Critical Race Theory--AcademicInfluence.com Spotlights the Leaders in CRT, Equality, and Racial Issues

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Jul 27, 2021, 08:38 ET

FORT WORTH, Texas, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Critical Race Theory (CRT) has dominated political conversations and media coverage in 2021, but much misinformation has accompanied those discussions. Questions of origins and proponents abound. Where did CRT originate and who have been the real influencers in CRT, equality, and racial issues for the past 20 years?

What is Critical Race Theory? And who are its top influencers? AcademicInfluence.com lists the people you should know in CRT, equality, and racial issues…

To assist those who want to better understand CRT and the breadth of scholarship and cultural influence underlying it, AcademicInfluence.com announces its compilation of the top people impacting Critical Race Theory since 2000, including experts from other closely related streams of thought:

Top Critical Race Theory Influencers

"Today, there are many areas of inquiry that examine systemic racism in its many forms. All of these areas of knowledge have been labeled by the media and the critics as CRT. It is important to be aware of the difference in origin of these bodies of knowledge," says the guest author of the article, Dr. Arnold Farr, professor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky. "Nevertheless, they all share with CRT the goal of understanding racism and how it continues to manifest itself in contemporary American society/"

A sampling of the influencers featured:

Anita L. Allen, philosopher
Ta-Nehisi Coates, author & journalist
Patricia Hill Collins, sociologist
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, legal scholar
Richard Delgado, legal scholar
Lewis Gordon, philosopher
Ibram X. Kendi, historian
Mari Matsuda, legal scholar
Cornel West, philosopher
Patricia J. Williams, legal scholar

Visit the link above to see the full list of more than 60 important voices and to read more about their ideas and accomplishments.

Also covered in the article is analysis of the history of Critical Race Theory and an itemized response to current points of criticism:

The Origin of Critical Race Theory
Critical Race Theory and Other Academic Forms of Race Theory
Critical Race Theory is Not Marxism
CRT Teaches Students to Love America, Not Hate It

The influencers featured include poets, Africana studies scholars, political scientists, cultural theorists, literary critics, civil rights advocates, anthropologists, and liberation theologists. They come from nations across the globe, including Malawi, France, Nigeria, Sweden, Russia, Cameroon, and the United States.

How does AcademicInfluence.com measure influence? Through proprietary machine-learning technology—the InfluenceRanking Engine—which explores a vast number of open-source, crowd-edited data points, mapping lines of influence through constantly updated data repositories such as Wikipedia and Crossref. Visit the AcademicInfluence.com About page for further details on the capabilities and advantages of this unique influence-ranking technology and on the people who make it possible.

Why does influence in Critical Race Theory matter? Dr. Farr concludes, "CRT is a form of self-critique. Such a critique is absolutely necessary for the sake of progress. The individual human being can become a better person only if he or she can engage in self-critique or self-criticism. This self-critique reveals to us our flaws so that we may have the opportunity to overcome them. It is only by recognizing our faults that we can reconcile and achieve real progress."

AcademicInfluence.com is the preeminent technology-driven rankings site dedicated to students, researchers, and inquirers from high school through college and beyond, offering resources that connect learners to leaders. AcademicInfluence.com is a part of the EducationAccess group, a family of sites dedicated to lifelong learning and personal growth.

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