Introduction
An article by Delgado and Stefancic, published in 2017 in the journal Humanity & Society, raises the issue of Critical Race Theory. Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic speak at an inaugural colloquium at John Jay College about the implications of Critical Race Theory (CRT) for criminal law and justice. My opinion aligns with the authors’, as throughout the paper, they push critical scholars to focus more on crime and race and to offer a future study agenda for those issues.
My Thoughts on the Article
I agree with CRT supporters that racism is common, not exceptional, and that liberal explanations are insufficient to describe its endurance and potency. However, as the authors state, although Critical Race Theory has produced much valuable insight, it has mainly ignored crime and criminal justice issues (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Therefore, I agree with Delgado and Stefancic that the theory has some unexplored areas that require more detailed consideration.
Like the CRT representatives, I think race is a social construct, not a reflection of reality. In other words, people were divided into blacks and whites not because of their biological characteristics, but to consolidate the dominance of some and the oppressed position of others. The process of gaining a race takes place through social interactions — a group of people is assigned certain properties and repeats them, thereby gradually imposing a construct. Therefore, I share Delgado and Stefancic’s view that racism must be addressed by rethinking history rather than focusing solely on current problems.
Relation to Our Lives
The article relates to our lives as the problem of racism is still acute. Experts are still making efforts to confront crime and delinquency by trying to link them to race. Therefore, the critique of White normativity used by Delgado and Stefancic helps us comprehend contemporary society’s preoccupation with Black and Latino criminal activity. At the instigation of conservatives, authorities in many states began prohibiting the teaching of critical racial theory at the legislative level. Republican-controlled states mainly do this. Therefore, the question Delgado and Stefancic raise about the deep meaning of CRT remains relevant today.
The current critical racial confrontation is a logical continuation of the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement last summer. During the actions, activists demanded social justice, mentioning historical figures who contributed to the development of racism. The study of CRT, which Delgado and Stefancic engaged in, helps us understand this process and provides a clearer picture of what is happening in the field of human rights protection now. Studying the theories scholars engage with helps not only establish cause-and-effect relationships but also identify methods to combat the legacy of slavery. In this regard, the article has not only a theoretical, but also a practical relation to our lives.
Conclusion
Thus, the position published by Delgado and Stefancic regarding the CRT has not lost its relevance to date. It is important to study the historical roots of racism to understand how it has taken root in modern society. This approach to the problem makes it clear that this is not a private but a mass phenomenon that requires a collective solution, as the authors emphasize in their article.
Reference
Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2017). Critical race theory. Humanity & Society, 31(2), 103-108.