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Critical Race Thinking
Not theory
Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been debated over the past few years, but defining the theory is a slippery task, and CRT often gets mischaracterized.
However, there’s an offshoot of CRT that can’t be mischaracterized. It’s called “critical race thinking”. Professor John L. Jackson Jr. previously described this thought process as “hunting for racial wolves in sheep’s clothing” in his 2008 book Racial Paranoia.
“Critical race thinking” ranges from extreme to subtle.
The Extreme
Recently, in Syracuse, New York, a bystander recorded three white policemen placing a screaming 8-year-old black boy in the back of a police car after the boy allegedly stole a bag of chips.
This image went viral.
On ABC’s Good Morning America, journalist T.J. Holmes reported that one of the officers knew the child from previous interactions. Holmes also said, “The child was not handcuffed, he was not arrested, the police drove him home to his father, and he’s not facing any charges. It seems like [that] should be the end of the story.”
It became a story because of the “critical race thinking” of the bystander, a black man, who tried to intervene on the boy’s behalf. The bystander offered to pay for the item the boy supposedly stole, and…