Dean's Salon 1 - Affirmative Action, CRT & What We Should Be Talking About

Dean's Salon 1 - Distancing Ourselves From The Distractions: Affirmative Action, Critical Race Theory, and What We Really Should Be Talking About if We Want More Equitable Schools

with

Prudence L. Carter, Sarah and Joseph Jr. Dowling Professor of Sociology, Brown University

Dwayne Kwaysee Wright, Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives, GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development

Spurned on by an increasingly polarizing political climate, P-16 education has become a “hot button” issue and a mainstay in the broader cultural conversation in America. Critical Race Theory (CRT), an academic theoretical framework founded by legal scholars in the 80’s, was said to be one of the many issues that impacted the Virginia Governor Race. Additionally, CRT has been a topic of much discussion at various school board meetings throughout America. Furthermore, next year the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a pair of cases that may end or severely curtail the use of race as a factor in admissions in both public and private schools.

Potentially lost in all the political intrigue is the fact that in many schools, colleges, and universities in America students from across the country are still living and learning in inequitable environments. What does all this mean for educators, education policy makers, teachers, and students looking to cut through the political red tape and have a conversation about improving schools? And how can we all dodge the distractions and keep the focus on closing the opportunity gaps that stubbornly persist for minoritized and marginalized students in America?

Dr. Prudence Carter is the Sarah and Joseph Jr. Dowling Professor of Sociology at Brown University. From 2016-2021, Dr. Carter was E.H. and Mary E. Pardee Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Berkeley. She is a sociologist whose primary research focuses on explanations of enduring inequalities in education and society and their potential solutions. Specifically, she examines academic and mobility disparities shaped by the effects of race, ethnicity, class, and gender in the United States and global society. Her books include the award-winning Keepin’ It Real: School Success beyond Black and White; Stubborn Roots: Race, Culture, and Inequality in U.S. & South African Schools; and Closing the Opportunity Gap: What America Must Do to Give Every Child an Even Chance, co-edited with Dr. Kevin Welner. Professor Carter is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Education, American Education Research Association, and the Sociological Research Association. She is also the current President-elect of the American Sociological Association.

Dr. Dwayne Kwaysee Wright 's research and social activism seek to advance educational opportunity and equity for all students, particularly those historically oppressed and marginalized in American society. His research is located within three broad theoretical frameworks: Critical Race Theory, Sociocultural Theory and Critical Pedagogy. His areas of empirical research interest include access, diversity, and equity policies for underserved populations in higher education; the use and influence of social science research in/on law; undergraduate and professional Multicultural Greek Life; and critical race theory & critical pedagogy in post-secondary education. His legal research interest focuses primarily on education law, First Amendment jurisprudence and American equal protection theory. In addition to his Ph.D., Dr. Wright has a J.D. from Pennsylvania State University.