History Lesson: African American literature was created in the United States by writers of African descent. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920’s. It was a time of literature and arts for the black American people ( writers, artists, musicians etc). The Harlem Renaissance was also known as “the new negro movement.” There are many different devices that encompass the theory of critical race and what it is systematically comprised of. African American writing began during the eighteenth century largely as the effort of African slaves to prove their humanity to whites. The slaveholders thought that since they couldn’t write poetry they were not human.
Critical Race theorists try and understand how victims of systematic racism are affected by societal perceptions of racism and how they can counter to clarify how they want to be represented. These theorists are engaged to try and build a movement that eliminates oppression by race. Racism is embedded into our society and it has been changing over time. The inequalities of racism often gets recognized as a natural construct rather than a by-product of society. This theory also plays with the idea of people in society could have a double consciousness. I think a few good questions to ask revolving this theory are: How does CRT conceptualize systematic racism? How does it affect our history? What can and shouldn’t be talked about regarding race inside a classroom? How are people of color represented by the media and society?
There were many people who played a role in this imperative theory but none more important than Derrick Bell. He argues for racial realism.He refers to the various amendments to the constitution passed during and after the civil war largely for the purpose of punishing the South and ensuring black support for northern political candidates. Bell argues that racial realism is the conviction that racial equality will never be achieved in the US and that African Americans should stop believing they would be. Bell also presented conflict of interest in the roles of the elite whites and would go on to transform our understanding of race and power.
