(2022). Navigating the White Space of Mathematics: Lessons Learned from Mathematics Teacher Educators of Color. North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (44th, Nashville, TN, Nov 17-20, 2022). As critical race theorists would remind us, those most impacted have the greatest insight to create change. This paper applies a critical race theory framework to explore the leadership experiences of two African American and one Latinx American mathematics teacher educator and how they address issues of race, racism, and (in)justice in teacher professional development. Data analysis from semi-structured interviews, publicly available webinars and podcasts, and other published materials from the educators (eg. articles and books) reveal how they engaged teachers to attend to issues of race and racism by challenging persistent masternarratives about mathematics and mathematics ability; centering on counternarratives on the cultural identities and mathematical understanding of students of Color, and engaging in community-based pedagogies to promote coalitional resistance. [For the complete proceedings, see ED630210.]… [PDF]
(2022). Disabled and Racialized Musicians: Experiences and Epistemologies. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, v21 n2 p17-56. Drawing on DisCrit–disability studies and critical race theory (Annamma, Ferri, and Connor 2013) and Beaudry's (2020) framework for accounts of disability, we (the authors) examine the lived experiences of Jason and Gift as disabled and racialized musicians. Echoing the DisCrit maxim that ableism and racism are intertwined, we assert that, like disability studies in general, disability research in music education is characterized by unmarked whiteness (Bell 2006, 2011). As a result, disability research in music education has a deep deficit of epistemologies of disabled and racialized people. To address this issue, we adhere to the fourth tenet of DisCrit by centering the perspectives of disabled and racialized people, presenting the experiences of Jason and Gift with music teaching and learning in the form of conversational interviews…. [Direct]
(2022). Endemic Racism in Trump's America: A Racialized Female Faculty Member's Experience. Studying Teacher Education, v18 n1 p5-22. This self-study addresses the embedded racism experienced by a racialized female professor who taught in the USA during Trump's presidency. The article presents two incidents that reflect the emboldened racist behaviors and actions of teacher education students during the Trump administration. The study is based on the author's experiences as a racialized female faculty member in the Midwest. Using critical pedagogy and critical race theory frameworks, the article argues that racism needs to be dismantled in spaces of teacher education programs that have been deeply impacted by the ultra-right politics of the Trump administration. This article calls attention to endemic racism, particularly as experienced by racialized faculty. The author calls on teacher educators to take action in response to such incidents and in support of racialized faculty…. [Direct]
(2022). When White Dwarfs Burn Our Color: Whiteness, Emotionality, and the Will to Thrive in Higher Education. Research Issues in Contemporary Education, v7 n2 p8-34. Though the academy is a space where education, exploration, and research reside, it is also a space of historical exclusion, ostracism, and oppression for diverse students, staff, and faculty. Particularly, with respect to the ever-present dynamics of whiteness via white supremacy, students, staff, and faculty of color are racially microaggressed and racially stonewalled to a point where they experience extreme racial battle fatigue. This theoretical and reflective paper draws from critical whiteness studies and critical race theory's counterstorytelling to reveal the emotionalities of whiteness, specifically, to investigate how racialized emotions burn out the lives of people of color on campus, much like how white dwarfs are degenerate masses themselves. And, how by leaving them intact, universities will never achieve their proclaimed missions for diversity, equity, and inclusion…. [PDF]
(2022). Sharpening Students' Racial Literacies through Multimodal Subversion. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, v66 n2 p100-110 Sep-Oct. This case study shares the experiences of 24 students in an urban high school in the U.S. Midwest who spent 6 weeks learning about, and applying tenets of, critical race theory (CRT) to their analysis of the canonical "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Students created a visual essay reflecting their understanding of CRT in the novel and in their broader social milieu. Drawing from, and sharing possibilities for, merging theoretical principles from CRT, multiliteracies, and the writing process, we/the authors ask: How can students utilize multiple perspectives to sharpen racial literacies through multimodal design? These findings include three points of integration: (a) overt instruction, Whiteness, and organizing; (b) critical framing, intersectionality, and address; and (c) transformed practice, critical stance, and revise and survey again…. [Direct]
(2022). Who Has a Right to the Museum? Representation and Belonging in Children's Books about Going to an Art Museum. Multicultural Perspectives, v24 n1 p3-13. Children's books play an important role in providing windows and mirrors to young people on a variety of academic content, social issues, and personal experiences. Numerous books introduce young people to the art museum. The text and illustrations of these books send messages about who belongs in museums as a visitor and what kinds of art are worthy of curation. Content analysis grounded in critical race theory and the right to the city reveals that museums are still portrayed as institutions that are based on White norms and culture, from the preponderance of visitors in the galleries to the art on the walls. Story lines illustrate how children's race is connected to the alienation and escape, interaction with art, enjoyment, and identification that children experience when visiting the art museum…. [Direct]
(2022). At the Root of Their Stories: Black and Latinx Students' Experiences with Academic Microaggressions. Harvard Educational Review, v92 n4 p508-532 Win. In this narrative study, Rosalie Rol√≥n-Dow explores the nature of academic microaggressions that racially minoritized undergraduate students experience at predominantly white institutions. She illustrates microaggression incidents related to (in)visibility, intellect or academic contributions, and curriculum relevant to students' racial identities, communities, or histories. Using a critical race theory microaggression framework, she analyzes academic microaggressions in the broader context of institutional racism and white supremacy to show how white supremacy tools like othering, monoculturalism, nativism, white ascendancy, normativity, and ignorance are deployed. Rol√≥n-Dow calls for colleges and universities to deepen their understanding of the effects of microaggressions on students' academic lives and contends that institutions seeking to become more racially inclusive must address the ways that ideologies inherent in white supremacy continue to be expressed through racial… [Direct]
