Defining Critical Race Theory
Critical Race Theory (CRT) emerged in the 1970s as a legal theory in response to what some viewed as a stalling of the civil rights movement. Over the years, CRT grew and evolved, with several scholars, including Kimberlé Crenshaw, Cheryl Harris, Richard Delgado, Jean Stefancic, Patricia Williams, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Tara Yosso, credited as originators along with Bell and Freeman by the American Bar Association.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines CRT as “a group of concepts used for examining the relationship between race and the laws and legal institutions of a country and especially the United States”; and also as “a movement advocating the examination of that relationship.” CRT, unlike other legal scholarship, allows for the notion of storytelling, to provide context and understanding. These three themes—racism as a structural issue, critique of liberalism in failing to meet the needs of Black Americans, and storytelling—allow the audience to best distinguish CRT from other scholarship.
However, as CRT is a constantly developing area, it is not limited to those three themes.
Federal Government Action
Executive Branch
CRT came to the forefront of American politics in September 2020, when President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13950, requiring all executive branch agencies to end trainings that teach or suggest certain prohibited concepts, race or sex stereotyping, and race or sex scapegoating. President Trump also spoke out against CRT and the “1619 Project,” which is a New York Times initiative that sets race and racism at the center of United States’ founding and history. The training ban was halted by a federal court in December 2020. President Biden then reversed the ban after taking office in January 2021.
EO 13950 defines the barred “divisive concepts” as:
- One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex;
- The United States is fundamentally racist or sexist;
- An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously;
- An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex;
- Members of one race or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex;
- An individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex;
- An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;
- Any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex; or
- Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race to oppress another race.
Legislative Branch
Several bills have been introduced in Congress relating to teaching race- or sex-based topics. The language of this legislation varies, with the majority either barring certain concepts from the EO in military training education or prohibiting the use of federal funds for teaching certain concepts from the EO or the “1619 Project.”
State Legislation
At least 14 states have passed legislation regarding CRT since 2021. The following states have enacted legislation to statutorily prohibit CRT from being taught in elementary, secondary, or postsecondary public schools:
- Arizona: 2021 HB 2898 signed into law on June 30, 2021. Parts of the bill were declared unconstitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court on November 2, 2021, due to violations of the “single-subject rule.” The parts of the bill that contained CRT and COVID-19 provisions violated the rule;
- Florida: 2022 HB 7 signed into law on April 22, 2022;
- Georgia: 2022 HB 1084 signed into law on April 28, 2022;
- Idaho: 2021 HB 377 signed into law on April 28, 2021;
- Iowa: 2021 House File 802 signed into law on June 8, 2021;
- Mississippi: 2022 SB 2113 signed into law on March 14, 2022;
- Montana: 2023 SB 518 signed into law on May 19, 2023;
- New Hampshire: 2021 HB 2 signed into law on June 25, 2021;
- North Dakota: 2021 HB 1508 signed into law on November 15, 2021;
- Oklahoma: 2021 HB 1775 signed into law on May 7, 2021;
- South Carolina: 2021 HB 4100, an appropriations bill, contained CRT provisions in Part 1B, Section 1.105 for the current fiscal year and was passed on June 30, 2021;
- South Dakota: 2022 HB 1012 signed into law on March 28, 2022;
- Tennessee: 2021 HB 580 signed into law on May 25, 2021; and
- Texas: 2021 SB 3 signed into law on September 17, 2021.
by Meredith Fry
Senior Research Analyst
785-296-3181