The Origins of Critical Race Theory

The People and Ideas That Created a Movement

Aja Y. Martinez, Robert O. Smith

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781479832675
• eBook ISBN: 9781479832699
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Legal History
• Index: Law

Explores the lives and intellectual influences of the creators of Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory (CRT), a vital movement and discipline in American legal scholarship, has transformed our understanding of systemic racism. Yet despite insightful analysis revealing the threads of racism embedded in American institutions and society, it has been demonized by opponents at every turn, with numerous state legislators now seeking to ban its use in the classroom.

The Origins of Critical Race Theory weaves together the many sources of critical race theory, recounting the origin story for one of the most insightful and controversial academic movements in U.S. history. In addition to introducing readers to the tenets and key insights of critical race theory, Martinez and Smith explore the lives and intellectual influences of the movement's founders, shedding light on how the many components of critical race theory eventually formed into a movement.

Through archival research and interviews with scholars like Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado, and Jean Stefancic, Aja Y. Martinez and Robert O. Smith provide the personal side of critical race theory. They reveal that despite the Marxist menace it has recently been made out to be, critical race theory is an organic extension of the Civil Rights movement, a deeply human and deeply American response to ongoing systemic injustice and inequity. An insightful exploration into the story of a movement, The Origins of Critical Race Theory narrates the hidden influences, fascinating characters, and intellectual struggles that informed critical race theory's inception.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Acronyms
• Timeline of the Book
• Introduction: Humanizing Critical Race Theory
• 1. Deeply Rooted: Derrick Bell and the Foundations of Critical Race Theory
• 2. Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic: “People on a Parallel Way”
• 3. Finding Geneva: A Composite Choir Sings
• 4. Clash of the Titans: The Many Paths to Critical Race Theory
• 5. Open Season: A Movement Gains a Name
• Conclusion: Story, the Answer from the Beginning
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix 1: Recommended Reading
• Appendix 2: 1989 Critical Race Theory Workshop Participants, Madison, WI
• Appendix 3: The Tenets of Critical Race Theory
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Authors