Critical Theory is a very old discipline taught at universities. People in all walks of life put critical theory to work in everything from the law, to education, healthcare, theology, medicine, research, land-use and urban planning, etc.

Simply put, what goes in, comes out. For example, if people doing research on human health, only study males, doctors won’t know much about ovaries, uteruses, and fallopian tubes.

Once again, what goes in, comes out. When racism went into the law, racism came out of the law. When we studied our government, we only studied white people. As a result, no one knew how our governing systems were impacting anyone — but white people.

By the time we passed the Civil Rights Act in 1965, racism had informed the formation of every social and financial system in our country. By applying critical theory, we were able to identify the roots of racism in our systems. Today, we are pulling the roots of racism out of our systems and making room for a just and healthy society to grow in their place.

Critical theory has greatly enhanced, and expanded, our knowledge of American history. Today’s students learn twice as much of our country’s history as their parents learned in school and maybe four times as much as their grandparents.

If we did not use critical theory to identify the roots of racism, or study history, the law, etc. what method would you suggest we use?

If you’re interested, I think Heather McGee’s The Sum of Us, offers insight into the application of the work produced by critical race theory practitioners.