Constituted by a Series of Contestations: Critical Race Theory as a Social Movement Commentary: Critical Race Theory: A Commemoration: Response

The ideas, insights, and analyses that define the Critical Race Theory (CRT) project have made critical contributions to scholarship in law and many other disciplines. Yet CRT has never been merely a project of intellectual engagement and argument. The movement emerged from and contributed to the Black freedom struggle of the twentieth century. It drew many of its determinate features from lessons learned through political engagement and struggle. The occluded history of CRT speaks powerfully to the problems we face in the present as a result of our society\u27s continuing failure to recognize the role that racism plays in preserving unjust hierarchies, misallocating resources and responsibilities, and channeling unfair gains and unjust enrichments to dominant groups. The social movement history of CRT provides us with a richly generative example how people can create a parallel institution that helps aggrieved individuals and groups participate in struggles for power, resources, rights, and recognition