(2016). On the Elephant in the Room: Toward a Generative Politics of Place on Race in Academic Discourse. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v29 n8 p989-1001. In our conceptual essay, we draw on an exchange between a White scholar and a group of panelists on Critical Race Theory at an international conference. Taking up this exchange as our point of departure, we work in dialectical and multidimensional ways between the essentialized politics of place on race and critical anti-essentializing foundations in recent Critical Race Feminism and Critical White Studies' literatures. Working the dialectics and multidimensionality of the place that race makes in academic discourse, we recognize and ethically work through the essentialized politics of place in advancing anti-essentializing understandings of race. In articulating these anti-essentializing understandings, our conceptual essay drives at the notion of "a generative politics of place on race" in academic discourse. A generative politics of place holds essentialized realities and anti-essentializing foundations of race in dialectical and multidimensional tension for teaching,… [Direct]
(2016). The Journey from De-Culturalization to Community Cultural Wealth: The Power of a Counter Story-Telling Curriculum and How Educational Leaders Can Transform Schools. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, v10 n3 p47-67. Generations of Latino students have been negatively impacted by de-culturalizing policies, epistemologies and pedagogies in the U.S. educational system. This article examines the impact of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classroom. In this article I give my "testimonio" documenting my educational journey and how I have been transformed as an educational leader by conducting research on the power of CRT in practice. My research demonstrates a revolutionary way to engage Latino students. By exploring their personal counter-stories, their "testimonios," Latino students were able to 1) tap into their Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), 2) provide insight of their social context, and 3) repair some of the wounds caused by a racist and oppressive educational system. Replication of this curriculum could redefine educational leadership with disenfranchised "Raza" youth by creating academic opportunities for Latino students that would counter the racist and… [Direct]
(2016). "American Chimera: The Ever-Present Domination of Whiteness, Patriarchy, and Capitalism…A Parable". Educational Philosophy and Theory, v48 n9 p872-883. In Greek mythology, the Chimera is a fire-breathing monster with three heads: one of a lion, one of a horned goat, and one of a powerful dragon. Of similar construction is the presence of three structures in US society, whiteness, patriarchy, and capitalism, which are overwhelmingly represented, valued, and espoused when examining areas of progress, i.e., family income, poverty rates, high school and college graduation rates, and home ownership. This modern American three-headed beast controls, manipulates, and permeates all aspects of US society irrespective of class, culture, or gender. Using critical race theory and critical whiteness studies, this critically interpretive parable draws from the ways in which whiteness, patriarchy, and capitalism function in social, cultural, economic, and educational spheres. The parable tells the story of Sue Libertad and analyzes how this metaphorical Chimera, despite its ubiquity, silently permeates all aspects of her life. Not until a tragic… [Direct]
(2016). "Why Do You Make Me Hate Myself?": Re-Teaching Whiteness, Abuse, and Love in Urban Teacher Education. Teaching Education, v27 n2 p194-211. Teacher educators are constantly trying to improve the field to meet the needs of a growing urban populace. Inclusion of socially just philosophies in the curriculum is indeed essential, yet it can mask the recycling of normalized, oppressive Whiteness. This reflective and theoretical paper employs critical race theory and critical Whiteness studies to deconstruct Whiteness, abuse, and love in teacher education. Using an interdisciplinary and emotion-based approach to understanding Whiteness, this paper examines how denying race during white childhood via a color-blind ideology leaves lasting emotional scars, impressions that perpetuate the institutional silencing of race in teacher education. This "abuse" is projected onto urban students of color and, more broadly, people of color. This paper asserts that until teacher education programs make confronting and exploring Whiteness a priority, they cannot truly love their urban students of color as complete beings and so deny… [Direct]
