White imagination, Black reality: recentering critical race theory in critical whiteness studies

This essay uses the concept of the white imaginary to reflect on Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) in education. It examines the field's value but also its limitations, specifically its preoccupation with converting white people as the solution to systemic racism. The conversion approach ignores the fuller structural nature of whiteness and often privileges the needs and wants of white people over people of color. The essay argues that to better serve Black students and educators, CWS must stay connected to the central tenets of Critical Race Theory and aligned with approaches rooted in the racial knowledge of people of color, such as work on Black genius.