilldiscussitsimportancetoourunderstandingofthecitizen inademocracy,itsrela tionshiptoeducationand®nallys omecautionaryim plications forfurtherresearchan dstudy.Asist rueofalltexts,t hisoneisin complete(O’Neill, 1992).It isincompleteonthepartofboththewritera ndthereader.However,g ivenits incompleteness,Iimplorere adersto grapplewithh owitmightadvancethedebateon racean deducation. 10 gloria ladson -billings

WhatisCr iticalRaceTheory?

Mostpeopleinth eUSA®rstlea rnedofcriticalracetheory(C RT)whenLaniGuinier, aUniversityof PennsylvaniaLawProfessor,b ecameapoliticalcasualtyo ftheClinton administration.Herleg alwritingswereth efocusofmuchscrutinyint hemedia. Unschooleda ndunsophisticatedaboutthenatureoflegalacademicwriting,themedia vili®ed G uinieran daccusedh ero fadvocating`ùn-American’’ideas.T heprimary focusofthescornsh ownGuinierw asherargumentforproportionalrepresentation. Guinier(1991)assertedth atine lectorals ituationswherep articularracialgroups werea clear(a ndpersistent)minority,theonlyp ossibilityfo ranequitablechanceat socialbene®ts andfairpoliticalrepresentationmightbeform inorityv otestocountfor moret hantheiractualnumbers.G uinier® rstproposedsuchastrategyasasolutionfo r apostapartheidSouthAfrica.BecauseWhitesareintheobviousminority,theonlyway forthemtoparticipateinthegoverningofanewSouthAfricaw ouldbetoinsurethem someseatsinth enewlyfo rmedgovernment. GuiniermadeasimilarargumentinfavorofAfricanAmericansintheUSA.Shesaw thisa salegalresponseto t heongoinglackofrepresentation.Unfortunately,her politicalopponentsattackedherscholarshipasanaåronttotheAmericantraditionof `òneperson,onevote.’’ ThefuroroverG uinier’s worko bscuredt hefactt hatasan academic,Guinierwasexpectedtow rite``cutting-edge’’scholarshipth atp ushed theoreticalboundaries(G uinier,1994).Herworkwasnottobeliterallya ppliedt olegal practice.However,in thebroadscopeofcriticalracelegalstudies,Guiniermaybeseen asrelativelymoderateandnowheren eartheradicalthepressmadeherouttobe.But, her`èxposure’’placedc riticalracetheoryanditsproponentsinthemidstofthepublic discourse. AccordingtoDelgado(1995,p.xiii),` `CriticalRaceTheorysprangupint hemid- 1970swithth eearlyw orko fDerrickB ell(an A fricanAmerican)andAlanFreeman(a white),b othofwhomwe red eeplyd istressedovertheslowpaceofracialreformin the UnitedStates.T heya rguedth atthetraditionala pproacheso f®ling amicus briefs, conductingprotestsandmarches,a ndappealingtothemoralsensibilitiesofdecent citizensproducedsmallera ndfewergainsthaninprevioustimes.Beforelon gtheywere beingjoinedbyotherlegalscholarswhosharedt heirfru strationwithtrad itionalcivil rightsstrategies. Criticalraceth eoryis, th us,botha noutgrowthofandaseparateen tityfroman earlierlegalmovementcalledcriticallegalstudies(CLS).Criticallegalstudiesisaleftist legalmovementthatchallengedth etraditionallegalscholarshipth atfo cusedo n doctrinalandpolicya nalysis(Gordon,1990)infavorofaformoflawthatspoketothe speci®cit yofindividualsandgroupsinsocialandculturalcontexts.Criticallegalstudies scholarsa lsoch allengedthenotionthat``thecivilrig htss trugglerep resentsa long, steady,marchtowards ocialtransformation’’(Crenshaw,1988, p.1334). AccordingtoCrenshaw(1988),``Critical[legal]scholarshaveattemptedtoanalyze legalideologyanddiscourseasasocialartifactwhicho peratestorecreateandlegitimate Americansociety’’(p.1350).Scholarsin theCLSmovementdecipherlegaldoctrineto exposebothit sinternala ndexternalinconsistenciesa ndrevealt hewaysthat``legal ideologyhashelpedcreate,su pport,an dlegitimateAmerica’spresentclassstructure’’ (Crenshaw,p.1350).ThecontributionofCLStolegaldiscourseis in it sanalysiso f legitimatingstructuresin th esociety.MuchoftheCLSideologyemanatesfro mthe worko fGramsci(1971)anddependsontheGramsciannotionof` `hegemony’’to describethecontinuedleg itimacyof o ppressivestructuresin A mericanso ciety. just what iscritical race theory ? 11

However,C LSfailsto providepragmatics trategiesformaterialsocialtransformation. CornelWest(1993)assertst hat:

¼criticallegaltheoristsfundamentallyq uestionthedominantliberalparadigms prevalentandpervasivein A mericanculturea ndsociety.Thisth orough questioningisnotprimarilya constructiveattempttoputforwardaconceptionof anew legalandsocialo rder.R ather,it is a pronouncedd isclosureo f inconsistencies,in coherences,silences,an dblindnesso flegalformalists,le gal positivists,andlegalrealistsintheliberaltradition.Criticallegalstudiesis more aconcertedat tacka ndassaulto nthelegitimacya ndauthorityo fpedagogical strategiesinlaw sc hoolthanacomprehensiveannouncementofwhatacredible andrealizablen ew societyandlegalsystemw ouldlooklik e.(p.196)

