#CriticalRaceTheorists will often cite racial disparities as evidence of racism. You might think that this claim is just naive or simplistic, but the real reason for this assertion goes far deeper.

Thread: 1/

CRTs believe that racism is a system of privilege that is deeply embedded in our laws, systems, structures, and institutions in insidious ways. According to CRTs, racism is not -I repeat, *not*- merely overt racial animus or prejudice. 2/

Instead, racism is covert and hidden and is not dependent on the ill-will or even the awareness of individual actors. Consequently, an analysis that looks for certain prejudicial attitudes will see only the tip of the racism iceberg. How then do we see the entire thing? 3/

By looking at the effects. #CRTs see racial disparities as evidence of racism *because of what they think racism is*. Indeed, they would argue that the traditional understanding of racism is really just a way to perpetuate the racial status quo. 4/

CRTs believe that limiting "racism" to racial prejudice and focusing only on "equality under the law" will ensure that deeper manifestations of racism remain undisturbed. Only a CRT analysis will be able to expose and dismantle racism in this deeper sense. 5/

So the claim that racial disparities = discrimination is not naivete or a misunderstanding of causation. It's an entailment of how CRTs think about racism itself. 6/6