Critical Race Theory By Tara Ana Yosso Summary And Analysis

Latinos constitute one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States. This growth has led Latinos to become one of the “largest” racial/ ethnic groups in American Higher Education: 55 million strong, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2014. Yet, they are one of the least educated and the least represented ethnic groups in educational institutions. However, they are the least studied and represented ethnic groups in educational institutions. The Latino representation in educational institutions are lower compared to other ethnic minorities.

Patricia Gándara writes about the crippling segregation within our modern school system for Latino students in her essay Overcoming Triple Segregation. She examines the Latin American’s struggle for education by pointing out how not only are they segregated racially; but socioeconomically and linguistically. Gándara states that segregation towards Latinos will result small amounts of academic success and fewer citizens entering the workforce. Then the article takes a turn to advocate the use of bilingual classrooms, stating that by assimilating them into our culture, they will be able to become successful future contributing members of society. Gándara states that Latinos are forced to overcome the racial hostility placed before them, a lack

Today it isn’t difficult for a Chicanx or other minority to get a degree or create a prosperous life for themselves through hard work, but back in the mid-1900s, that was not the case. The American Southwest in the mid-1900s was not the most inviting or friendliest place for Mexicans and Chicanos. Many were born into extreme poverty or already came impoverished, many were degraded and sometimes dehumanized by racism, and many felt like they did not belong in the land of the free. Often times, young Mexicans and Chicanos had no choice. They had to resort to roaming the streets, doing drugs, committing crimes, and joining gangs in order to feel like they belonged and to give meaning to their lives. In his memoir Always Running, Luis Rodriguez tells the story of how he was

Education has been a major influence on government policy and social standards concerning American youth. With hard work and education, one can better themselves and open up more opportunities for financial and social success. Waiting for Superman directed by Oscar winner, Davis Guggenheim, counters that the current education system is failing students by limiting their upward mobility, particularly among minority and low income groups. The documentary advocates for a radical change in the modern education system, modeled after charter school curriculums. Even though these successful schools produce great students many children, majority African American and Hispanic, are being left behind. In Maya Angelou’s

Cindy Cruz’s “Toward an epistemology of a brown body” addresses the absence of educational research regarding the “brown body” and sexual orientation of Latinx. Cruz discusses her experience as a lesbiana and not knowing there was a possibility that anyone else in her family shared her orientation. She reflects on her grandmother’s funeral and how she became aware of the “generations of queers” that surrounded her (Cruz 2001, 658). Knowledge of the brown body, Cruz claims, comes from mothers and grandmothers and from the actions of past women of color. Stories about the brown body experiences are often dismissed due to the fact that they are performed rather than explained, and the theoretical aspect of these accounts exists outside of our present reality (Cruz 2001, 659). There are many ways to view the world and the human experience, including those of the oppressed such as women of color, mestizas, and LGBTQA+. Cruz uses the writings of Chicana theorist Gloria Anzaldúa as a base for her own analyses. From Anzaldúa’s notions, Cruz concludes that mestizaje, or the consciousness of metizas, can change the way society interprets contrasting ideas of rationalism and positivism in a way that allows the mind and body to be one. Cruz then moves onto explaining how Chicana education researchers could reclaim their history and experience: (a) through recognizing the points of views of communities that actively participate in government and (b) through commitment

Abstract: The Mendez v. Westminster (1946) was the stepping stone to ending school segregation in California. The lawsuit was led by Gonzalo Mendez and five other parents who were denied enrollment of their children in an Anglo school. This led them to protest and then file a class-action lawsuit against the Westminster School District of Orange County California. Accusing them of segregating Mexican and Latin decent students. With the help attorney Dave Marcus, the plaintiffs were able to prove segregation in schools by using social and educational theories conducted by social scientist. District Court Judge Paul McCormick ruled in Mendez favor confirming California school districts were segregating students by their skin color and surnames. He held that public school segregation was a violation

The way a person speaks is a direct link to a person’s culture and the environment which he or she was raised in. A person’s language, skin color as well as economic status influences the way he or she is perceived by others. Lisa Delpit and eleven other educators provide different viewpoints on how language from students of different cultures, ethnicity, and even economic status can be misinterpreted due to slang and dialect or nonstandard English by the teachers as well as his or her own peers.