CLSscholarscritiquemainstreamlegalideologyforitsp ortrayalofU.S.societya sa meritocracybutfailedt oincluderacismin its c ritique.Thus,CRTbecamealogical outgrowthof thediscontentoflegalscholarso fcolor. CRTbeginswiththenotionthatracismis` `normal,n otaberrant,in A merican society’’(Delgado,1995,p.xiv),and,becauseit is so en meshedin th efabrico four socialorder,itappearsbothnormalandnaturaltopeopleinthisculture.Indeed,Bell’s majorp remisein Facesatthe bottom ofthe well (1992)isthatracismis apermanent®xture ofAmericanlife.Thus,thestrategybecomesoneofunmaskingandexposingracismin itsv ariouspermutations. Second,CRTdepartsfrommainstreamlegalscholarshipbysometimesemploying storytellingto`ànalyzethemyths,presuppositions,an dreceivedwisdomsthatmakeup thecommoncultureaboutraceandthatinvariablyrenderblacksandotherminorities one-down’’(Delgado,1995,p .xiv).AccordingtoB arnes(1 990)``Criticalrace theorists¼integratetheir experientialknowledge (emphasisa dded),drawnfromashared historyasòther’withtheirongoingstrugglestotransformaworldd eterioratingunder thealbatrossofracialh egemony’’(pp.1864±1865).Thus,theexperienceofoppressions sucha sracismo rsexismhasimportantaspectsfordevelopingaCRTanalytical standpoint.TotheextentthatWhites(o rinthecaseofsexism,men)experienceforms ofracialoppression,theym aydevelopsucha standpoint.Forexample,thehistorical ®gureJo hnBrownsuåereda spectso fracismbyaligninghimselfcloselyw iththecause ofAfricanAmericanliberation. # Contemporaryex ampleso fsuchid enti®c ationm ay occurwhenWhiteparentsadopttransracially.N olongeraWhitefa mily,byvirtueof theirch ild(ren),theybecomeracializedothers.A ®nalexamplewasplayedoutinthe infamousO.J.Simpsontrials.T hecriminaltrialjurywasrepeatedlyidenti®e dasthe ``Black’’juryd espiteth epresenceofoneWhitea ndoneLatinojuror.H owever,th e majorityW hitecivil ca seju ryw asn otgivena racialdesignation.WhenW hitesa re exemptedfro mracialdesignationsandbecome``families,’’``jurors,’’ ``students,’’ ``teachers,’’ etc.theira bilityt oapplya CRTanalyticalrubricis lim ited.Oneofthe mostdramaticexampleso ftheshiftfro mnon-racedtoCRTperspectiveoccurredw hen GregoryW illiams(1995)movedfromVirginiawhereh ewasaWhiteboytoMuncie, Indiana,whereh isfa milyw asknowntob eBlack.Thechangesin h ise conomica nd socialstatuswererem arkable,andthestoryhetellsu nderscoresth esalienceofracein life’spossibilities.Theprimaryre ason,then,thatstories,o rnarratives,a red eemed importantamongCRTscholarsisth attheyaddnecessarycontextualcontoursto th e seeming`òbjectivity’’ofpositivistperspectives. Third,CRTinsistson a critiqueofliberalism.Crenshaw(1988) arguesth atthe liberalperspectiveofthe``civilrightscrusadeasalong,slow,butalwaysupwardp ull’’ 12 gloria ladson -billings

(p.1334)is¯awedbecauseitfailstounderstandthelimitsofcurrentlegalparadigmsto serveascatalystsforsocialchangeanditsemphasisonincrementalism.CRTarguesthat racismre quiressw eepingchanges,b utliberalismh asnomechanismfor s uchch ange. Rather,lib erallegalpracticessupportthepainstakinglyslowprocessofarguinglegal precedencetog aincitize nrightsforpeopleofcolor. Fourth,andrelatedtotheliberalperspective,istheargumentposedbyCRTthat Whiteshavebeentheprimaryb ene®ciarie sofcivilrig htslegislation.Forexample, althoughundera ttackt hroughoutthenation,thepolicyofaærm ativeactionhas bene®ted W hites,acontentionthatisv alidatedb ythefactth attheactualn umbers revealthatthemajorrecip ientsofaærm ativeactionhiringpoliciesh aveb eenWhite women(Guy-Sheftall,1993).Onemightargue,then,thatmanyoftheseWhitewomen haveincomesthatsupporth ouseholdsinwhichotherWhitesliv e±men,women,and children.Thus,thesew omen’sabilityt o®ndworku ltimatelyb ene®ts W hites,in general. Incontrast,letuslookatsomeofthesocialbene®t sAfricanAmericanshavereceived duetoaæ rm ativea ctionpolicies.E vena fter2 0yearso faærm ativeaction,African Americansconstituteonly4 ± 5%oftheprofessorate(Hacker,1 992).In1991therewere 24721doctoraldegreesa wardedt oU.S.citizensandnoncitizenswhointendedt o remainintheUSA,andonly933or3 ± 8%ofthesedoctorateswenttoAfricanAmerican menandwomen.Ifeveryo neofthosenewlyminteddoctorateswentintotheacademy, itw ouldh aveanegligibleeå ect on th eproportionof A fricanAmericansinth e professorate.Inad dition,themajorityo ftheAfricanAmericanswhoearnP hDsearn theminthe®eldo feducation,andofthatgroup,mostofthedegreesareineducational administrationwhereth erecipientscontinueasschoolpractitioners(H acker,19 92). Thus,CRTtheoristscite th iskindofempiricalevidencetosupporttheircontention thatcivilrigh tslawscontinuetoservetheinterestsofWhites.Amorefruitfultack,some CRTscholarsargue,isto®ndtheplacewheretheinterestsofWhitesandpeopleofcolor intersect.Thisnotionof``interest-convergence’’(Bell,1 980,p .94)canbeseeninwhat transpiredinA rizonaovertheMartinL utherKing,Jr.H olidaycommemoration. Originally,thestateofArizonainsistedthattheKingHolidaywastooco stlya nd thereforefailedto recognizeit forstateworkersa ndagencies.S ubsequently,avarietyof AfricanAmericangroupsandtheirs upportersb egantoboycottbusiness,professional, andsocialfunctionsinthestateofArizona.Whenmemberso ftheNationalBasketball AssociationandtheNationalFootballLeaguesuggestedt hatneithertheNBAAll-Star GamenortheSuperBowlwouldbeheldin Arizonabecauseofitsfa ilureto recognize theKingHoliday,thedecisionwasreversed.Hardlyanyoneisnaiveenoughtobelieve thatthegovernorofArizonahadachangeofheartaboutthesigni®c anceoftheKing Holiday.Rather,whenhispositiono ntheholidayhadtheeåectofhurtingstatetourist andsportsen tertainmentrevenues,thestate’sinterests(toenhancerevenue)converged witht hatoftheAfricanAmericancommunity(t orecognizeD r.K ing).Thus, converginginterests,notsupportofcivilrights,ledto thereversalofthestate’sposition. InarecentcompilationofCRTkeywritings(Crenshawetal.,1995)itispointedout thatthereis no``canonicalsetofdoctrinesormethodologiestowhich[C RTscholars] allsu bscribe’’(p.xiii).B ut,th esesch olarsa reu ni®ed b ytwocommoninterests±to understandhowa``regimeofwhitesupremacyanditss ubordinationofpeopleofcolor havebeencreateda ndmaintainedinAmerica’’(p.xiii)a ndtochangethebondthat existsbetweenlawandracialp ower. Inthepursuitoftheseinterests,legalscholars,suchasPatriciaWilliams(1991)and DerrickBe ll(19 87;1992),werea mongtheearlycrit icalraceth eoristswhoseid eas just what iscritical race theory ? 13 reachedthegeneralpublic.S omemightarguethattheirw ideappealwastheresultof theirabilitiestotellco mpellingstoriesintowhichth eyembeddedlegalissues. $ This use ofstoryis of p articularinteresttoed ucatorsb ecauseofthegrowingpopularityo f narrativein quiryinthestudyofteaching(Carter,1 993;Connelly& Clandinin,1990). But,justbecausem orep eoplea rereco gnizingandusingstorya saparto fscholarly inquirydoesnotmeanthatallstoriesa rejudgedaslegitimateinknowledgeconstruction andtheadvancementofadiscipline. Lawrence(19 95)assertsthatthereis a traditionofs torytellinginla wandthat litigationish ighlyfo rmalizeds torytelling,thoughthestoriesofordinaryp eople,in general,h avenotbeent oldorrecordedintheliteratureoflaw(oranyotherdiscipline). Butthisfailu retom akeitin toth ecanonsofliteratureo rresearchd oesnotm aketh e storieso fordinaryp eoplelessim portant. Storiesp rovidethenecessarycontextforunderstanding,feeling,andinterpreting. Theahistoricalandacontextualnatureo fmuchla wandother``science’’rendersth e voiceso fdispossessedandmarginalizedg roupmembersm ute.In response,muchofthe scholarshipofCRTfocuseso ntheroleo f``voice’’inbringingadditionalpowertothe legaldiscoursesofra cialjustice.Indeed,Delgado(1990)arguesth atpeopleo fcolor speakwithex perientialknowledgeaboutthefactthatoursocietyisdeeplyst ructured byracism.Thatstructuregivestheirsto riesacommonframeworkwarrantingtheterm ``voice.’’ Consequently,criticalraceth eoristsa rea ttemptingtointerjectm inority culturalviewpoints,derivedfromacommonhistoryofoppression,intotheireå orts t o reconstructasocietycrumblingundertheburdenofracialhegemony(Barnes,1990). Theuseo fvoiceo r``namingyourreality’’isa waythatCRTlinksforma nd substanceinscholarship.CRTscholarsuseparables,chronicles,st ories,co unterstories, poetry,® ction,andrevisionisthistoriesto illustratethefalsenecessityandironyofmuch ofcurrentcivilrig htsd octrine.Delgado(1989)suggeststh attherea rea tleastth ree reasonsfor` `namingone’sownreality’’inleg aldiscourse:

1.muchof``reality’’issociallyco nstructed; 2.storiesp rovidememberso foutgroupsavehiclefo rpsychicself-preservation; and 3.theexchangeofstoriesfrom t ellerto listenercanhelpo vercomeethnocentrism andthedysconscious(King,1992)d riveorneedto view theworldin o neway.

The®rstreasonfornamingone’sownrealityin volveshowpoliticalandmoralanalysis isconductedinlegalscholarship.Manymainstreamlegalscholarsembraceuniversalism overparticularity.AccordingtoWilliams(1991),``theoreticallegalunderstanding’’is characterized,inA nglo-Americanju risprudence,b ytheacceptanceoftranscendent, acontextual,u niversallegaltruthsorp rocedures.Forin stance,so melegalscholars mightcontendthatthetorto ffraudhasalwaysexistedandthatitis a component belongingtotheuniversalsystemofrightandwrong.Thisworld-view tendstodiscount anythingthatisn ontranscendent(historical),or co ntextual(sociallyc onstructed),or nonuniversal(speci®c )withtheunscholarlyla belso f``emotional,’’ ``literary,’’ ``personal,’’ orfalse(Williams,1991). Inco ntrast,criticalraceth eoristsa rguethatpoliticalandmorala nalysisis situational±``truthsonlyex istfo rthisp ersoninth isp redicamentatt histim ein history’’(Delgado,19 91,p.11).Forthecriticalracetheorist,socialrealityis constructedb ytheformulationandtheexchangeofstoriesa boutindividualsituations (see,forexample,M atsuda,1989).Theses toriesservea sinterpretivestructuresb y whichw eimposeorderone xperienceanditonus(Delgado,1989). 14 gloria ladson -billings

Asecondreasonforthenamingone’sownrealityt hemeofCRTisth epsychic preservationofmarginalizedg roups.A factorcontributingtot hedemoralizationo f marginalizedg roupsisself-co ndemnation(Delgado,1989).M embersof m inority groupsinternalizethestereotypicim agesth atcertaine lementso fsocietyhave constructedin o rdertomaintaintheirp ower.H istorically,storytellinghasbeenakind ofmedicinetohealthewoundsofpainca usedbyracialoppression.Thestoryo fone’s conditionleadstotherealizationofhowonecametobeoppressedandsubjugated,thus allowingonetosto pin¯ictingmentalviolenceononeself. Finally,namingone’sownrealitywiths toriesca naåectt heoppressor.M ost oppression,aswasdiscussedea rlier,d oesnotse emlik eoppressionto th eperpetrator (Lawrence,1987).D elgado(1989)arguesthatthedominantgroupjusti®es itsp ower withsto ries,sto ckex planations,th atconstructrea lityin w aysthatmaintainth eir privilege.T hus,o ppressionisra tionalized,causinglittles elf-examinationbythe oppressor.Storiesbypeopleofcolorcancatalyzethenecessarycognitivecon¯icttojar dysconsciousracism. The``voice’’componentofCRTprovidesa waytoco mmunicateth eexperience andrealitieso ftheoppressed,a®rstst epin u nderstandingthecomplexitieso fracism andbeginningaprocessofjudicialredress.Forexample,t hevoiceo fpeopleofcoloris requiredfo radeepu nderstandingoftheeducationalsystem.Delpit(1988) arguesone ofthetragediesofthe®eldo feducationis howthedialogueofpeopleofcolorhasbeen silenced.Delpitb eginsheran alysiso ftheprocess-orientedv ersustheskills-oriented writingdebatew ithastatement(orstory)froma nAfricanAmericanmaleg raduate studentatapredominantlyw hiteu niversityw hoisa lsoa specialed ucationteacherin anAfricanAmericancommunity:

Thereco mesamomentineverycla sswherewehavetodiscuss``TheBlackIssue’’ andwhat’sappropriatee ducationfo rBlackchildren.Itelly ou,I’mtiredof arguingwiththoseWhitepeople,becausetheywon’tlisten.Well,I don’tknowif theyreallyd on’tlisteno riftheyjustdon’tbelieveyou.Itseemslikeifyoucan’t quoteVygotskyorsomething,thenyo udon’thaveanyvalidityto s peakabout yourownkids.Anyway,I’mnotbotheringwithitanymore,nowI’mjustinitfor agrade.(p.280)

TheabovecommentandnumerousotherstatementsfoundinDelpit’sanalysisillustrate thefrustrationofteacherso fcolorthatiscausedbybeingleftoutofthedialogueabout howb esttoeducatech ildreno fcolor.F urther,D elpitra isesse veralveryim portant questions:

