From the glossary of the Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work e.V.:
“Critique of racism starts from the assumption that racism represents a societal normality, insofar as all people are positioned in our society through racist categorisations, attributions, and discriminations (see Critical Whiteness). Action is therefore only possible within these relations. Racism can therefore only be fought within this framework; orders of belonging can be shifted and racist discriminations reduced. In doing so, the positioning of the actors must be taken into account in order not to support racist structures of superiority and subordination again (see also Solidarity, Empowerment, and powersharing). In this respect, critique of racism is a (self-)reflexive, theory-bound, contradictory, and in principle never-ending practice. In this way, critique of racism explicitly distances itself from attitudes and forms of action based on the assumption that it is sufficient to stand for equality and against racism in order not to be racist. For they ignore racist structures and are therefore also blind to the consequences of their own practice.” 376
A racism-critical perspective assumes that societal action is only possible within racist-shaped relations. The question is therefore not whether something is racist, but in what way it is racist.377 All societal contexts are examined for power relations and structures of discrimination. Racism is never understood as an action of individuals but as part of the societal order. From a racism-critical perspective, all grievances are always evidence of systemic connections.378
Transferred to traffic, the system-related perspective can be illustrated: in every accident, not only the persons involved are responsible but everyone who uses the road system without engaging in activism for a 100% accident-free traffic system.
Racism-critical content is deliberately conveyed as part of critical pedagogy in order to generate critical consciousness (see Critical Theory). There is no clear distinction between anti-racism, CRT, critical whiteness, and antiracism; anti-racism is often used as an overarching term.
Fundamental is the view that equal treatment regardless of group membership is racist, as this “colour-blindness” neglects the significance of race within social power dynamics.