Bringing critical race theory from the Ivory Tower to the masses, Crystal Fleming explains how systemic racism exposes us all to racial ignorance and provides a road map for transforming our knowledge into anti-racist change. Racial stupidity–in the form of misconceptions, misrepresentations and denial—is clearly an epidemic. And this is not a coincidence or a mistake: living in a racist society means that we absorb harmful ideas, stereotypes and biases. When left unchallenged, racial stupidity fuels discriminatory behavior, devalues the lives of black and brown people and reproduces the white supremacist status quo from one generation to the next. This wide-ranging talk unveils the historical roots of racial stupidity and explores how racial non-sense manifests in pop culture, (mis)education, media, politics and personal relationships today. But recognizing racial stupidity is not enough—we have to actually do something about it. Crystal seeks to inspire and empower those of us committed to building a more just society by showing how to leverage our racial literacy for anti-racist activism.

How can we create antiracist change within our classrooms, universities and communities more broadly? In this interactive workshop, Crystal Fleming introduces participants to essential principles and praxis for challenging racism in higher education. The workshop will take into consideration the impact of current legislative efforts to criminalize antiracist education as well as resources for empowering faculty, staff and students to address and resist racist ideas and practices in academic contexts.

Note: Crystal also has a wide array of workshop options available. 

In the wake of the brutal killings of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and many other Black Americans, businesses and brands claim that they, too, believe that “Black Lives Matter”. But what will it take for corporate leaders to move beyond superficial slogans to face the hard truths of our racial divide? In this powerful talk, sociologist and antiracist educator Crystal Fleming debunks common mistakes in “diversity and inclusion” work and confronts the ultimate corporate taboo—the intimate links between racial oppression, capitalism and inequality.

From the classrooms to the boardrooms and from school board meetings to the media, Critical Race Theory (CRT) is making headlines and has many people asking what exactly is this and why is it so controversial. In this talk, Crystal Fleming reveals the civil rights origins of CRT and debunks politicized attacks and disinformation about antiracist education. Drawing upon her work as a critical race sociologist, she shows how CRT challenges white supremacy and takes a deep dive into the many parallels between critical race learnings and the prophetic insights of activists and advocates like W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells and Martin Luther King, Jr.