Critical Race Theory

Everyday

Racism

Interest Convergence

Consistent, daily acts of racism, sometimes overt, but more often subtle, that wear down and oppress people of color. This can be in the form of illogical fear towards another individual or erroneous

assumptions made

about someone

based solely on

race.

Racism is common in America

because it converges or overlaps

with interests of white

individuals or groups.

Other Important Concepts

Tyson makes an important point;

“the effects of everyday racism are

cumulative” (354). The constant

pressure of determining whether

someone’s actions were based on

race or if some other factor

contributed to their behavior is

stressful for people of color

(Tyson 354).

The Problem with

Liberalism

Slavery, for example, was a

financial interest for whites.

White Privilege

Taking steps toward racial justice, but taking too few and taking them too slowly (Tyson 363)."

"The myriad of social advantages,

benefits, courtesies that come with being a member of the dominant race (Tyson 361)."

Inequality in pay among

the working class serves as a psychological interest for whites because it satisfies their need to feel superior to others (Tyson 355).

Racial Realism

Racism: A Thing of the Past?

"The conviction that racial equality will never be achieved in the United States and that African Americans should, therefore, stop believing that it will (Tyson 365)."

Overview of

Critical Race Theory

Race is Socially Constructed

Voice of Color

Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory

1. Everyday Racism is a common ordinary experience for people of color in the U.S.

2. Racism is largely the result of interest convergence, sometimes referred to as material determinism.

3. Race is socially constructed.

4. Racism often takes the form of differential

racialization.

5. Everyone's identity is a product of

intersectionality.

6. The experiences of racial minorities have given

them what might be called a unique voice of

color.

(Tyson, p. 352)

The concept of race was socially constructed,

not developed as a result of scientific study

or biological differences.

The topics of race and racism are

more competently addressed by minority

writers because of their direct experiences

with racism. This competency is socially

constructed as opposed to biologically acquired.

Our Definition of Race Changes

Tyson states that “our definitions of

race change as economic and social pressures change (Tyson 356).” Until the year 2000, for example, the census in our country forced people to identify themselves as only one race, even though many Americans belong to more than one race.

Intersectionality

Critical race theory embraces

antiessentialism - “there are no essential, or inborn, genetic character traits associated with what we define as race (Tyson 360).”

Differential Racialization

“The dominant society racializes (identifies the characteristics of) different minority groups (in different ways) at different times, in response to (its) shifting needs (Tyson 358).”

“Race intersects with class, sex, sexual orientation, political orientation, and personal history in forming each person’s complex identity (Tyson 359).” This explains the added stress

that people of color

experience when they

try to determine the

reason for the

oppression or

discrimination that they

are experiencing.

For example, Native

Americans have been

described different ways at

different time periods because of the needs of the dominant society. They were thought to be “friendly, noble, lazy, drunkards, thieving heathens, or bloodthirsty savages (Tyson 359).”

For example, a poor,

black woman who has recently

immigrated to the U.S.may not

immediately know the cause

of the discrimination

she experiences.