Howcansuchcompleteco mmunicationblocksexistwhenbothparties[B lackand Whites]tru lyb elievetheyhavethesameaims?Howcanthebitternessa nd resentmentexpressedb yeducatorsofcolorb edrainedsothatallsoresca nheal? Whatcanbedone?(p.282)

Criticalracetheorya ndcitizenship

Oneoftheplacestob eginu nderstandingCRTisto ex aminehowconceptionsof citizenshipa ndracein teract.A lthoughconnectionsofCRTandcitizenshipa re numerousandcomplex,int hispaperI willa ttempttod etailonlyo neofthecentral just what iscritical race theory ? 15 connectionsthatis im portantinu nderstandingtherelationshipofthissch olarshipto educationalissues.Thatcentralconnectionis the``propertyiss ue’’(Ladson-Billings& Tate,1995).CRTscholarsa ssertth atth eUSAisa nationconceivedandbuilto n propertyrights(B ell,1 987;Harris,1993).Inth eearlyh istoryo fthenationonly propertiedWhitem alesen joyedthefranchise.T hesigni®ca nceofpropertyo wnership asaprerequisiteto citizenshipwastiedt otheBritishn otionthatonlypeoplewho owned thecountry,notmerelyth osewho lived init,w ereelig ibletomakedecisionsaboutit. % Thesalienceofpropertyofte nismissedinourunderstandingoftheUSAasanation. Con¯atedw ithdemocracy,capitalismslid esintothebackgroundofourunderstanding ofthewayinw hichU .S.politicalandeconomicid eologyareen tangledandreadas synonymous.Butitisthisfoundationofpropertyrig htsthatmakecivilrightslegislation sopainfullyslowandsometimesineåectiv e.Civilrig htsareweddedtotheconstruction oftherightsoftheindividual.Bell(1 987)arg uesthat``theconceptofindividualrights, unconnectedtopropertyrig hts,w astotallyfo reigntothesemenofproperty,’’(p.239) inhisexplanationofhowmenwhoexpresseda commitmenttolibertyandjusticecould upholdtherepressionofAfricanAmericans,theindigenouspeopleswhoinhabitedthe land,andwomen. AfricanAmericansrepresenteda particularconundrumbecausenotonlywereth ey nota ccordedin dividualcivilrig htsbecauset heyw eren otWhitea ndownedn o property,buttheywereco nstructed as property!However,t hatconstructionwasonly inth esensethattheycouldb eownedb yothers.Theyp ossessednorightsofproperty ownership.Whites,o ntheotherhand,accordingtoHarris(1 993),bene®t edfromthe constructionofwhitenessastheultimateproperty.``Possession±theactnecessarytolay basisforrightsinproperty± wasde®nedtoincludeonlytheculturalpracticesofWhites. Thisde®nitionlaidthefoundationfortheideathatwhiteness±thatwhichWhitesalone possess±isvaluableandisproperty’’(p.1721). Thisth ematicstra ndofwhitenessa spropertyinth eUSAisn otcon®nedto th e nation’searlyh istory.Indeed,AndrewHacker’s (1992)exercisew ithh isco llege studentsillustratesthematerialan dsocialvaluethestudentsplaceontheirp ossession ofwhiteness.Hackeru sesaparabletoillu stratethatalthoughthestudentsinsistthat ``inthisdayandage,thingsareb etterfo rBlacks’’(p.31),noneofthemwouldwantto changeplaceswithAfricanAmericans.Whenaskedwhatamountofcompensationthey wouldseekif theywerefo rcedto ``becomeBlack,’’thestudents``seemedtofeelt hatit wouldn otb eoutofp lacetoaskfo r$50million,or$1m illionforeachco mingBlack year’’(p.32).AccordingtoH acker:

Andthisc alculationc onveys,a swellas a nything,thevaluethatwhitep eople placeontheiro wnskins.Indeed,tobewhiteisto possessagiftw hosevaluecan beappreciatedonlyafterithasbeenta kenaway.Andwhyasksolargeasum?¼. Themoneyw ouldb eused,asb estitco uld,tob uyprotectionfromthe discriminationsanddangersw hitepeopleknowtheyw ouldfaceoncetheyw ere perceivedtobeblack.(p.32)

