Critical Race Theory (CRT): a curse or a blessing?

Part 3 of 3: So Who Benefits?

by Robert Archerd, March 18, 2022

Part 1 presented some of the systemic discrepancies particularly impacting people of color in areas such as education, overall income, justice, healthcare, and housing. Part 2 examined the meaning(s) of the term “race,” and some of its implications. Included as definitions of race were what the scientists say (there’s only the human one), along with two cultural definitions, one aimed at inclusion (Mexico) and the other at exclusion (Germany). And, good or bad, what the two cultural definitions have in common is they’re both constructs, not hard and fast realities determined by nature.

The key question for Part 3: Who stands to benefit from applying the principles of Critical Race Theory in — oh, where to begin — education? Social policies? Legislation? Judicial matters? Let’s try to work our way through this.

Critical Race Theory (CRT), intended more than anything as a means to understand how racism has shaped American public policy, has been viciously attacked as some kind of divisive discourse pitting people of color against their white counterparts. And it’s put conservatives and liberals on opposite sides of an especially volatile rift. Why?

Behind questionable political motivations, many conservatives want to pretend, as the current cliche goes, that “there’s no there there.” As to their apparent claim that there’s never been racism embedded in national…