Doing Critical Race Theory in Perilous Times: Engaging Critical Race Legal Scholarship for Higher Education and Beyond

Misinterpretations and caricatures of Critical Race Theory (CRT) abound in popular media and in higher education scholarship. Given the confusion surrounding what CRT is and is not, I write this conceptual essay as an invitation to engage seriously with CRT’s legal foundations. I offer four guideposts to aid scholars in engaging the legal roots of CRT on a deeper level: thinking with and beyond tenets, leveraging the scope of CRT work by legal scholars, understanding the CRT critique of Critical Legal Studies, and appreciating CRT’s theoretical depth and complexity. Further, I highlight characteristics of CRT legal scholarship that are not always explicit in higher education research. Specifically, I describe CRT as an anti-subordination project, a materialist project, a critical intellectual project, and an activist project. Through engaging with CRT’s legal scholarship, I demonstrate how higher education scholars’ understanding and employment of CRT will be enriched.