Please comment thoughtfully on your classmates ideas (Responding thoughtfully means that you are adding in new ideas and information and perspectives - not only cheerleading, restating, and agreeing).

Critical race theory is defined as: "Intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of color (Duignan, 2021)." Brusma identifies three important aspects I think are important things that continue to enhance the social construct on race: 1st): "These spaces are where white social actors live and construct their identities as white vis--vis non-white. These geographies of race have served as central organizing principles for white social experiences (Brunsma et al., 2012)." 2nd: "The 'habitus' (Bourdieu, 1977) is a useful concept for explaining the connections between the construction of white spaces and white cognition. It is a complex concept, but in its simplest usage can be understood as a set of acquired patterns of thought, behavior, and taste (Brunsma et al., 2012)." 3rd: "White students arrive on college campuses bringing a white racial identity with them. As Herbert Blumer (1958) has noted, racial privilege is shaped in interactionist settings. Group privilege and power along with a battle over resources (including the resources of a college or university campus) is shaped through group interaction and individuals are always part of groups, whether they acknowledge it or not. Racial groups are significant groups in US society. Since white privilege accrues to white students in mainstream social settings, they need not acknowledge their whiteness and can readily adopt a 'color-blind' rationale. In this way, conventional and negative stereotypes (i.e. loud, less educated, musical, untidy, and materialistic) are associated with Black identities and contrasted with whites (White and Burke, 1987: 320-2) (Brunsma et al., 2012)." I think this article is communicating that there is a need to change our patterns of thoughts, behavior, and taste. I think we can do this by having lunches with people who may not look like us, and educate ourselves by interacting with people.

The Wealth Gap states: "Today's racial wealth gap is perhaps the most glaring legacy of American slavery and the violent economic dispossession that followed (Lee, 2019)." I think addressing the gaps between people will eventually bring people together. I think this article is addressing the wealth gap as something that is a broader problem in society. I believe the wealth gap is something that is promoted to keep people away from each other and continue to hinder people.

Educating ourselves fully on CRT will help bring people together. I think addressing policies first that hinders people, groups, and community from being empowered to advance their lives is extremely important to help others.