Thus,evenw ithouttheuseofasophisticatedlegalrhetoricalargument,Whiteskn ow theypossessapropertyt hatpeopleofcolord onotandthattopossessitconfers,a spects ofcitizenshipnotavailablet oothers.H arris’s (1993)argumentisth atthe``property functionsofwhiteness’’(p.1731)±rightso fdisposition,rightsto u seandenjoyment, reputationandstatusproperty,andtheabsoluterighttoexclude±maketheAmerican dreamof``life,liberty,andthepursuitofhappiness’’amorelik elyandattainablereality forWhitesa scitizens.Thisrealitya lsoismorelikelyt oengenderfeelingsofloyaltyand 16 gloria ladson -billings commitmenttoa nationthatworksinth einterestso fWhites.C onversely,Bla cks, awareth attheyw illn everp ossessthisu ltimatep roperty,areless s anguineabout U.S.citizenship. PatriciaW illiams(1995)explainsthesed iåe rentialnotionsofcitizenshipas b eing groundedin d iåe rentialexperiencesofrightsb ecause` òne’ssenseo fempowerment de®n eson e’srelationtolaw,int ermsoftru st±distrust,fo rmality±informality,or right±n orights(or`needs’)’’(pp.87±88). Anexampleofthisdiå eringrelation(inth is casetoco mmerce)w assharedin o neofmyclasses.W ewered iscussingMcIntosh’s (1990)articleo n``Whiteprivilege.’’OneWhitewomanshareda personalexperience ofgoingintoaneighborhoodsupermarket,havingheritemsrungupbythecashier,and discoveringthatshedidnothavehercheckbook.Thecashiertoldhershecouldtakeher groceriesandbringthecheckbacklat er.W hensherelatedth issto ryto a nAfrican Americanmalefrien d,hetoldh erth atwasanexampleo ftheprivilegesheenjoyed becauseshewasWhite.H erW hitep ropertyw asco llateralagainstthecartfu llo f groceries.Sheinsistedth atthiswasthestore’s goodneighborpolicy,andthesamething wouldhavehappenedtohim.Determinedtoshowhisfriendthattheirlife ex periences werequalitativediåe rent,theyoungmanwentshoppingafew dayslaterandpretended tohavelefthischeckbook.Theyoungwomanwasstandingoåtothesideobservingthe interaction.Thesamecashier,w hohadbeenpointedo utbythewomana sthe ``neighborlyo ne,’’ toldt heyoungAfricanAmericanmanthathecouldp ushth e groceryitem stothesidewhileh ewenthometogethischeckbook.TheWhitewoman wasshockedastheAfricanAmericanm alega veheraknowinglook. Thesedailyin dignitiesta ketheirt ollo npeopleofcolor.Whenthesein dignitiesa re skimmedo verinth eclassroomsthatpurportto d evelopstudentsintocitizens,itisno wonderstu dents` `blowoå’’classroomd iscourse.Howcanst udentsb eexpectedto deconstructrig hts,`ìna worldo fnorights’’(Williams,1 995,p.98)a ndconstruct statementsofneed` ìnaworldo fabundantlyapparentneed?’’(p.89) AfricanAmericans,thus,representauniqueformo fcitizeninth eUSA±property transformedintocitizen.Thisprocesshasnotbeena smoothone.WhenChiefJustice Taneyconcludedinth e D red Scott decisionthatAfricanAmericanshadnorightsthat Whiteswerereq uiredto respect,h ereinscribedtheperson-as-propertystatusofAfrican Americans.Laterin Plessy v. Ferguson thehighc ourto nceagaind eniedfullcitizenship rightstoAfricanAmericansasawaytoassertW hitep ropertyrig hts±rightstouseand enjoya ndtheabsoluterighttoex clude. Eventhelaudabledecisionof Brown v. Board ofEducation comesunderscrutinyinthe CRTparadigm.Lestwemisread Brown v. Boardof Education asm erelya pangof conscienceandthetriumphofrightoverwrong,itisimportanttoset Brown in context. First,h istoricallyt he Brown decisionhelpedth eUSAinits st ruggleto m inimizeth e spreadofcommunismt oso-calledThirdW orldn ations.In m anycountries,th e credibilityof th eUSAhadbeend amagedb ythewidelyb roadcastinequitableso cial conditionsthatexistedin theUSAinthe1950s.BoththegovernmentandtheNAACP lawyersa rguedt he Brown decisionwouldh elpleg itimizethepoliticalandeconomic philosophieso ftheUSAwiththesed evelopingnations(Bell,1 980). Second, Brown providedrea ssurancetoAfricanAmericansthatthestrugglefo r freedomandequalityfo ughtforduringWorldW arIImightbecomearealityathome. Blackveteransfacedn otonlyracialinequality,butalsophysicalharmin manypartso f theSouth.And,thetreatmentofAfricanAmericansafterthewarinconcertw iththe voiceo fAfricanAmericanleaderssu chasPaulRobesonmayhavegreatlyin ¯uenced the Brown decision.Robesonargued: just what iscritical race theory ? 17

Itisunthinkable¼thatAmericanNegroes[ sic]wouldgotowaronbehalfofthose whohaveoppressedu sforgenerations¼againsta country[th eSovietUnion] whichin o negenerationhasraisedourpeopleto th efullh umandignityo f mankind.(inF oner,1 978, pp.17± 18)

AccordingtoBe ll(1 980),itis n otu nreasonableto a ssumethatthoseinp ositionsof powerwouldreco gnizet heimportanceo fneutralizingRobesonandothersw hoheld similarviews.Robeson’scommentsw erea naåronttothe``nationalinterests.’’ Thus, raciald ecisionsbythecourtswerep ivotalin so fteningthecriticismab outthe contradictionofafreea ndjustnationthatmaintainedasegmentofitscitizenryin second-classstatusbasedo nrace.Finally,therewereW hiteca pitalistswhounderstood thattheSouthcouldb etransformedfro manA grariansocietyto a nindustrialized sunbelto nlyw henit endedth edivisivebattleo verstate-supportedseg regation.Here, segregationwasreadasabarriero bstructingtheeconomicself-in teresto fU.S.pro®t makers. Atthiswriting,theelectorateofCaliforniahavepassedProposition209,callingfor anendto``preferentialtreatment’’instateemploymentandstateuniversityadmission policiesbasedo nraceorgender.T hetropeofpreferentialtreatmenthashelpc reatea perceptionthatendingaærm ativeactionwilllea dtoamorefa irandequitablesociety, while,in rea lity,thepropositionwillb eusedtoinstantiatethehierarchicalrelationsof powerthatonceagainp rivilegewhitenessasthemostvaluedproperty.Citizenshipfor peopleofcolorremainselusive.

Criticalracetheoreticalapproachesto ed ucation

Thusfarin t hisp aperIhaveattemptedtoexplainth emeaningandhistorical backgroundofcriticalracetheoryinlegalscholarshipandtheroleofpropertyrigh tsin understandingcitizenship.However,ed ucatorsandresearchersin the®eldofeducation willwanttoknowwhatrelevanceCRThastoeducation.Theconnectionsbetweenlaw andeducationarere lativelysim pleto est ablish.Sincee ducationin t heUSAisn ot outlinedexplicitlyinth enation’sconstitution,itisoneofthesocialfunctionsrelegated toindividualstates.Consequently,statesgeneratelegislationandenactlawsdesignedto proscribethecontoursofeducation. Oneoftheearliestleg islativeattemptswasMassachusetts’`òldd eluderSatan’’act thatrequiredcitize nsofthestatetop rovideeducationforits ch ildrento in sureth ey receivedm orala ndreligiousinstruction.Inthemodernera th eintersectionofschool andlawprovidedfertilegroundfortestingandenactingcivilrightslegislation.Thus, thelandmark Brown decisiongenerateda spateofschooldesegregationofCentralHigh SchoolinL ittleR ock,Arkansas,th eNewOrleansPublicS chools,theUniversityo f Mississippi,theUniversityof A labama,andtheUniversityo fGeorgia.Bythe1970s, schooldesegregation } civilrig htsbattlesw ereb eingfoughtinnortherncities .The®ght forschooldesegregationinB ostonschoolswasamongthemostv iciousinciv ilrights annals. Onerecurringthemethatcharacterizedtheschool } civilrigh tsleg albattlesw as `èqualopportunity.’’Thisn otionofequalopportunitywasassociatedw iththeidea thatstudentso fcolorshouldh aveaccesstoth esameschoolopportunities,i.e . curriculum,instruction,funding,facilities.a sWhitest udents.T hisem phasiso n ``sameness’’wasimportantbecauseithelpedboosttheargumentsfor` èqualtreatment 18 gloria ladson -billings underthelaw’’thatwereim portantformovingAfricanAmericansfromtheirse cond- classstatus. ButwhatwasnecessarytohelpA fricanAmericansto``catchup’’withtheirW hite counterparts?Beyondequaltreatmentwastheneedto red resspassin equities.T hus, therew asamovetowardaærm ativeactionandthecreationofAfricanAmericansand otherm arginalizedgroupsas``protectedclasses’’toin sureth attheyw eren ot systematicallyscreen edo utofopportunitiesin em ployment,co llegead mission,and housing.Ifwelookatthewaythatpubliceducationiscurrentlycon®gured,itispossible toseeth ewaysthatCRTcanbeapowerfulexplanatorytoolforthesustainedinequity thatpeopleof co lore xperience.Iwillu seth eareasofcurriculum,instruction, assessment,schoolfunding,anddesegregationa sexemplarsoftherelationshipthatcan existb etweenCRTandeducation.

