[Ads-l] Earliest Citation for "Critical Race Theory"

Mon Nov 8 17:39:59 UTC 2021

When I was in law school in the early 1990s, in a class called Race, Racism and the Law, we read from a number of sources written by "the Crits," which was the umbrella term they used to refer to writers of Critical Race Theory, Critical Legal Studies and the like.

As I recall, they described that style of legal and historical analysis as relatively new (ten years or so at the time), and controversial.  We also read from a number of sources by people who were critical of the "Crits."
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Monday, November 8, 2021 8:15:52 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Earliest Citation for "Critical Race Theory"

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Subject:      Re: Earliest Citation for "Critical Race Theory"
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The parent term is actually "Critical Legal Studies," and this too might be=
 worth including in OED.  It is not accurate to say that "Critical Legal St=
udies" or "critical legal scholars" is about race, although racial issues w=
ere of some interest to the "crits."  Incidentally, the term "crits" is a s=
ignificant one in legal academia, and arguably it too should be included in=
 OED.

Fred Shapiro

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of dave at w=
ilton.net <dave at WILTON.NET>
Sent: Monday, November 8, 2021 8:06 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Earliest Citation for "Critical Race Theory"

There is also the related "critical legal scholars," which dates to 1982. I=
t doesn't have the term "race" in the title, but that's what it's about. An=
d the core ideas of CRT, but again not the term, date to Derrick Bell's 197=
3 book "Race, Racism, and American Law."

[ https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.w=
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?url=3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.wordorigins.org%2Fbig-list-entries%2Fcritical-race=
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-----Original Message-----
From: "ADSGarson O'Toole" <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Monday, November 8, 2021 6:50am
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Earliest Citation for "Critical Race Theory"

On Sun, Nov 7, 2021 at 8:00 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> The term "critical race theory" is not in OED, but its recent meteoric
> rise presumably means it will soon be added. The earliest citation
> I can readily find is the following:
>
> 1989 Anthony E. Cook in Florida Law Review Summer 441 (HeinOnline)
> African-American history (and the African-American critical race theory
> that builds upon it) illustrates the need to connect theoretical reflecti=
on
> on what constitutes the good life to pragmatic efforts to secure that sta=
te
> of existence in the real world.
>
> There was a Conference on Critical Race Theory at University of Wisconsin
> Law School, July 7-12, 1989, but I don't know if this was accompanied by
> any OED-citable printed occurrence.

Excellent topic, Fred. Here is a potential lead. Below is an excerpt
from a 1990 article that contains a footnote referring to an issue of
"Critical Race Theory Newsletter" dated October 27, 1989. Maybe some
organization or person has an archive of this newsletter. The OED
could cite the first issue (if it is early enough).

Date: June 1990
Journal: Harvard Law Review
Volume 103, Number 8
Article: Introduction: Choosing Sides in the "Racial Critiques" Debate
Author: Scott Brewer
Published by: The Harvard Law Review Association
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.jst=
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[Begin excerpt of footnote]
Robert Williams' Parable, Critical Race Theory Newsletter, Oct. 27,
1989, at 2, 2. Professor Richard Delgado rightly offers this panel
discussion as evidence of the "furor" that Kennedy's article aroused.
See Delgado, supra note 7, at 1872 & n.5
[End excerpt]

Garson

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