May 5, 2021 12:00:00 AM
What does CRT mean, exactly? At its core, critical race theory—often abbreviated as CRT—is an intellectual framework that examines how racism is embedded in the laws, policies, and institutions (schools, for example) of the United States. It’s a way of understanding how racial inequality is built into the systems around us.
What CRT means for education, and for society at large, can be explained through a few key ideas:
Critical race theory traces the legacy of racism in America through slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and even the Black Lives Matter movement of today. At its roots, CRT draws from the work of notable Black scholars and activists like Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. Dubois, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. CRT developed into its current form in the late 1970s, when “the civil rights movement of the 1960s had stalled, and many of its gains were being rolled back.”
Many, many scholars have contributed to the extensive body of work that makes up the academic movement, but people frequently name Kimberlé Crenshaw and Richard Delgado as founders and important contributors, as well as renowned legal scholar Derrick Bell.
In a perfect world, educational equity would ensure that all students have access to high-quality curriculum, instruction and funding. But we don’t live in a perfect world, so racial inequality manifests in a number of ways in American education. For example:
CRT provides a relevant, research-based framework through which education leaders and policymakers can think about the social construct of race and the impact of racism on students of color. This framework also provides educators the tools they need to transform current practices in teaching and learning and to examine the attitudes and biases—implicit or explicit—that they bring into their classrooms.
As debates over what can be taught in schools intensify, CRT offers a path forward—helping educators navigate these tensions with honesty, care, and a commitment to truth. It ensures that students aren’t just seen, but deeply understood in the context of history, power, and identity.
Resistance to critical race theory is not a new phenomenon. However, the term jumped into headlines and social media feeds in recent years when, in a Constitution Day speech at the National Archives, President Donald Trump characterized education that takes a critical lens as “radical” and “ideological poison.” Trump went on to attack the “1619 Project” and announced an executive order establishing the short-lived “1776 Commission” to “promote patriotic education.” He also issued a subsequent executive order banning government contractors from conducting racial sensitivity and diversity training in the workplace.
This was no coincidence. Conservative activist Chris Rufo had been working behind the scenes to reframe CRT as a catch-all term for anything related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. He appeared on Fox News to promote this strategy, and shortly after, Trump picked it up and issued his executive orders. In a now-famous tweet, Rufo explained his goal: “We will eventually turn [CRT] toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category.”
The executive orders were a reaction to educational initiatives—like the the work of Howard Zinn—designed to examine professional development, pedagogy, teaching and learning through a critical lens, labeling any approach that acknowledges American racism, white supremacy, white privilege, intersectionality, microaggressions, and the like as dangerous, unpatriotic and, ironically, racist.
Some legislators and elected officials have even referenced CRT in connection with any lesson or training that acknowledges racially oppressive practices, as districts around the country have started to embrace the idea that Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students will do better in school if the systems around them change.These are big changes for school systems that have operated the same way for decades. Some would like to see less change and believe that the steps above are forcing a new worldview on their kids—even calling it “indoctrination.” In Idaho, Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee, for instance, state governments are acting out of direct concern that critical race theory is at the root of these changes.
Why is critical race theory important in K-12 education?
Let’s be clear: CRT isn’t part of most standard K-12 curricula, and first graders aren’t reading academic law journals.
For instance, in our nation’s schools, we still have sizable and stubborn gaps in academic proficiency between white children and their Black, Latinx and Native American peers. CRT has been helpful to education leaders as they seek to disentangle the systems in our communities and schools that oppress students of color, and hinder their ability to thrive.
By starting from the well-established fact that academic proficiency is not related to the color of one’s skin, critical race theory pushes policymakers to look beyond the individual students and instead look at the system around them. Shifting our language from "achievement gap" to "education debt" or "opportunity gap" is one step on the journey. In what ways have our systems of education, health, and housing blocked opportunities for Black and brown children? How do we eliminate those barriers?
Critical race theory remains one of the most polarizing topics in American education—but its relevance has never been more urgent. In early 2025, President Donald Trump issued a new executive order expanding restrictions on CRT-related content in federally funded programs. Under the banner of “patriotic education,” the administration is pushing a revisionist agenda—one that punishes truth-telling, silences dissent, and reframes justice work as a threat.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights protections are being hollowed out from within. Massive layoffs in early 2025 eliminated more than half the staff in the Department’s Office for Civil Rights, shuttering most regional offices and leaving thousands of discrimination complaints unresolved. One outgoing staffer called it a “devastating blow” to educational equity, especially for students already facing barriers based on race, disability, language, or gender.
All of this underscores what CRT has long illuminated: that racism operates not only in individual interactions, but through policy decisions, institutional practices, and the systematic erosion of civil rights. CRT equips us to see these patterns, to name them, and to act.
Our kids—and our country—are counting on it.
Last Updated: April 2025
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