Within Critical Race Theory, color blindness only strengthens racism as something that goes unnoticed and untalked about in every day operations, making it impossible to address racial harms other than those so flagrant that everyone immediately recognizes them as racism, but is then dismissed as abnormal or something of the past.

Criticism of color blindness (within Critical Race Theory)

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. 

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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

Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory

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

Critical Race Theory: An Introduction 

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.

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