Physics culture at large, and physics academic learning environments specifically, continue to marginalize Students of Color and systemically reproduce white privilege. The American Physical Society reports that "individuals marginalized by race/ethnicity," though comprising approximately 30% of the US population, make up only 10-15% of Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD degree awardees in physics. Further, college/university physics programs consistently award fewer degrees to "individuals marginalized by race/ethnicity" than a number of other STEM fields, including computer science, chemistry, and engineering. The underrepresentation of racially minoritized students in physics points to a failure of physics education to substantively dismantle white supremacy in the discipline. Indeed, scholars, policymakers, and activists have suggested a variety of ways to address the impacts of racism in physics. Efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion remain largely committed to individualism and meritocracy that "incorporate" students rather than "transform" structures and policies that promote white supremacy. This often translates into increased tutoring or instructional support for Students of Color to increase their "grittiness" to meet an expected standard of performance rather than question how these standards are white supremacist in their design. This special issue makes clear that if justice is what we seek, we must reckon with long-standing ideological investments in hierarchies of power that are baked into every aspect of physics teaching and instruction. The articles in this issue focus on Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Physics Education Research (PER) as a way to explore and pave a path forward.

Download the An Introduction to Critical Race Theory in Physics Education Research foreword.