Critical Race Theory: An Introduction

Read Chapter One.

"Unlike other theorists, these people mean to change the world, not merely to 'ascertain how society organizes itself along racial lines and hierarchies, but to transform it for the better.' This book has served as my introduction to a field I wish I had started to cultivate and harvest much earlier."
—Bloomsbury Review

For well over a decade, critical race theory—the school of thought that holds that race lies at the very nexus of American life—has roiled the legal academy. In recent years, however, the fundamental principles of the movement have influenced other academic disciplines, from sociology and politics to ethnic studies and history.

And yet, while the critical race theory movement has spawned dozens of conferences and numerous books, no concise, accessible volume outlines its basic parameters and tenets. Here, then, from two of the founders of the movement, is the first primer on one of the most influential intellectual movements in American law and politics.