Curriculum

Criticalraceth eorys eest heoæcia lschoolcurriculumasa culturallys peci®c artifact designedtom aintaina Whitesu premacistmasterscript.AsSwartz(1 992)contends: Masterscriptingsilencesmultiplevoicesa ndperspectives,primarilyleg itimizing dominant,w hite,upper-class,malev oicingsa sthe``standard’’knowledge studentsneedtoknow.Allotheraccountsandperspectivesareomittedfromth e masterscriptunlesstheycanbedisempoweredthroughmisrepresentation.Thus, contentthatdoesnotre¯ect th edominantvoicem ustbebroughtundercontrol, mastered,andthenresh apedb eforeit ca nbecomeapartof th emasterscript. (p. 341) Thism astersc riptingmeansstoriesof AfricanAmericansarem uteda nderasedw hen theychallengedominantcultureauthoritya ndpower.T hus,RosaParksisre ducedto atiredsea mstressinsteadofalong-timeparticipantinso cialjusticeen deavorsa s evidencedbyherw orka ttheHighlanderFolkS chooltop reparefo raconfrontation withse gregationistideology.Or,MartinL utherKing,Jr.b ecomesasanitizedfolk h ero whoenjoyedthefullsupportof``goodAmericans’’ratherthanadisdainedscholarand activistw hosevisionextendedto s ocialju sticec ausest hroughouttheworlda nd challengedtheUSAonissuesofeconomicinjusticea ndaggressioninSoutheastAsia. Therace-neutralorco lorblindperspective,ev identint hewayt hecurriculum presentspeopleofcolor,p resumesahomogenized` `we’’ina celebrationo fdiversity. Thisp erspectiveembracesaso-calledm ulticulturalperspectiveby``misequatingthe middlep assagew ithE llisIs land’’(King,1992,p.327).T hus,st udentsare ta ught erroneouslyt hat``wearea llim migrants,’’ and,asaresult,A fricanAmerican, Indigenous,andChicanostudentsareleft w ithth eguiltof fa ilingtorise a bovetheir immigrantstatuslike`èveryo thergroup.’’ Butitis n otjustthedistortions,omissions,a ndstereotypeso fschoolcu rriculum contentthatmustbeconsidered,italsois therigorofthecurriculumandaccessto what isd eemed`ènriched’’curriculumviag ifteda ndtalentedco ursesandclasses.As JonathanKozol(1991)describes: Thecurriculum[thewhiteschool]fo llows`èmphasizescrit icalthinking, reasoningandlogic.’’ Theplanetarium,forinstance,isemployednotsimplyfor thestudyoftheuniverseas it ex ists.``Childrenalsoa red esigningtheiro wn galaxies,’’ theteachersays.(p.96) just what iscritical race theory ? 19

Inm y[Kozol’s]notes:``Sixgirls,fo urboys.NineWhite,oneChinese.Iam gladtheyh avethiscla ss.B utwhatabouttheothers?Aren’ttherete nBlack childreninth eschoolwhocould enjoy thisalso?’’ Thisrest ricteda ccesst othecurriculumisa goodillu strationofHarris’s (1993) explanationofthefunctiono fpropertyin te rmsofuseandenjoyment.

Instruction

CRTsuggeststh atcurrentinstructionalstrategiesp resumethatAfricanAmerican studentsared e®c ient.Asaconsequence,classroomteachersa reen gagedina never- endingquestfor`` the rightstrategyortechnique’’todealwith(rea d:control)``at-risk’’ (read:AfricanAmerican)students.C astin a languageo ffailure,instructional approachesforAfricanAmericanstudentstypicallyinvolvesomeaspectofremediation. Thisrace-neutralperspectivep urportsto see d e®ciencyasanin dividualphenom- enon.Thus,instructionisconceivedasagenericset of teachingskillsth atshouldwork forallstudents.Whenthesestrategiesorskillsfailtoachievedesiredresu lts,thestudents, notthetechniques,arefo undtob elacking. Fortunately,newresearcheå orts a rerejec tingde®citm odelsan dinvestigatingand aærm ingtheintegrityo feåectiveteacherso fAfricanAmericanstudents. & This scholarshipunderscorestheteachers’understandingofthesaliencyofraceineducation andthesociety,anditunderscoresth eneedt omakeracismexplicitsothatstudentscan recognizea ndstrugglea gainstthisp articularformo foppression. Exampleso fcounterpedagogicalmovesare fo undinth eworko fbothC hicago elementaryt eacherMarvaCollinsandLosAngelesh ighschoolmathematicstea cher JaimeEscalante.Whilen eitherCollinsnorEscalanteisacclaimedasa ``progressive’’ teacher,b otha rereco gnizedfo rtheirp ersistenceinb elievingint heeducabilityo fall students.Bothremindstudentsthatmainstreamsocietyexpectsth emtobefailuresand prodthestudentstosucceeda saformofcounterinsurgency.Theirinsistenceonhelping studentsachieveinth e``traditional’’curriculumrepresentsatwistonAudreL orde’s notionthatonecannotdismantleth emaster’shousewiththemaster’s tools.Instead, theybelieveonecanonlydismantleth emaster’s housewiththemaster’stools.

