“It’s Not Even Happening in Our Classes”

The Impossibilities of CRT as Racial Knowledge

Authors

  • Brittany Jones University at Buffalo, SUNY
  • Tim Monreal University at Buffalo, SUNY
  • Anthony White University at Buffalo, SUNY

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/ce.v16i2.186986

Keywords:

Critical Race Theory, Critical Discourse Anaylsis, Teacher Knowledge, Neoliberal Multiculturalism

Abstract

Analogous to the political use of language itself in determining, even producing, student learning outcomes (Baker-Bell, 2020), the use of politically charged discourse circumscribes (the boundaries of) student learning opportunities. This ‘positive’ (i.e. productive) understanding of discourse does not only prohibit discussion about race and racism but helps determine how we can, even should, engage with issues related to race and racism. In light of both the power that discourse exerts upon students’ and teachers’ educational opportunities and the increasing racial diversity of the U.S. student population (De Brey et al., 2019), such a development demands consideration of its potential impact on educator praxis. This paper explores how (anti-)CRT discourse contours and outlines the ‘appropriate’ teaching, discussion, and learning of race and racism within educational spaces. By examining ‘moments’ (Dumas, 2016) in (anti-)CRT discourse, including moments when educators push back against censorship efforts, we seek to highlight how discourse (unintentionally) produces ‘normalized’ and ‘common sense’ ways of thinking and teaching about race that get reified and (re)produced.

Author Biographies

Brittany Jones, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Brittany L. Jones is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction at The University at Buffalo. Broadly, her research explores anti-racist social studies education, examining how the intersection of race and emotions shapes the teaching and learning of history and civic education. Through critical discourse approaches, her work also explores how racialized emotions are represented in social studies curricula and how discursive labels inform social studies research and practice.

Tim Monreal, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Timothy Monreal is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction at The University at Buffalo. His research broadly asks how (self) knowledge about Latinx is created and reproduced (in schools). 

Anthony White, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Anthony L. White II is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Learning and Instruction at The University at Buffalo, and a social studies teacher in the Buffalo Public Schools district. His research interests include African American education, critical race theory, and policy.

Downloads

Published

2025-04-30

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Teaching in Contentious Times: Black Consciousness, History Education, and Policy

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Brittany Jones, Tim Monreal, Anthony White

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with Critical Education agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).