“The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named María” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan depict the endeavors people take on in an attempt to integrate into society. Cofer demonstrates how stereotypes of Latina women have led others to misjudge her and explains the difficulty she had disassociating herself from those stereotypes. Tan demonstrates that the “broken” English her mother speaks has led others to think less of her and disregard her. One’s appearance instantaneously causes others to judge them. For some it is easier to blend in and be accepted by their community, but what is it that keeps some people from assimilating, and what effect does their otherness have on them?

Chicanas are known to have a very strong attachment to their culture and beliefs. The language, politics, habits, and rituals of Chicanas define who they are as a people. To try to fade those aspects out is an attempt at destroying what created these women and the issues they face today. Take language and writing as an example, if White culture took away Spanish and all of its dialects, then the people would not have a cultural or deeply-rooted way of communicating stories and experiences felt by the people in all of its might. If White culture takes away the things that shape minorities’ lives, then they have ignored the force of change that diversity

They support this claim by using the matrix of domination in relation to gender, race and class, then advise the reader to look at an issue through a broad perspective- realizing both the oppressor and the oppressed, and finally distinguish between recognizing and understanding diversity and not just acknowledging it. Andersen and Collins’ purpose is to have students think about race, class and gender as systems of power, how the three categories matter in shaping everyone lived experiences, and to understand race, class, and gender are linked experiences. Furthermore, Anderson and Collins adopt an unbiased, and assertive yet friendly tone for his/her audience, the readers and others interested in the topic of race, class and gender. By doing this, the readers can relate to the struggles that the issues bring up, however the authors can still get their point or message across

Up until the 1960s Anglo social scientists wrote most of the literature about the people of Mexican- descent in the United States. Their analysis of Mexican American culture and history reflected the hegemonic beliefs, values, and perceptions of their society. As outsiders, Anglo scholars were led by their own biases and viewed Mexicans as inferior, savage, unworthy and different. Because Mexican scholars had not yet begun to write about their own experiences, these stereotypes were legitimized and reproduced in the literature. However, during the mid- 1960s scholars such as Octavio Ignacio Romano, Nick Vaca, Francisco Armando Rios, and Ralph Ricatelli began to reevaluate the literature written by their predecessors. In their work they analyze

During the 1920s, the Chicano movement faced many political challenges. One of the many problems was many teachers didn 't put in effort to teach Chicanos. In addition, schools had student’s graduate high schools without even being ready for college. One example of the political challenges the Chicano movement suffers is discussed in the History of a Barrio by Richard Romo the author asserts; “the Los Angeles School District maintained separate schools for Mexicans on the premise that Mexicans had special needs” [Romo 139]. In other words, this demonstrates that school districts separated Chicanos from normal classes because they had trouble learning. This displays the political struggles the Chicano movement endures because the district wouldn

Although El Plan de Santa Barbara outlined the Mexican American curriculum that would best serve the Chicano population as well as the community, the Chicano Coordinating Council on Higher Education highlights problems that Mexican American students and faculty face to this day. In the Chapter titled Organizing and Instituting Chicano Programs On-Campus, the proposal mentions that “[o]ne target where hostility can focus most damagingly is funding.” Legislation in conservative states, such as Texas

Race has always been a problem in America and other countries. But developments such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) has helped challenge race and racial power and its representation in American society. Articles such as Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic; White Privilege, Color, and Crime: A Personal Account by Peggy McIntosh have helped CRT develop further. Along with the documentary White Like Me by filmmaker Tim Wise. These articles and film explore the race and racism in the United States, along with critical race theory. In this paper, I will be critiquing these articles and films in order to evaluate the purpose of these readings and how they have helped further develop race in America. But most importantly, whether the author has achieved its purpose to inform readers about CRT, whiteness, and racial inequality.

Delgado and Stefancic (2011) stated that Critical Race Theory explores how “race, racism, and power intersect to create different circumstances for people of color within society [...] and in postsecondary institutions” (as cited in Quaye, 2013, p. 172). Within the field of higher education, it is important for student affairs professionals to recognize how race permeates all aspects of an individual’s life to fully understand their students’ experiences. Unlike other student development theories, such as Baxter-Magolda’s (2008) self-authorship and Abes, Jones, and McEwen’s (2007) Model of Multiple Identities, CRT places race at the “center of the analysis and assumes that race is omnipresent” in an individual’s life (Quaye, 2013, p. 167).