Assessment

Forthecriticalraceth eorist,in telligencete stinghasb eena movementtoleg itimize AfricanAmericanstudentde®c iencyundertheguiseofscienti®c rationalism(Alienikoå, 1991;Gould,1981).AccordingtoM arable(19 83),onepurposeof th eAfrican Americaninth eracial } capitaliststateistoserv easasymbolicin dexforpoorWhites. Iftheworking-classWhiteis``achieving’’atahigherlevelthanBlacks,thentheyfeel relativelysuperior.ThisallowsWhiteswithrea lpowertoexploitb othpoorWhitesand Blacks.T hroughoutU.S.history,thesubordinationo fBlacksh asbeenbuilto n ``scienti®c ’’theories(e.g .,intelligencetesting)thatdependonracialstereotypesabout Blacksthatmaketheirc onditionappearappropriate.Crenshaw(1988) contendsthat thepointofcontroversyis nolongerthatthesestereotypeswered evelopedtorationalize theoppressionofBlacks,butrather,` `[T]heextenttow hichth eseste reotypesservea hegemonicfunctionb yperpetuatingamythologyaboutbothBlacksandWhiteseven today,reinforcinganillusionofaWhitecommunitythatcutsacrossethnic,gender,and classlines’’(p.1371). 20 gloria ladson -billings

Int heclassroom,adysfunctionalcurriculumcoupledw itha lacko finstructional innovation(orpersistence)addsuptop oorperformanceo ntraditionalassessment measures.T heseas sessmentmeasures± crudebymosta nalyses±maytellu sthat studentsdonotknowwhatitonthetest,butfailto tellu swhatstudentsactuallykn ow andarea bletodo.Atellingexampleofthismismatchb etweenw hatschoolsm easure andwhatstudentsknowandcandoisthatofa10-year-oldAfricanAmericangirlw ho wasrepeatedlyt oldb ytheteacherthatshewasa poormathstudent.However,th e teacherw asu nawareth atthegirlw aslivingunderincrediblestresseswheres hewas assumingresponsibilitiesh erdrug-addictedmothercouldnot.Towardoåchildw elfare agentsthechildh andledallhouseholdresponsibilities,in cludingbudgetingandpaying allth ehouseholdb ills.Hera bilityto ke ept hehouseholdg oingmadeita ppearthat everythingwas®neinthehousehold.Accordingtotheteacher,shecouldnotdofourth- grademath,buttheevidenceo fherlifesu ggestssh ewasdoingjust® neat``adult’’ math !

School funding

Perhapsnoareao fschoolingunderscoresin equitya ndracismbettert hanschool funding.CRTarguesthatinequalityinschoolfundingisafunctionofinstitutionaland structuralracism.TheinabilityofAfricanA mericanstoq ualifyfo reducational advancements,jo bs,andmortgagescrea tesa cycleo floweducationalachievement, underemploymentandunemployment,a ndstandardh ousing.Withoutsuåeringa singleactofpersonalracism,mostAfricanAmericanssuåertheconsequenceofsystemic andstructuralracism. ’ JonathanKozol’s Savage inequalities (1991)cre atedan em otionalandethicalst ir withina ndbeyondtheeducationcommunity.Whiteco lleaguestalkedo fhowmoved boththeyandtheirstudentswerea stheyreadKozol’sdescriptionsofinequityinschool settings.Sometalkedofbeing``movedtotears’’and``unabletoreadmorethanafew pagesatatime.’’ Othersta lkedofhowdiæcu ltitwasfortheirstudentstoreadthebook. Interestingly,m anyAfricanAmericancolleaguesindicatedth ata lthoughKozolhad beenp recisea ndpassionateinh isdocumentation,hehadnotrevealedanythingnew aboutthediåeren cest hatexistb etweenAfrica nAmericanandWhitesc hools.But, Kozol’sresearchd idg ivevo iceto p eopleo fcolor.H isa nalysiso ffundinginequities providesin sightintot heimpacto fracisma ndWhiteself-interesto nschoolfunding policies. CRTarguesth attheimportof p ropertyp rovidesa notherw ayto c onsiderthe fundingdisparity.Schooling,asafunctiono findividualstates,is d iå erentially administeredb ythevariousstatelegislatures.B ut,oneofthemostcommonaspectsof these50diåeren tschoolingagenciesisthewaytheyarefunded.Almosteverystatefunds schoolsbasedonpropertytaxes.Thoseareaswithp ropertyof greaterwealthty pically havebetterfundedschools.Inth eappendixofKozol’sbookarecomparisonsshowing thedisparitieswithinthreed iå erentareas.IntheChicagoarea,forthe1988± 89school year,thefundingdisparitywasanalmosta$4,000perpupildiåe rence.Chicagoschools weresp ending$5,265perp upil,w hilet hesuburbanN ilesTownshipH ighSchool Districtwasspending$9,371.IntheNewJerseyareat hediåeren cesb etweenCamden Schoolsa ndPrincetonSchoolsw asabout$4,200inp erpupilspending.Inth eNew YorkC itya reat hediåe rencewasalmost$6,000inp erpupilspending. Talkingaboutthedisparityb etweenp erp upilsp endingofteninvitesthecritique just what iscritical race theory ? 21 thatmoneyd oesn’tmatter.S tudiesa sfarbackasColemanet al.(1966)andJenckset al.(1972)havearguedt hatfamilyan dindividualeåec tsa refar m orep owerfulthan schoolsind eterminingpoorschoolperformance.W hetherornotschoolspendingisa determiningfactorinschoolachievement,noonefromthefamilya ndindividualeåects campcanmountane thicalcaseforallowingpoorchildrentolanguishin u nheated, overcrowdedschoolswithbathroomsthatspewrawsewagewhilemiddle-incomeWhite studentsattendschoolinspacious,technologyrich,invitingbuildings.Ifmoneydoesn’t matter,th enwhyspenditontherich? CRTtakestotaskschoolreformersw hofailto recognizeth atpropertyis apowerful determinantofa cademica dvantage.W ithoutacommitmenttoredesignfunding formulas,o neofthebasicin equitieso fschoolingwillrem ainin p lacea ndvirtually guaranteethereproductionofthestatusquo.

Desegregation

Althoughdesegregationis n otoccurringinev erysc hooldistrict,itsim pactonthe nationallevelisim portantenoughtob eincludedw iththemoreco mmonschool experienceso fcurriculum,instruction,assessment,andfunding.Despitetherecorded historyo fthe®ghtforsc hooldesegregation,CRTscholarsarg uethatratherthan servingasasolutiontosocialin equity,schooldesegregationhasbeenpromotedonlyin waysthatadvantageWhites(B ell,1 990) Lomoteya ndStaley’s(1990)examinationofBuåalo’s``modeld esegregation’’ programrevealedt hatAfricanAmericanstudentscontinuedtobepoorlys ervedbythe schoolsystem.AfricanA mericanstudentachievementfailedto im prove,w hile suspension,expulsion,anddropoutratescontinuedtorise.W hat,then,madeBuåaloa modeldesegregationprogram?Inshort,th eansweristhebene®tsthatWhitesderived fromtheprogramandtheirs eemingsupportofdesegregation.Asaresultoftheschool desegregationprogram,Whitesw ereab letota keadvantageofspecialmagnetsc hool programsandfreeex tendedch ildca re.T hus,t hedominantlogicis th atamodel desegregationprogramis onethatinsuresthatWhitesarehappy(anddonotleavethe systema ltogether). Thereporto fschooldesegregationinBu åalois n otunliketh eallegoricalstory presentedbyCRTdean,DerrickBell(19 87).T hestory,entitled``Thesacri®c edBlack children,’’illustrateshowthefailureto a cceptAfricanAmericanchildrenin totheir communityschoolsca usesa Whiteschooldistrictto u ltimatelyen dupbeggingthe studentstocomebecausetheirp resencewasintimatelytied t otheeconomicprosperity ofthecommunity.ItisthisrealizationthatcivilrightslegislationintheUSAalwayshas bene®ted W hites(evenifithasnotalwaysbene®ted A fricanAmericans)thatformsthe cruxoftheCRTargumentagainsttraditionalliberalcivilrightslegislation.TheCRT argumentprovidesanimportantsegueintothe®nalsectionofthispaper±theneedfor cautioninp roceedingwiththeintegrationofCRTintoeducationalresearch.

