‘In it together’: activist teachers of color networks combating isolation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Teachers of Color experience isolation due to racial microaggressions and institutional racism throughout their careers, leading to trauma and higher levels of teacher turnover in the profession. In this study, we use the ‘pedagogy of activism’and scholarship on microaggressionsto explore how activist teachers of Color seek support to combat isolation and harm through participation in teacher activist networks. Using qualitative methods, we investigated the experiences of 26 activist teachers of Color from across the United States. We found that teacher activist networks were key to creating healing spaces for coping with the effects of microaggressions, and that the pedagogy of activism fostered agency to push back against racist policies and institutions. These findings have implications for sustaining diversity in the teacher workforce.