Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory is a scholarly framework originating in legal studies that examines how laws, policies, and institutions perpetuate racial inequality, even in the absence of overt individual racism. It positions race as a social construct embedded in systems of power rather than a biological category. In accessibility and HCI research, CRT provides analytical tools for understanding how technology can reproduce racial hierarchies — through biased algorithms, surveillance systems, and design practices that center whiteness as default. Applying CRT to accessibility reveals how disability and race intersect to create compounding barriers that are invisible when either construct is examined alone.