ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the idealist shift in Critical Race Theory (CRT) as well as the thinking that came to replace its initial racial realist orientation. It addresses the lack of engagement with the foundational works of Derrick Bell. The chapter analyses some of his lesser known works and contextualize them to his larger project and method. It focuses on the creation of Critical Philosophies of Race within the discipline of philosophy and its relationship to the misrepresentation of CRT. Critical Race Theory has not only exceeded the limitations of the law, but achieved a transdisciplinary reach whose conceptualizations and configurations of American racism influence scholarship in sociology, history, and education. Critical philosophies of race maintains a loose association with the currency utilized by many disciplines around the country for doing CRT, but differs from disciplines like sociology and education in that no black theorists are centralized at the historical helm and theoretical foundation of the movement.
