“What’s Going On?”: A Critical Race Theory Perspective on Black Lives Matter and Activism in Education

• Published in: Urban education (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 231 - 247
• Main Author: Dixson, Adrienne D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.02.2018; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Activism; African American Students; Black Lives Matter movement; Critical race theory; Critical Theory; Cultural Awareness; Culturally Relevant Education; Disproportionate Representation; Districts; Education reform; Educational Change; Equal Education; Fairness; Feminism; Juvenile justice; Mass media; Multicultural Education; Neoliberalism; Race; Racial Bias; Racial Identification; Resistance to Change; School districts; Schools; Social Justice; Social Media; Social Theories; Student Diversity; Students; Urban Education; Youth movements; diversity; racism; Black males; race; Critical Race Theory; social; identity; Multicultural education; subjects; urban education; cultural relevant; Black females
• ISSN: 0042-0859; 1552-8340
• DOI: 10.1177/0042085917747115

This article explores activism, education, and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Using critical race theory (CRT), I analyze what this emergence of primarily youth-led activism means in the context of decades of neoliberal education reform. I raise specific questions about how youth-led activism, which has its genesis in and is largely shaped by social media, not only reflects limited robust mainstream discourses on race but also a failure of education, particularly schools and districts that serve students of color in under-resourced urban communities, to teach about and contextualize other historical movements for justice and racial equity.