Shifting the Lens

Abstract

Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit) as an analytical framework, this article examines school desegregation in Denver, CO, to trace the history of racial formation in the post-World War II United States. As the first case to address de facto segregation in the North, Keyes, et al. v. School District No. 1, et al. is an important moment for understanding postwar racial processes. The case demonstrates both that race is a fluid category and that Mexican Americans are more central to the history of school desegregation than many scholars have acknowledged. Keyes provides an excellent case study into the dynamics of race making because the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision ultimately hinged on whether Mexican American students were White or non-White. By shifting the lens to racial formation, I suggest that historians have critical insights to gain from including CRT and LatCrit in our methodologies.