Abstract
Camp staff have hope that summer camp plays a role in helping youth bridge differences. Educational research, though, raises concerns about preparing youth workers to combat racism (Jupp, Berry, & Lensmire, 2016). This study draws on prior school research and critical Whiteness studies to examine race-evasiveness among camp staff. Grounded theory analysis resulted in two major thematic categories of discursive strategies by which camp staff evaded critical engagement with antiracist discussion. First, camp staff upheld dominant racial understandings by invoking discourses of colorblindness and humanist caring. Second, they prioritized White comfort by neglecting youth of color and employing self-protective emotional tools of Whiteness (Picower, 2009). The research suggests areas of attention for scholars and camp staff trainers with regard to White staff’s race-evasiveness.
Highlights
School research points to the difficulties of preparing American youth workers to deal with racism
This study examined how camp staff’s conversations about racism and justice on the job functioned in ways that avoided direct challenges to White supremacy
A key tenet in these traditions, both undergirded by Critical Race Theory (CRT), is that racism and White supremacy are deeply ingrained in American society, including its educational institutions
Summary
School research points to the difficulties of preparing American youth workers to deal with racism. This study examined how camp staff’s conversations about racism and justice on the job functioned in ways that avoided direct challenges to White supremacy. Drawing on Whiteness studies in schools, I examined how camp staff avoid confronting racism when they talk about race, that is, how they engage in race-evasiveness.
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