What Is Critical Race Theory? Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory by Delgado & Stefancic

Created by: Illegal scholars- law school professors

Created in: the 1970s 

There are 330 million people in the U.S. As of 2021, 14% of black people make up the US population. 37% of black people are incarcerated. We get incarcerated 5 times more than white people. 

What is a theory? Coming up with contexts/clues to explain something that may be difficult to explain. When someone sees something over and over but can’t explain it because there is no proof.

First, racism is ordinary, not aberrational—“normal science,” the usual way society does business, 

the common, everyday experience of most people of color in this country.

Racism is normal

The first feature, ordinariness, means that racism is difficult to address or cure

because it is not acknowledged.

Racism is normalized so it continues to go unheard.

Implanted into our system 

material determinism -

1st Feature: Racism is normal

2nd feature: 

3rd feature: Social construction

4th feature: 

5th feature: Intersectionality 

Interest convergence: White people won’t do anything for POC unless it benefits them (physically, mentally)

“Socially Construction” - society decides what race means