Critical Race Theory beyond North America: Toward a Trans-Atlantic Dialogue on Racism and Antiracism in Educational Theory and Praxis

Introduction This chapter addresses the relationship between critical race theory (CRT) scholarship in North America and antiracist research elsewhere, especially in the United Kingdom (U.K.). I argue that a dialogue between CRT, to date dominated by a focus on the United States, and British antiracism could prove especially fruitful for scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. In particular, there is a pressing need for critical scholars to learn from the errors of the past and adapt to the new realities of the present. The latter includes the startlingly successful cultural revolution that is sometimes referred to as “conservative modernization” (Apple, 2004; Dale, 1989), fueled and given added bile through the resurgence of racist nationalism wrapped in the flag of freedom and security in a “post-9/11” world (Rizvi, 2003). The argument is made through a detailed consideration of antiracist work in Britain, but many of the wider lessons might usefully be considered elsewhere. At a time when policy borrowing is reaching new heights (Whitty et al., 1998), both the specifics of educational reform and the dilemmas facing educational researchers with a commitment to social justice are remarkably similar in many different nationstates. Notably, many scholars internationally share a common experience of increasingly market-driven education reforms in which key words like “standards” and “accountability” are having a markedly regressive impact regardless of the official tenor of the governing political party: Howard’s Australia, Blair’s Britain and Bush’s America, for example, have all witnessed the emergence of a complex and multifaceted rightist “hegemonic bloc” (Apple, 1998a) that has come to define educational commonsense in a particular way: We are told to “free” our schools by placing them into the competitive market, restore “our” traditional common culture and stress discipline and character, return God to our classrooms as a guide to all our conduct inside and outside the school, and tighten central control through more rigorous and tough-minded standards and tests. This is all supposed to be done at the same time. It is all supposed to guarantee an education that benefits everyone. Well, maybe not. (Apple, 2001, p. 5) This chapter has three main sections. First, I reflect on the role of theory in British antiracism; second, I examine the consequences of the present situation; and finally, I outline CRT and consider its promise for critical antiracist scholarship and praxis internationally.