(2016). Toward a Radical Praxis for Over-Age, Under-Credited African American Students. Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, v12 p75-87. The "over-age, under-credited" (OA/UC) student population is defined as high school students who are at least two years behind their peers in terms of age and credits earned toward a high school diploma. To date, few studies have examined the schooling of OA/UC students. The purpose of this study is to use the insights of six African American OA/UC high school students to define strategies for improving educational outcomes at their school. The specific research question explored is: What recommendations, rooted in participants' race, gender, and age, do they offer for improving the educational experiences of OA/UC students? Data analysis for this case study incorporates critical race theory, adult learning theory, and culturally relevant pedagogy as a comprehensive theoretical and analytic framework. The findings serve to provide a foundation for realizing a radical praxis that leads to substantive changes in the education of OA/UC African American high school students…. [PDF]
(2016). W.E.B. Du Bois and Filipino/a American Exposure Programs to the Philippines: Race Class Analysis in an Epoch of "Global Apartheid". Race, Ethnicity and Education, v19 n3 p500-523. The article highlights the ongoing relevance of W.E.B. Du Bois for the global analysis of race and class. Engaging scholarly debates that have ensued within the educational subfields of critical race theory (CRT) and (revolutionary) critical pedagogy, the article explores how a deeper engagement with Du Bois's ideas contributes theoretically and methodologically to these two subfields. Of particular focus is Du Bois's conceptualization of a "guiding hundredth," which he forwarded as a corrective to his ideas of a "talented tenth." The article also offers a case study analysis of the film "Sounds of a New Hope," which documents a hip hop exposure program to the Philippines. The case study draws upon Du Bois's "guiding hundredth" for a twenty-first century context as a Filipino American cultural worker utilizes hip hop to articulate, analyze, and alter the lived experiences for Filipino/a Americans in a global diaspora…. [Direct]
(2016). Disrupting the Carceral State through Education Journey Mapping. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v29 n9 p1210-1230. The School-to-Prison Pipeline is an alarming trend of funneling children of color out of schools and into incarceration. Yet the focus on the Pipeline neglects the ways society is imbued with a commitment to criminalizing unwanted bodies. In this empirical article I foreground a spatial analysis, making connections to the socio-spatial dialectic, exploring the nature of the Pipeline within a carceral state, and establishing who is vulnerable to state violence. Next I frame the work through Disability Critical Race Theory and the methodological tool of Education Journey Mapping, investigating both the social and spatial processes through the dimensions of mapping. Finally I document findings, making visible the socio-spatial education trajectories of incarcerated young women of color. The purpose of this article then, is to explore the social and spatial mechanisms that funneled girls of color with disabilities into the carceral state, and ways the girls resisted the state violence…. [Direct]
(2017). Hearing the Voice of Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Training Stakeholders Using Research Methodologies and Theoretical Frames of Reference. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v20 n2 p197-208. Researchers in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts within Australia are frequently faced with the challenges of working in an intercultural space where channels of communication are garbled with interference created by the complexities of misunderstood worldviews, languages, values and expectations. A concern of many researchers in these contexts is to ensure that the voices of research participants in remote communities are not only accurately represented, but are allowed to transcend the noise of dominant paradigms, policies and practices. This article brings together the experiences of four non-indigenous researchers in the space of remote vocational education and training. The authors present two vignettes from research in the context of health, employment and education. These vignettes highlight some of the conundrums for researchers as they attempt to harmonize the aims of research with the expectations of organizations involved. The purpose of the article is… [Direct]
(2014). Equality under the Law. Research in Higher Education Journal, v24 Aug. The purpose of this case study was to examine how Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) implemented the negotiated ruling of the "Ayers" desegregation lawsuit and settlement to empower the institution and similarly situated historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The spoken and written words of three administrators of the MVSU Executive Council identified MVSU's need to increase enrollment, increase freshman retention rates and achieve student diversity. MVSU's ability to achieve student, programmatic and funding diversity after the "Ayers" settlement can be explained by the interest convergence principle of Critical Race Theory…. [PDF]
