The view of racism as something ordinary asserts that racism is something we all interact with in our common, everyday life experiences. While there are glaring examples of racial discrimination that catch our attention, there are many more common examples of racism that go unnoticed every day. 

Racism as something ordinary

The view that racism serves the dominant group asserts that the material and psychological benefits that white people experience through racism means they are disincentivized from challenging racism as a system.


Racism as something that serves the dominant group

The social construction of race refers to how the concept and categories of race, as well as the meanings given to them, are not innate, but instead formed by society. While there are real physical traits that humans have, such as skin color, these traits do not exist in the format of clearly defined boxes that the concept “race” is structured as, nor do they correspond to any personal traits or values, a false belief that racism is built upon.

The Social Construction of Race

While not universally supported by every critical race theorist, these are the basic propositions uniting the movement:

- Racism is ordinary
- Racism serves the dominant group
- Race is socially constructed

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Critical Race Theory is an interdisciplinary movement made up of activists and scholars working to understand and change the relationships between race, racism, and power. 

Critical Race Theory (CRT)

Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2012). Critical Race Theory: An Introduction (2nd ed.). NYU Press.

Critical Race Theory: An Introduction 

Critical Race Theory came out of a time in the 1970s United States during which a number of legal scholars, lawyers, and activists decided that the advances of the civil rights era the decade before were no longer progressing forward, or were even being pushed backward. They saw a need for new theories and strategies to combat racism. More people and disciplines soon joined the movement. 

Origins of Critical Race Theory

- Critical Race Feminism
- Critical Race Masculinism
- Queer-Crit theory
- Lat-Crit Theory
- Asian-Crit
- Critical White Studies

Spin-off Movements from Critical Race Theory

Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory

These are specific actions studied and promoted within Critical Race Theory.

- Legal storytelling
- Revisionist history

Methods within Critical Race Theory

These are theoretical framworks that conflict or are positioned at odds with each other within the Critical Race Theory movement.

- Racial Idealism vs. Racial Realism

Divisions within Critical Race Theory

These are terms that were created within Critical Race Theory or are necessary to understand some of the theories within Critical Race Theory

- Intersectionality
- Color blindness
- Racial Idealism
- Racial Realism

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