Critical Race Theory and Criminal Justice

In this speech delivered at an inaugural colloquium at John Jay College, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic address the implications of Critical Race Theory (CRT) for criminal law and justice. CRT sprang up in the late 1980s when the Civil Rights Movement stalled; new theories were needed to cope with emerging forms of institutional or “colorblind” racism and a public that seemed tired of hearing about race. Critical race theorists showed how racism is routine, not exceptional, and that liberal accounts were inadequate to understand its persistence and power. Although Critical Race Theory has provided many useful insights, it has largely left crime and criminal justice unexplored. Delgado and Stefancic review the history of CRT, including the small number of efforts to come to terms with crime and delinquency by CRT scholars, and list a number of issues that seem ripe for critical analysis. They also show how such critical tools as interest convergence, social constructionism, differential racialization, legal storytelling, and the critique of White normativity may help understand society's fixation on Black and Latino criminality. They conclude by urging critical scholars to devote more attention to crime and race and to propose a research agenda for the future.