The four central tenets of CRT: (1) Racism is permanent, pervasive, and normal; (2) Racial disparities prove racial discrimination (disparities = proof of racism); (3) Dominant groups won't address racism because they benefit from it; (4) Lived experience of minorities is central to understanding racism.

Four tenets found across CRT literature: (1) Racism is permanent, pervasive, and ever-evolving — it's everywhere, in every institution, hidden behind claims of objectivity, meritocracy, and colorblindness; (2) All racial disparities are caused by racial discrimination — if outcomes differ between races, the ONLY explanation is racism; (3) The dominant group (whites) will not voluntarily address racism because they benefit from the system (interest convergence — only helps minorities when it also serves white interests); (4) Lived experience/counter-narratives of people of color are essential and authoritative for understanding racism — if you challenge a person of color's claim of racism, that's "white fragility" and an expression of your privilege. Challenging any of these tenets is itself labeled as evidence of racism.