(2014). We Were There Too: Learning from Black Male Teachers in Mississippi about Successful Teaching of Black Students. Democracy & Education, v22 n1 Article 3. Applying culturally relevant and social justice-oriented notions of teaching and learning and a critical race theory (CRT) analysis of teacher preparation in the United States, this study examines the oral life histories of two Black male teachers recognized for their successful teaching of Black students. These histories provide us with a venue for identifying thematic patterns across the two teachers' educational philosophies and pedagogical practices and for analyzing how these teachers' respective personal and professional experiences have influenced their individual and collective approaches to teaching and learning…. [Direct]
(2014). "Students Should Not Be Your Friends": Testimonio by a Latina on Mothering One's Own, Othermothering, and Mentoring Students in the Academy. Equity & Excellence in Education, v47 n3 p273-288. This article is an autoethnographic account of how I negotiated intersectional identities as a Latina, mother, and professor, mentoring students of color. Specifically, I examine the ways mothering shaped my relationships with the students I mentored. I engaged in "othermothering" and utilized "pedagogies of the home" by creating reciprocal relationships of caring and nurturing. Utilizing critical race theory (CRT) and testimonio, I argue that my identity as a mother of color successfully negotiating the tenure track impacted the ways in which I mentor(ed) students of color…. [Direct]
(2014). "Just as Bad as Prisons": The Challenge of Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline through Teacher and Community Education. Equity & Excellence in Education, v47 n4 p445-460. Drawing upon the authors' experiences working in schools as teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and community members, this study utilizes a Critical Race Theory of education in examining the school-to-prison pipeline for black male students. In doing so, the authors highlight the particular role educators play in the school-to-prison pipeline, focusing particularly on how dispositions toward black males influence educator practices. Recommendations and future directions are provided on how education preparation programs can play a critical role in the transformation of black male schooling…. [Direct]
(2015). Desiring Diversity and Backlash: White Property Rights in Higher Education. Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v47 n4 p657-675 Nov. In this theoretical essay, I argue that the current incidences of backlash to diversity are best understood as a dynamic of complicated, historic and intertwined desires for racial diversity and white entitlement to property. I frame this argument in the theories of critical race theory and settler colonialism, each of which provide necessary but incomplete analytic tools for understanding systemic racism and property rights. Situating universities and colleges as white settler property established on seizure contextualizes both the ways in which the desire for diversity is connected to white supremacy and leads to subsequent backlash to the presence of people of color, particularly those in positions of authority. I close with a discussion of the tension between property rights and potential cultural transformation…. [Direct]
(2015). Tending to the Heart of Communities of Color: Towards Critical Race Teacher Activism. Urban Education, v50 n5 p601-625 Jul. Critical Race Theory and Critical Whiteness Studies assert colorblindness flourishes when most urban teachers who are White feel emotionally uncomfortable to engage in dynamics of race in the classroom. Colorblind ideology distorts urban teaching because it presumes (a) many White teachers are missionaries trained to save and (b) urban schools are pathological deficits that need to be "saved." We propose a "community of color epistemological approach" that draws from emotional strengths found inside urban communities of color and supports the pedagogical and emotional investment needed to (a) operate critical race activism inside urban classrooms and (b) disrupt the normalcy of Whiteness in schools. We present a counterstory of how one urban teacher engaged in critical race teacher activism…. [Direct]
(2015). And Still I See No Changes: Enduring Views of Students of Color in Science and Mathematics Education Policy Reports. Science Education, v99 n3 p519-548 May. Federal education policy reports in science and mathematics education have treated Students of Color consistently over the past two decades, addressing the underrepresentation of minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields with little regard to actual issues of race and ethnicity. We examine how 17 federal education policy briefs focusing on STEM have addressed issues of equity with regard to Students of Color. We use a critical race theory lens to interpret and understand our findings. We find that the documents used broadly defined, racially essentializing terms; that discourse surrounding race fluctuated, perhaps cyclically, over time; and that arguments for inclusive STEM education were made predominantly from a one-sided economic perspective, favoring the owners and operators of STEM enterprises…. [Direct]