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Conflict and Critical Race Theory Essay

University of Southern California

School of Social Work
SOWK 505
Assignment #1a: Short Essay Paper
Conflict and Critical Race Theory
By:
Daniel R. Gaita, MA
January 22, 2016
Professor Anne Blair, MSW, LCSW

Conflict and Critical Race Theory Essay

Conflict and Critical Race Theory Essay

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it
must be demanded by the oppressed. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s 1963 Letter from
Birmingham jail
I.

Introduction

Ten years prior to my birth a great man shook the foundations of the American racial
paradigm and lifted the American psyche in such a way that his words brought forth a
momentum of change that is still echoed today throughout the many monuments and inscriptions
which bare his name, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For the purposes of this work we will evaluate
his words as quoted above through the prism of both, Critical Race Theory and Conflict Theory.

II.

Critical Race Theory & Conflict Theory

Today when we think of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Conflict Theory we are
ushering in perspectives of how systematic oppression leads to the continuation of policies,
which through apathy enable marginalization, inequity, and racism to permeate the lives of black
America (Milner, 2013). While an idealist may conceptualize racism as a social construction and
a matter of thinking that can be turned on or off like a switch, it is the realist that comprehends
how racism is much more than a collection of unfavorable impressions of other groups, but
rather a means by which society allocates privilege (Delgado Et al., 2012) and does so through
the unjust domination by one racial or cultural group over another (Bartos, 2002). For example,
when a governor is called out upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of a quarter of a
million people for having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification

Conflict and Critical Race Theory Essay

(King, 1963), we bare true witness to the nature with which the power-elite bestow upon
themselves the rights and privileges our Constitution grants to us all, while denying the same set
of laws to others based upon their race. It is herein where conflict and critical race theory
converge.
When Dr. King states that it must be demanded by the oppressed, he is utilizing the
concept of freedom as a powerful tool to inculcate a cross-cultural systematic conflict which
brings forth the realization of the need for all of us, to rise up regardless of color, along with the
impetus to address the injustices that hamper our true human potential. Thus, Interest
convergence is arguably one of the most effective methods used to promote racial advances by
simultaneously impacting white and or power-elite self-interest (Crichlow, 2015). Dr. King
understood that blacks marching alone with other blacks would not result in the type of outcry
for equality that he and so many others ascribed to attain. He understood that it would take an
eclectic outcry from brothers and sisters of all America to unite, peacefully, and with respect of
the laws in order to effectuate the type of change(s) that would be required to shift the paradigm
of our national conversation. If change was going to happen, Dr. King fully realized that the
white-elite would first have to be convinced that it was in their best interest to bring forth
improvements in equality for everyone.
To do so he needed to quantify how the power-elites abrogation of Constitutional law
would result in their own personal economies suffering due to the public outcry that had begun to
propagate through the nation following the TV broadcastings of innocent blacks and their white
supporters being attacked by dogs, lynched, beaten unconscious and sprayed with fire hoses.
Resultantly, the true story of black struggle was being told to America with extraordinary

Conflict and Critical Race Theory Essay

attention to the details that had not yet become part of the foundation of civil rights strategy
(Stefancic et al., 2013).
III.

Conclusion

This strategy, coupled with the presence of the media and the advent of public television
forced the power-elite, by way of public scrutiny and mass-media transparency, to reject color
blindness and race neutrality (Crichlow, 2015), as it simply could no longer be ignored. After
all, it was unfolding in front of their eyes, in real-time, on live TV, in almost every American
home. The struggle was real and a larger segment of the population had now become aware. The
ugliness of racism in America was no longer capable of being ignored or denied.
No longer could the white oppressor and the power-elite cling to claims of
meritocracy (Crichlow, 2015). They were now going to have to prove it. They were now going
to have to write, debate, pass and implement laws that gave mechanisms to ensure all men were
treated equally and truly appreciated for the content of their character, and not simply by the
color of their skin.

Conflict and Critical Race Theory Essay

References:
Bartos, O., & Wehr, P. (2002). Using Conflict Theory. Port Chester, NY, USA:
Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
Crichlow, W. (2015). Critical Race Theory: a Strategy for Framing Discussions Around
Social Justice and Democratic Education. Higher Education in Transformation
Conference, Dublin, Ireland, pp.187-201. Retrieved from
http://arrow.dit.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=st2
Delgado, R., Stefancic, J., & Liendo, E. (2012). Critical Race Theory : An Introduction
(2nd Edition). New York, NY, USA: New York University Press (NYU Press).
Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
King, M.L., (1963) I have a Dream Speech. U.S. National Archives Retrieved and
Records Administration. Retrieved from
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/documents/2013/aug/05/i-have-dreamspeech-text/
Milner, R.H. (2013). Analyzing Poverty, Learning, and Teaching Through a Critical Race
Theory Lens. Review of Research in Education. Vol. 37, No. 1, 1-53.
Stefancic, J., & Delgado, R. (2013). Critical Race Theory : The Cutting Edge. Temple
University Press.