Derrick Bell - the Founder of Critical Race Theory - Case Study Example

Derrick Bell - the Founder of Critical Race Theory Introduction To many people Derrick Bell is a buddy, champion, inspiration, and mentor. He was born in 1931and lived a very productive life until his death 80 years later on October 5th, 2011. In memories of most people, he is remembered as a pacesetter and agitator for his career of much sacrifice governed by principles and not self-interests. Even until now, many scholars and legal practitioners still look up to him for inspiration and mentorship. He was born in a humble background in Pittsburg and due to his brilliance managed to attend Pittsburg School of Law. He was also the founder of Critical Race Theory (Dewart 1). The objective of this paper is to extensively examine the life and revolutionary work of Derrick Bell. Discussion Derrick had success at law school just like a number of his white colleagues at a time when race was still a fundamental issue in the United States. Still, he was not able to find a job at any of those big firms in the country due to his race. This never deterred derrick who immediately embarked on a different path. This formed the commencement of a life of service to people who underwent tough social times due to their lives as minority groups and for those who believed in liberty and social justice (Bell 1). Years down the line, beneficiaries of this path that he took today are countless and continue to enjoy these liberties in an environment where those who were considered minorities can now prosper (Bell). As one of those who led the way as civil rights lawyers operating on the vanguard of Civil Rights Movement, this exceptional man oversaw more than three hundred school desegregation cases. At this point, he was also working together with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. While flourishing in these previous services to the people, he realized his true calling teaching law. Described by many as their mentor and best professor including the current President of America, President Barrack Obama, it is essential also to mention that he was the first Harvard Law School Professor of the African-American origin. In this part of his career, he also made history by renouncing this position in protest of the institution’s resistance to absorb women of color. He argued that, the need for faculty diversity was essential without discrimination of any single group (Dewart 2). He also briefly served at the Oregon Law School that was dominated by white staff. Here, he became the first person of color to hold a deanship position in the history of America. At this institution too, he bowed out of his position after an incident where the institution exhibited reluctance to hire an exceedingly competent Asian-American woman (Dewart 2). Many of the people who had an opportunity to interact with derrick closely describe him as a person of intense intellect and one of the greatest scholars to ever live. In spite of all these, they mention that he never let this get in the way of his own further development and that of his learners academically. His concept of “participatory learning” proved to be vital in the learning process and empowerment of his students as most of them agree. His students were able to share a close relationship with him because of his openness and less restrictive approach. Thus, they enjoyed dwelling in his scope. In order to empower his students as per his philosophy, Derrick gave room to his students to think for themselves, engage in scholarly work and thorough intellectual discussions and to take a firm position irrespective of how popularity. This was effective in bringing out the best in them to develop scholars and professionals who could march him or even become better than he (Dewart 2) becomes. These values formed the basis of his educating life and his legacy to the many of his students who passed through him in his over four decades of teaching. Derrick’s abilities also appear to influence people’s lives beyond the academic aspect of it only. Derrick was a man who treated everyone equally without discrimination. According to Dewart (2), “knowing Derrick made me a better person. However, if the truth was told and it should be: not all was serious with us. Derrick loved to listen to all kinds of good music, to dance, and tell corny quotes. This is in contrast to what some would paint as a somber and solemn existence.” This is a depiction of a happily married couple as portrayed by his wife Dewart, almost similar to what his students enjoyed with him. Evidently, Derrick loved his career greatly. In the course of his long career, he worked on so many scholarly items and volumes. According to Dewart (3), “he integrated legal scholarship with parable, allegories and personal reflections that illuminated some of america’s most profound inequalities, particularly around the pervasive racism permeating much of ammerican law and society”. This is why he is always fondly refered to as the father of Critical Race Theory that has been very effective in furthering and addressing issues of race and racism in the legal apparatus in the country. Even as a professor, he confronted himself with issues that were essential in doing away with static teaching approaches and put faith in the capacities of his students to try and be creative in their techniques. He believed this was necessary to achieve intricate and much more pleasing work. A number of his personal attributes are revealed through his professional and scholarly work. For instance, his humanity, compassion and his courage to face tough situations to empower the human race of all walks of life. More importantly, his ability to push for institutional reforms that have proved to be essential in enhancing equality for all people irrespective of the background, race, sexuality, social class and religion. He was really a source of inspiration in the academic world and in the struggle for humanity and social justice. Derrick’s scholarship contributions also form part of his great revolutionary work. He was a critical intellectual contributor in the growth of the Critical Race Theory and many other works that aimed to promote equality. This is the reason why, even after his death he continues to be honored by the academic fraternity in different capacities. The most special one being the, “2013 Association of American Law Schools Triennial Award for Lifetime Service to Legal Education and to the Law. Critical Race Theory has achieved a lot for minority groups in America over a long period. Among its great achievements is the strengthening of hip-hop and creating space for African-Americans to express their equal abilities in various aspects of life. The growth of hip-hop today and the creation of