SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
Critical Race Theory & Us: How does this impact us and why should we care?
Critical Race Theory highlights how the concept of race does not have a biological foundation, but instead, is a socially constructed idea that has been historically embedded into our institutions and culture. The theory challenges everyone – regardless of ethnic identity – to look at how their experiences with racism actively contribute to those systems. Many politicians, educators, and social theorists, have proposed that CRT possesses the connotation that to achieve social equity, blaming and even being ‘racist back’ to white people will assist us in getting there. As of April 2023, 18 states have banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory in K-12 education, and 17 others currently have a bill introduced to congress to ban/restrict.
California Racial Justice Act Could Be a Check on Racist Gang Injunctions
Gangs are commonly associated with organized crime and terror. However, young people typically join gangs to find community, not to commit violent crime. The concept of a gang has racial implication as well, due to historical discrimination of young Black and Brown men. When we think of white supremacist organizations that commit violent crime, they are usually called “groups,” a word with much less stigma surrounding it. Because of the negative and violent associations pushed by the media and government around gangs, the public fear of gang violence increased from the late 20th century to the early 21st century. In an attempt to curb gang violence and reduce fear surrounding gangs, local governments across the country have implemented gang injunctions.
Black Lives Matter: Advocating for Racial Justice in St. Louis County
In May of 2016, Quinton Thomas, a native St Louisan was pulled over in Beverly Hills, a Missouri town of 574 people that is 93% black and receives 26% of its general revenue from court fines and fees. Mr. Thomas was driving his friend to a barber shop to get his haircut when he was stopped by police for having a “busted front bumper.” In the past three years, Mr. Thomas has been pulled over, arrested and jailed for unpaid traffic tickets, and as a result he has lost two jobs and one vehicle, not to mention days of his life, and a sense of safety when he gets behind the wheel.