"Since the publication of the first edition of [this book], the United States has lived through two economic downturns, an outbreak of terrorism, and the onset of an epidemic of hate directed against immigrants, especially undocumented Latinos and Middle Eastern people. On a more hopeful note, the country elected and re-elected its first black president and has witnessed the impressive advance of gay rights. As a field, critical race theory has taken note of all these developments, and this primer does so as well. It not only covers a range of emerging new topics and events, it also addresses the rise of a fierce wave of criticism from right-wing websites, think tanks, and foundations, some of which insist that America is now colorblind and has little use for racial analysis and study."-- Provided by publisher.

Foreword / Angela Harris -- I. Introduction -- What is critical race theory? -- Early origins -- Relationship to previous movements -- Principal figures -- Spin-off movements -- Basic tenets of critical race theory -- How much racism is there in the world? -- II. Hallmark critical race theory themes -- Interest convergence, material determinism, and racial realism -- Revisionist history -- Critique of liberalism -- Structural determinism -- Tools of thought and the dilemma of law reform -- The empathic fallacy -- Serving two masters -- Race remedies law as a homeostatic device -- III. Legal storytelling and narrative analysis -- Opening a window onto ignored or alternative realities -- Counterstorytelling -- Cure for silencing -- Storytelling in court -- Storytelling on the defensive -- IV. Looking inward -- Intersectionality -- Essentialism and Antiessentialism -- Nationalism versus assimilation -- Racial mixture -- V. Power and the shape of knowledge -- The Black-White binary -- Critical White studies -- Other developments : Latino and Asian critical thought, critical race feminism, LGBT theory -- VI. Critiques and responses to criticism -- "External" criticism -- "Internal" criticism -- The activist critiques -- Critique of the intellectual heart of the movement -- Critical race theory as a method of inquiry in new fields and countries -- VII.Critical race theory today -- Right-wing offensive-- Front-burner issues -- Race, class, welfare, and poverty -- Policing and criminal justice -- Hate speech, language rights, and school curricula -- Affirmative Action and color blindness -- Globalization and immigration -- Voting rights -- Identity -- Critical empirical analysis -- VIII. Conclusion -- The future -- A critical race agenda for the new century -- Likely responses to the critical race theory movement -- Critical race theory becomes the new civil rights orthodoxy -- Critical race theory marginalized and ignored -- Critical race theory analyzed but rejected -- Partial incorporation.