My skin is unqualified: an autoethnography of black scholar-activism for predominantly white education

Abstract

This research addresses the guiding autoethnographic question: “What three key institutional incidents/conditions inform my Black scholar-activism for predominantly White education in this historical moment?” Moreover, it applies autoethnography to illuminate three key incidents/conditions involving: (1) predominantly White undergraduates; (2) top-level predominately White male university administrators; and (3) White school community leaders in this historical moment (i.e. within the last 4 years). The research is organized to begin with a new poem and proceed to illuminate: (a) the current, observed historical context, (b) the application of critical race theory for illuminating my lived experiences of this context, (c) the rationale for applying autoethnography in this research, and (d) the three key incidents/conditions. It concludes by returning to the guiding question, critical race theory, related implications and rationales.