Breathing space amidst the permanence of racism in the academy

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper presents evidence that sheds light on both the limitations and the possibilities of race-focused staff forums that have formed across UK higher education as part of a response to equality legislation. Based on interviews conducted with 13 staff of color across two universities, this paper foregrounds critical race theory presenting evidence that these staff forums are often performative and fail to address needed structural changes. Despite this, there is also evidence of agency among members to struggle for an anti-racist university. This paper reveals varying perceptions and meanings to these forums, highlighting a tension. On the one hand, staff recognize the performativity of these initiatives. On the other, they also often value them as spaces of respite. The paper concludes that further examination of the perspectives and situated knowledge of members of these forums can offer valuable insights that can impact the creation and implementation of such spaces.