Wordsofcaution

Itisthepatternin educationalresearchfo ranewideaorinnovationtotakeholdand proliferate.S ometimesanideatakesawhilet otakeroot,butonceitdoes,mostlikely itscrea torslo seco ntrolo ftheidea.Considerwhathappenedw iththenotiono f 22 gloria ladson -billings cooperativelearning.WhenCohenandRoper(1972)proposedcooperativeclassroom structurestoeq ualizethestatusofW hitea ndAfricanAmericanstudents,theirw ork heldgrea tpromiseforhelpingteachertodevelopcurricularandinstructionalstrategies forimprovingtheacademicp erformanceo fallc hildrenind esegregatedcla ssrooms. However,so mehowtheir® ndingsgotdistilledin tod ay-longworkshopsand®ve-step lessonplans.SchoolsystemsthroughouttheUSAwerea doptingcooperativelearning withoutanythoughttoim provingtheperformanceofchildreno fcolor. Asimilartransmutationoftheoryisoccurringintheareao fmulticulturaleducation. Althoughscholarssu cha sJamesB anks,CarlG rant,andGenevaGay ( began on a scholarlyp athd esignedto ch angeschoolsa sinstitutionssoth atst udentsm ightbe preparedtoreco nstructth esociety,inits cu rrentpracticeit eration,multicultural educationisb utashadowofitsco nceptualself.R atherth anengagestudentsin provocativethinkingaboutthecontradictionsofU.S.idealsandlivedrealities,teachers often® ndthemselvesencouragingstudentstosing``ethnic’’songs,eatethnicfoods,and doethnicd ances.Consistently,manifestationsofmulticulturaled ucationinth e classroomaresu per®cia landtrivial``celebrationsofdiversity.’’ What,t hen,mighthappentoC RTinth ehandsofeducationalresearchersa nd schoolpersonnel?Well,t obehonest,likeLaniGuinier,Idoubtifitwillgoveryfa rinto themainstream.Rather,C RTined ucationislik elyt obecomethe``darling’’ofthe radicalleft,co ntinuetogeneratescholarlyp apersanddebate,andneverpenetratethe classroomsanddailyex perienceso fstudentso fcolor.B ut,s tudentsofcolor,th eir families,a ndcommunitiesca nnotaåordth eluxuryo fCRTscholars’ru minationsany moreth antheycouldaå o rdthoseofcriticalandpostmodernth eorists,wheretheideas arelaudablebutthepracticeleavesmuchto b edesired. AsexcitedasImaybeaboutthepotentialofCRTforilluminatingourthinking aboutschoolinequity,Ibelieveeducationalresearchersneedm uchmoretimetostudy andunderstandthelegalliteraturein w hichit is s ituated.Itis v erytem ptingto appropriateCRTasamorep owerfulexplanatorynarrativeforth epersistentproblems ofrace,ra cism,andsocialinjustice.If wearese riousaboutsolvingtheseproblemsin schoolsandclassrooms,wehavetobeseriousaboutintensestudyandcarefulrethinking ofraceandeducation.AdoptingandadaptingCRTasaframeworkfo reducational equitym eansthatw ewillh avetoex posera cismin ed ucation and proposeradical solutionsforaddressingit.W ewillh avetota keboldan dsometimesu npopular positions.W emaybepilloried® gurativelyo r,a tleast,v ili®e dfortheses tands. Ultimately,wemayhavetostand,symbolically,beforethenationasLaniGuinierand hearourideasdistortedandmisrepresented.Wemayhavetodefendaradicalapproach tod emocracyt hatseriouslyu nderminesth eprivilegeofthosew hohavesosk illfully carvedthatprivilegeintothefoundationofthenation.Wewillhavetoadoptaposition ofconsistentlys wimmingagainstthecurrent.W eruntherisko fbeingpermanent outsiders,b ut,asWynter(1 992)suggests,wemustoperatefromapositionof alerity or liminality wherew emay` `callintoquestiontheruleso ffunctioningonwhosebasisth e UnitedStatesconceptualizesitselfa sagenerically` White’nation,andelaborateits presentsystemof s ocietalself-knowledge’’(p.19).But,Ifearwe(educational researchers)mayneverassumetheliminalpositionbecauseofitsdangers,itsdiscomfort, andbecauseweinsiston thinkingofourselvesaspermanentresidentsina nice ® eld like education. just what iscritical race theory ? 23

Notes

1.Fora richer description ofcriticalracetheory,see Tate(1997). 2.Scholars such asPeggyMcIntosh (1990)andRuth Frankenberg(1 993)havebegun tod econstruct whitenessthroughtheir positionofothernessaswomen.Their worksug gests possibilitiesforW hites todeploy aCRTanalysis. 3.Williamsisknownforher Benettonstorywhere shewaslocked outofthe trendyclothingstorein New Yorkb ecauseofherrace. Somedoubted the``generalizability ’’ofWilliamsstoryun til televisionpersonality OprahWinfreyrep orted asimilarincident.Bell’ s``SpaceTraders’ ’’storyis anallegoricaltalethatsuggests thatWhite America would gladly` `giveaway’’AfricanAmericanstospacealiens ifthealiensmadeagood enoughtrade. 4.Ofcourse in America theconceptof``ownership’’ofthe landhastob econtested bythe indigenous people’ srightstotha tland.However, thatdiscussion is beyond thescopeofthisone. 5.See forexample, Foster and Newman(1989),Henry(1 992),and Ladson-Billings(1995). 6.The impact ofracism generallyis tied toth eeverydaylives ofpoorandunderclass people ofcolor. Recently, revelationsofmajorU.S.corporations(e.g., Texacoa ndAvis) indicate thattheysy stematically perpetuate racism in hiring,promotion,andcustomer service. 7. Banks,Grant,andGayareb utafew ofthenotableswhowere intheforefrontoftheintellectualgenesis ofmulticulturaleducation.GwendolynBa ker,C arlosC ortez, andMargaret Gibsonareothers. Anyattempt tona methem allw ould fallshort.

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