Event Abstract

Critical Race Theory (CRT) seeks to understand why inequality persists in a society that has explicitly condemned racism and has repeatedly adopted laws and policies intended to eliminate it. Drawing on research in history, social sciences, and the humanities, CRT demonstrates how laws and policies can reproduce racial inequality—even when they are adopted without explicit racial bias. CRT is thus an important tool to support our nation’s ongoing efforts to achieve a robust multiracial democracy.

Over the past year, CRT has been a source of discussion everywhere – in the media, in school board meetings, in classrooms – and has generated many questions. During this session, Taifha Alexander, UCLA Law CRT Forward Project Director, will discuss CRT, its founding, and contributions, and the recent assault on the theory. Audience Q&A will follow.

Taifha Natalee Alexander currently serves as the CRT Forward Project Director at UCLA School of Law Critical Race Studies Program. She graduated, with honors, from both Georgetown Law and UCLA School of Law. Taifha has over twelve years of experience in higher education. Her legal studies and research are focused at the intersection of law, critical race studies, higher education, social justice, and equity. While a law student at Georgetown, Taifha’s article, We Cant Breathe: How Top Law Schools Can Resuscitate an Inclusive Climate for Minority and Low-Income Students, was published in the Georgetown Journal of Modern Critical Race Perspectives. Since earning her JD, Taifha has served in roles at University of South Carolina Aiken, UCLA, and Wofford College, to manifest the recommendations she put forth in her article. Taifha’s commitment to equity, justice, and anti-racism was fostered at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies.