Critical Race Theory: What it Is and (mostly) What it Isn't

We wanted to do an episode on Critical Race Theory because it’s one of those phrases that has come to mean everything except what it is. We draw a careful (and we would argue obvious) distinction between discussing the history of race relations in the U.S. and Critical Race Theory as a  discrete legal movement addressing racism in the American system of justice. Along the way we dive into controversies surrounding important Black Christian writers like Jemar Tisby and Esau McCaulley and critique some of the gratuitous attacks on their work. 

So this one has been a long time coming. How long, you ask? So long ago Neil was attending a Dodgers/Pirates game in LA that very night. How long, you ask? So long ago running against “the woke mind virus” seemed like a winning strategy for Ron DeSantis. And yeah, the episode runs kinda long, but we hope it’s worth the wait for our regular listeners. If not, here are…

Three books that are better ways to spend your time than listening to this podcast:

Critical Race Theory: an Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic

The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby

Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley

What we’re drinking

Phil: Mighty Fortress Imperial IPA from Acrospire Brewing in Glenshaw, PA

Neil: whatever he got at the Dodgers/Pirates game later that night

Chapters

• 0:55 What we're drinking today
• 3:40 Neil explores Presbyterian churches in LA
• 6:29 Being Woke and Critical Race Theory
• 13:42 In defense of systemic injustice (and systems in general)
• 24:00 Systemic racism vs. CRT
• 32:13 Jemar Tisby at Grove City College
• 40:33 Parsing what the GCC Board said about CRT
• 49:30 Racism and Repentance
• 53:22 Intersectionality
• 57:29 Rational argument and world view
• 1:00:12 Esau McCaulley on policing