Critical Race Theory Is Crucial for Understanding American History

Critical Race Theory is an important part of understanding how pervasive white supremacy is in America. Using this framework, we can see why we need to centralize the stories of the marginalized and oppressed when telling American history.  Our guest today will explain to us how the application of Critical Race Theory is important for policy work today.

Jazmyne Owens is a policy advisor on the PreK–12 team at New America, a large think and action tank here in DC. In her current role, Jazmyne is working with the Education Policy Program to improve education policy making for marginalized communities, but especially Black, Brown, and indigenous students, English Learners, and students with disabilities. She joined the Education Policy Program in October after managing both the education and health policy portfolios at the National Urban League. There, Jazmyne had the opportunity to serve a large affiliate network by supporting direct service work with federal advocacy. Because of her experiences in the classroom, Jazmyne approaches education policy issues with an eye toward how they impact real classrooms, students, teachers, and families, but particularly for communities of color.

Jazmyne holds a bachelor’s degree in English with a secondary education concentration from Spelman College, and a master’s degree in sociology and education with a policy concentration from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the oldest of three children, and mama to one pup named Crash Bandicoot.