“Mommy, is being brown bad?” : Critical Race Parenting in a Post-Race Era

This article looks at the counter-pedagogical processes that may disrupt how children learn about race by positing a pedagogical process called Critical Race Parenting. By drawing upon counterstories of parenting I posit how Critical Race Parenting (CRP) becomes an educational praxis that can engage both parent and child in a mutual process of teaching and learning about race, especially ones that debunk dominant messages about race. And, in doing so, both parents and children have a deeper commitment to racial realism that does not allow for colorblind rhetoric to reign supreme

“Who You Callin’ Smartmouth?” Misunderstood Traumatization of Black and Brown Girls

The emotional rhetoric in education often sympathizes with white teachers while labeling Black and Brown female students as angry, defiant, and/or disinterested. This is done without considering: (a) how white emotions influence interpretations or (b) how Black and Brown girls feel. This essay interrogates how emotionalities of whiteness traumatize Black and Brown girls. Using critical race theory’s counterstorytelling, it begins with the story of a Black girl and her response to her teacher’s white emotions. Then, the paper demands that teachers, especially those who are white, stop emotionally projecting onto Black and Brown girls and instead begin an honest listening

“Push it Real Good!” The Challenge of Disrupting Dominant Discourses Regarding Race in Teacher Education

Despite efforts to redesign an urban teacher education program for social justice and equity, faculty became aware of racialized issues Teacher Candidates of Color faced in the program. Therefore, this study examined the perspectives of teacher candidates to learn about how race is impacting teaching and learning for pre-service teachers. Overall, we discovered the dominant narratives, often called majoritarian stories (Love, 2004), were extremely difficult to disrupt and essentially remained largely intact for teacher candidates in our program. In addition, we found that majoritarian stories helped to maintain a level of superficiality for teacher candidates regarding issues of race. For this reason, we argue that there is a need to “Push it real good!” using Critical Whiteness to engage in deeper level work with teacher candidates in order to help develop strong teacher activists with the skills, dispositions, and knowledge necessary to substantially disrupt the inequitable status quo in education

“Push it Real Good!” The Challenge of Disrupting Dominant Discourses Regarding Race in Teacher Education

Despite efforts to redesign an urban teacher education program for social justice and equity, faculty became aware of racialized issues Teacher Candidates of Color faced in the program. Therefore, this study examined the perspectives of teacher candidates to learn about how race is impacting teaching and learning for pre-service teachers. Overall, we discovered the dominant narratives, often called majoritarian stories (Love, 2004), were extremely difficult to disrupt and essentially remained largely intact for teacher candidates in our program. In addition, we found that majoritarian stories helped to maintain a level of superficiality for teacher candidates regarding issues of race. For this reason, we argue that there is a need to “Push it real good!” using Critical Whiteness to engage in deeper level work with teacher candidates in order to help develop strong teacher activists with the skills, dispositions, and knowledge necessary to substantially disrupt the inequitable status quo in education

“What is Critical Whiteness Doing in OUR Nice Field like Critical Race Theory?” Applying CRT and CWS to Understand the White Imaginations of White Teacher Candidates

Critical Race Theory (CRT) revolutionized how we investigate race in education. Centralizing counter stories from people of color becomes essential for decentralizing white normative discourse—a process we refer to as realities within the Black imagination .Yet, few studies examine how whites respond to centering the Black imagination, especially since their white imagination goes unrecognized. We propose utilizing Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) to support CRT to aid in deconstructing the dimensions of white imaginations. Our findings describe how the white imagination operates inside the minds of white teacher candidates, namely through their (a) emotional disinvestment, (b) lack of critical understanding of race, (c) resurgence of white guilt, and (d) recycling of hegemonic whiteness, all of which negatively impact their role in anti-racist teaching in urban schools

“What is Critical Whiteness Doing in OUR Nice Field like Critical Race Theory?” Applying CRT and CWS to Understand the White Imaginations of White Teacher Candidates

Critical Race Theory (CRT) revolutionized how we investigate race in education. Centralizing counter stories from people of color becomes essential for decentralizing white normative discourse—a process we refer to as realities within the Black imagination .Yet, few studies examine how whites respond to centering the Black imagination, especially since their white imagination goes unrecognized. We propose utilizing Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) to support CRT to aid in deconstructing the dimensions of white imaginations. Our findings describe how the white imagination operates inside the minds of white teacher candidates, namely through their (a) emotional disinvestment, (b) lack of critical understanding of race, (c) resurgence of white guilt, and (d) recycling of hegemonic whiteness, all of which negatively impact their role in anti-racist teaching in urban schools

Do you SEE the words coming out of that text?: Seeing Whiteness in Digital Text

Though texts are commonly perceived as merely written, this article explores texts in a more complex manner: in digital form. First, the paper posits the importance of “reading” digital texts (e.g., social media, films, memes, etc.) and demonstrates how such texts transmit hegemonic ideas about race and whiteness, which ultimately reifies white supremacy in society. Using a variety of critical theories such as critical studies of whiteness and critical theories of race, this article deconstructs digital texts (particularly film and social media) to demonstrate how whiteness gets embedded in digital text in almost invisible ways. Additionally, this article employs Yosso’s (2002) critical race media literacy (CRML) not only to divulge racial stereotypes in digital texts but also to demonstrate how CRML can be pedagogically and metacognitively applied to reveal how whiteness also gets embedded in digital texts. This article serves as a metacognitive model as to how readers can learn to read whiteness within digital texts

Dirty Dancing with Race and Class: Microaggressions toward First-Generation and Low Income College Students of Color

Using a raceclass analysis, which positions race and class as inextricably linked, this reflective and conceptual paper will explore how racialized and classed, or raceclassist, microaggressions impact first-generation and low income college students of color. Utilizing counterstorytelling and theoretical analysis, the first author shares her counterstory as a starting point to understand and analyze the impact raceclassist microaggressions have on racially and economically minoritized students. We consider the implications of raceclassist microaggressions toward first-generation and low income college student of color. We also pose recommendations for addressing raceclassist microaggressions in terms of practice in student affairs and institutions of higher education

Loving Whiteness to Death: Sadomasochism, Emotionality, and the Possibility of Humanizing Love

Although scholars have articulated how whites institutionally, economically, and socially invest in their whiteness, they have paid little attention to white emotionality. By explicating a critical, more humanizing theory of love that accounts for the painful process of sharing in the burden of creating humanity, this psychoanalytic theoretical essay illustrates how the norms and values of white emotionality are premised on a sadomasochistic notion of love. Finally, the authors re-imagine a different set of norms and values through a critical humanizing pedagogy of love, one that can only be realized when whites learn to “love whiteness to death.” That is, whites need to find not just the political will but also the emotional strength (i.e., vulnerability) necessary to eliminate the white race as a sociopolitical form of human organization and free themselves and others from the shackles of the institution of race