(2022). In Search of the Black Superintendent. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Southern California. This dissertation researches the barriers encountered and resiliency learned for Black administrators on their path to becoming superintendents in California. Using critical race theory as the lens of the conceptual framework, this research used a qualitative method. The research questions inquired about how the barriers of mentorship, career pathways, and anti-Blackness affected their career trajectories. The study used interviews with Black California superintendents. This research shed light on how the barriers impacted the journey to the seat of superintendent. The paper concludes with evidence-based recommendations to reduce barriers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: www.proquest.com/en-US/products/disserta…… [Direct]
(2021). A Liberatory Response to Antiblackness and Racism in the Mathematics Education Enterprise. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, v21 n4 p783-802 Dec. Since the inception of the mathematics education enterprise, whiteness and antiBlackness are two foundational components, ideological and social constructs. These constructs help to understand how the law, race, class, power, and other forms of oppression operate to establish, maintain, and elevate racism (white supremacy) in and out of the mathematics education enterprise. The article uses critical race theory in mathematics education to examine the enterprise from a historical to contemporary perspective to illustrate how whiteness and antiBlackness have been normalized and used to exclude Blackness. I argue for a liberatory response anchored in African frames to address the atrocities against Black people in and out of mathematics education…. [Direct]
(2021). A Critical Race Analysis of University Acts of Racial "Redress": The Limited Potential of Racial Symbols. Educational Policy, v35 n2 p304-322 Mar. More historically White institutions of higher education are compelled to respond, in some way, to increased activism and awareness of continued legacies of racism and racial crises on campuses. The author suggests that how schools wrestle with their legacies of racism and/or respond to student demands to right racial wrongs on campus might be considered university acts of racial redress. Through a Critical Race Theory inspired chronicle, the author argues that seemingly positive university acts of racial redress such as policies, place un/naming, or public statements are, in fact, Racial Symbols that do little to change the material realities of racially marginalized people on campus…. [Direct]
(2021). Investigating Young Children's Conceptualizations of Disability and Race: An Intersectional, Multiplane Critique. Educational Researcher, v50 n2 p97-104 Mar. Education researchers have extensively documented young children's capacity to exhibit "bias" in relation to disability or race. By and large, data generation has focused on children's awareness and attitudes about disability or race, rather than how interactions and structures construct and reinforce them. Bridging disability critical race theory (DisCrit) and sociocultural perspectives, this essay proposes the need for intersectional, multiplane qualitative data generation in studying young children's disability and race conceptualizations to account for the ways intersecting, oppressive ideologies are perpetuated in young children's worlds. In this essay, I briefly describe and critique extant data generation practices, concluding with possibilities for future investigations…. [Direct]
(2021). "No Difference between African American, Immigrant, or White Children! They Are All the Same.": Working toward Developing Teachers' Raciolinguistic Attitudes towards ELs. International Journal of Multicultural Education, v23 n1 p47-66. This study explored Midwestern US teachers' raciolinguistic attitudes toward English learners. Two research questions guided the study: "How did teachers perceive racism and linguicism" and "How did a professional training influence teachers' awareness of them?" Critical race theory was used to examine how racism evolved into racialized linguicism. Data analysis demonstrated that teachers tended to conflate the experiences of African American students and English learners, even though they are linguistically and culturally distinct. They also tended to understand the racism and linguicism encountered by the two groups in Black/White and Standard-English/Nonstandard-English binaries. Implications consider the future direction of TESOL teacher education…. [PDF]
(2021). Understanding the Experiences of Racially Minoritized Doctoral Students in Evangelical Theological Education. Christian Higher Education, v20 n3 p141-159. Although some scholars have explored the experiences of racially minoritized doctoral students in large research universities, few have studied the racial dynamics of doctoral education in smaller institutions. Evangelical seminaries, graduate-level schools that train people for religious vocations, have become the subject of racial criticism in recent years. To better understand the racial dynamics of doctoral education in evangelical seminaries, I conducted a narrative-driven qualitative study with 12 racially minoritized doctoral students from several of these institutions. Employing a conceptual lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Yancey's definitions of racism, I argue that racially minoritized doctoral students in evangelical seminaries remain under-supported in various ways…. [Direct]
(2021). African American Female Students and STEM: Principals' Leadership Perspectives. Journal of Negro Education, v90 n3 p358-370 Sum. This qualitative case study explored how principals, at STEM-specific programmed schools, support African American female students. Interviews, documents, and observations were conducted to evaluate principals' leadership styles. Critical race theory (CRT) was used as a theoretical framework to highlight the inadequate support of minority students, and due to its emancipatory character, transformative leadership model was referenced to code data. The results uncovered principal leadership characteristic of a multifaceted underrepresented school population. Emergent themes included a distinction between leadership styles, the influence of school community, and the significance of school culture. The principals reflected actions of a transformative leader through the acknowledgement of differentiated supports and obstacles students of color face…. [PDF]
(2024). "Everyone Got to Eat My Tears": Racialized Emotions, Mentoring Experiences, and the Political and Ethical Commitments of Women of Color Graduate Students in STEM. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of New Mexico. In this project, I examine the emotional and lived experiences of women of color (WOC) graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and how they embody and negotiate racism, classism, and sexism in academia, particularly in White, men-dominated STEM spaces. I utilize critical race theory and intersectionality to shed light on how WOC draw upon their intersecting identities, marginalization, and sense of community to navigate and resist oppressive environments. Specifically, I highlight the ways they experience racialized emotions and leverage vulnerability to resist dominant academic norms and controlling images to preserve their holistic selves, engage in critical reflexivity to challenge harmful mentoring practices, and activate ethics of the embodied self and care through their work, relationship building, and visions of themselves as scientists. This study extends our current understanding of the experiences of WOC in higher education by providing… [Direct]