opportunities for many young African-Americans to empower themselves economically is a testimony of the impact of Critical Race Theory and the massive contribution of Derrick in the empowerment of his people (Douglas 61). The CRT played a great role in demystifying the belief that racial discrimination was normal thing and unyielding way of daily life that people had to get used to. Evidently, considering the fact that the current American president is of an African-American origin and the many equal opportunities that they are enjoying, the CRT has assisted in achieving a lot in this struggle of freedom. Both the Critical Race Theory and hip-hop recognized the fact that, white elites would only put up with or support racial progressions for African-Americans only in the event that it would work to progress their self-interest (Douglas 62). In comprehension of this, they constructed a different approach to counter this challenge. They made use of hip-hop to dishonor and dispute the white elite’s beliefs. It played a great role in introducing the white Americans to other minority groups and exposing the old America to life in the trouble regions of the country (Douglas 62). Because of this courageous and spirited depiction of the culture and youth life in the trouble inner city to conventional America, the people were eventually forced to pay attention and think again about these realities (Douglas 63). Hip-hop was used as a tool to politicize and empower young people with information and awareness and this played a very big role in getting them to stand out in large numbers and agitate for change. Soon, the minority groups in America started witnessing change that once seemed like a dream. For Onwuachi-Willig (53), Derrick was a great pioneer of no equal measure. Most of the things he started impacted greatly on the lives of the oppressed and changed significantly traditional patterns to new approaches that enhanced inclusivity. As a pioneer, he abandoned traditional patterns that were quite common with while male legal practitioners in the legal profession as well as professors. This was in terms of how they interpreted cases and statutes. Alternatively, he went ahead to look at initially left out and significant issues that concerned race and social justice. Sticking to his different ways of doing things like confronting those in positions of power who openly and unreservedly decided to ignore the voices of the majority, he involved himself in activities that later came to make great history. For instance, there is the Brown vs. Board of education. Most notable, is the determining and revolutionary article “Brown vs. Board of Education and the Interest-Convergence Dilemma”. Here, he argued that, the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 never materialized just as a result of a moral or cultural change in the country’s common man’s perceptions and social comprehensions regarding race and integration. Rather, it was as a result of the union of interest of the African-Americans who were focused on doing away with Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination in every view of life. To be specific, it was about education and the white elite who were getting concerned that the country would possibly lose in the struggle against rising communist superpowers (Onwuachi-Willig 57). This concerned these people because, they thought it would cause them to welcome increased condemnation from other nations in the event that they failed to change its approach of dealing with African-American citizens. This is another instance where Derrick demonstrated bravery that dreaded many. According to Armstrong and Wildman (5), “Professor Bell’s recognition that the mechanisms of legal change are intricately connected to the flow of evolving social concerns illuminates mechanisms that can promote the growth of equality in the United States.” Currently, the constant changes witnessed in the racial scene in the country and across the world, no longer give space to any individual racial interest to undermine other interests in the country and across the world. The country is forced to serve individual national interests. The possibility of individual racial societies’ interests congregating has the capacity to bring about extremist racial change. Derrick’s lucid elucidation of the permanency of racism pushed many people to wonder whether this disease would ever be eliminated and what people would be able to do to address the challenge (Armstrong and Wildman 7). This inspired many to gather the courage and unite to fight these mechanisms of oppression even if there seemed like there was no hope to finally achieve freedom and social justice for every person irrespective of his skin color. The motivation was not to accept the status quo, but show a fight that would open the eyes of the oppressor to their abilities. This would expose the cruel sense of humanity that their oppressors were made of and on the other hand, expose their own sense of humanity. This is what finally got the mainstream America to listen. Eventually, change was inevitable and reform after reform was being witnessed. Institutions were finally enacting changes to meet the interests of minority groups just as they did for the majority. Opportunities were coming forth for the majority in various areas such as education, employment and voting rights. And Derrick Bell will be forever remembered for his enormous and compassionate contribution towards the new America present. Conclusion More importantly, Derrick Bell is a buddy, champion, inspiration and mentor not only to those who knew him personally but also to an entire generation and those after. This is evident in his journey of courageous and compassionate work in the service towards promoting humanity. In memories of most people, he is remembered as a pacesetter and agitator for his career of much sacrifice governed by principles and not self-interests. The fact that, even until now many scholars and legal practitioners still look up to this man for inspiration and mentorship is true testimony to the great man that he was. Born in a humble background in Pittsburg, he managed to attend Pittsburg School of Law due to his brilliance. Considered the father of Critical Race Theory that was instrumental in enhancing racial equality, he will be remembered as one of the greatest black men to ever live. Many of the people who had an opportunity to interact with derrick closely describe him as a person of intense intellect and one of the greatest scholars to ever live. In spite of all these, they mention that he never let this get in the way of his own further development and that of his learners academically. This shows a selfless man who is true representation of what humanity is all about. Works cited Read More