Examining Cultural Barriers to Teaching Anti-Racist History in the Rural U.S.

Abstract

Although research on teaching about race and racism in rural schools is scant, a handful of studies indicate that race matters a great deal in rural history education. It matters particularly in terms of divergent cultural memories and uses of history (cf. Nordgren, 2016; Seay, 2019) that students and teachers may bring to the classroom. This paper summarizes studies of rural white history teachers who contended with narratives of white dominance in the school and community (cf. Castagno, 2014; Leonardo, 2009, 2013; Vaught, 2011). The teachers faced unforeseen difficulties engaging students in sensitive topics, such as racialized violence and other historical systems of inequality that remain in the present.