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What is your prior knowledge of whiteness? 

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What is your prior knowledge of whiteness? 

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Critical race theory emerged in 1970s in law schools and its aim was and is to interrupt the the institutional racism in US system - schools, Employment sectors, for instance.

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In my opinion, Critical Race Theory (CRT) is rooted in Constructivism, where researchers expand their knowledge by utilizing the experiences and knowledge of marginalized groups. On the other hand, Critical Whiteness Theory (CWT) is based on Deconstructivism, where researchers critically examine their own worldviews and how their privileges may impact people of color.

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What is Critical Race Theory? and in Public Health

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What is Critical Race Theory? and in Public Health

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Critical Race Theory is an emerging transdisciplinary, race-equity methodology that originated in legal studies and is grounded in social justice. Critical Race Theory's tools for conducting research and practice are intended to elucidate contemporary racial phenomena, expand the vocabulary with which to discuss complex racial concepts, and challenge racial hierarchies.

Critical Race Theory offers the field of public health a new paradigm for investigating the root causes of health disparities. Based on race equity and social justice principles, Critical Race Theory encourages the development of solutions that bridge gaps in health, housing, employment, and other factors that condition living.

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Ask the Expert: The Rise and Meaning of Critical Race Theory

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This time last year, the words “critical race theory” would have elicited a quizzical look and a shrug outside of a very small percentage of Americans. These days, the once-obscure academic term is almost inescapable, on the lips of politicians, TV news hosts, public school officials and social media users far and wide. Several states have pass…

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CRT challenges the idea of white supremacy, color blindness, and dominant ideology not just in the educational aspect but in a systematic way within institutions. CTR criticizes the status quo by addressing race issues that could intersect with other identities (gender, class,..).

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Critical Whiteness emerged as branch of studies in critical race theory (CRT) AND it stands on the fact that whiteness is a property for North American and Europe.

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I was introduced to Critical Race Theory in 2010 at the Critical Race Studies in Education Association conference (CRSEA). I attended as a grad student at Miami University in the Masters Higher Education Program with my unofficial advisor (Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile). I am most familiar with CRT through an intersectional lens of race and gender. I strongly resonate with the tenants of Black Feminist Thought (BFT), which centers Black women’s epistemology through care, counterspaces and counterstories. Counterstories are personal and shared narratives that reflect truth, knowledge and lived experiences. BFT charges those with power and privilege, to recognize and affirm, Black women’s intersecting identities, and to confront, oppressive systems and routines that perpetuate violence against Black women (Collins, 1986; 2000).

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Honestly, I had limited knowledge of CRT prior to starting my PhD. As a teacher in Georgia, I'd heard about it, but I didn't know much if anything specific about it's origins or what it was about. After taking a course in WGSS, Feminst Pedagogies, we read and discussed CRT, expanding my knowledge but not as much as I would have liked.

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Critical whiteness theory (CWT) seeks to reveal the invisible role of whiteness in constructing racial inequities. As a subject area, critical whiteness studies emerged in the late 1990s as an expansion of critical race theory. A variety of disciplines have incorporated critical whiteness studies as a framework for anti-racism education; however, CWT remains relatively absent from the social work literature.

Understanding Whiteness is an important part of responding to issues related to race and racism. Whiteness refers to practices, policies and perspectives that create and enable the dominance of White people and White systems, and the perceived neutrality and invisibility of this dominance. By paying attention to Whiteness, public health practitioners, policy-makers and leaders can work towards disrupting White supremacy within public health systems and institutions, leading to more equitable, anti-racist approaches and practices.

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Again, my first exposure to this was upon starting my PhD. I learned about this via conversations with my advisor, Dr. Staples-Dixon, and the work she does, discussing white privilege, the WSP and the ways it maintains power via narcissitic, unconscious dominant ideologies. We've also discussed CRT, but I forgot to mention that in my previous post.