Gobble, Gobble, CRT Leftovers
- Vernon C. Lindsay, PhD
- Nov 28, 2025
- 3 min read
Can you imagine not eating on Thanksgiving Day? What if your decision to remain hungry could build a school for your community? A cause just might be worth avoiding the macaroni and cheese, turkey, dressing, peach cobbler, and greens smothered in meat fats.
Twenty-four years ago, a hunger strike led by a concerned Chicago coalition forced politicians to listen and build a new high school.
It wasn’t November when the students, parents, activists, and grandparents decided to starve for education. The protests began in May. Dr. David Stovall’s book (2016), Born Out of Struggle: Critical Race Theory, School Creation, and the Politics of Interruption, shares the story of the Greater Lawndale Little Village School of Social Justice (SOJO).
Stovall was my advisor in graduate school. His articles, courses, advising appointments, and informal conversations taught me a great deal about race, racism, sexism, hip-hop, gender, and education policy.
He continues to offer mentorship/jegnaship as I navigate postdoctoral politics and employment options.
During this partial workweek, filled with slaughtered turkeys and gratitude practices, I grabbed Stovall’s book. As I read pages and wrote notes in the margins, I imagined his voice.
While it’s been over 12 years since I’ve sat in his class, his descriptions of struggles in education brought back memories of grad school, when I first learned about critical race theory (CRT).
I took Dr. Stovall’s course during my early semesters as a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It was a highlight of my years in the Policy Studies in Urban Education program. How he explained the intersection of identity markers and neoliberal policies made the heavy content digestible.
Gobble, gobble.
Through humor, honesty, and poise, he led discussions, offered examples from his practices, and encouraged students to bring their experiences into the classroom.
Stovall wrote that a critical race scholar must “name the contestation outright, with a commitment to unpack the contradictions for the purpose of improving future work (p. 32).” In class, he spoke candidly about issues and encouraged students to think and strategize about their roles in social justice movements. Passages in the book where he shares his reflections from field notes reinforce his commitment to critical race scholarship.
Each chapter offers a counternarrative to demonstrate the use of critical race theory in community organizing and developing schools. Through stories from his observations and participation in helping open SOJO, he illustrates the complexity of applying theory, working with multiple stakeholders, and engaging in political affairs.
What is CRT?
Critical race theory is an abstract idea and a concrete call to action. It is not an elitist concept, meant for professors to postulate policies, pose, and remain in comfortable tenured positions at universities. CRT shapes awareness and demands application in the most vulnerable communities.
CRT exposes the relationship between racial identity and systemic power. It’s not hate speech, anti-religious rhetoric, or vicious propaganda as right-wing conservatives preach. Critical race theorists ask us to acknowledge injustices, hold ourselves and others accountable, and to foster solutions to address inequities.
The hungry Chicagoans who challenged local politics to mandate the construction of SOJO embody the premises of critical race theory.
During this Thanksgiving holiday weekend, let’s avoid stuffing ourselves with turkey, dressing, false histories, and dessert leftovers. Doing so will only put you to sleep. Whether it’s political or on the elliptical, we must engage our brains and bodies in exercise.
We need to “stay woke,” as the CRT literature suggests. Knowledge and intention encourage thoughtful actions to unlock mental, physical, and spiritual shackles.
I am grateful for you taking the time to read this blog post until the end! Here are three simple actions for you to take today.
Buy Stovall’s book.
Support the Umoja Community Education Foundation's academic and cultural initiatives influenced by CRT and African-centered education by contributing to their Giving Tuesday campaign at this link.
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