The Burden of Acting Human: Rethinking Race, Class, and Gender Experiences in U.S. Independent Schools

Abstract

Background/Context: Ongoing tensions surrounding equity and diversity work, particularly around race and gender, in independent schools have led to various responses. Many independent schools have made statements and pledges, and have crafted strategic plans to address systemic racism after receiving internal and external pressure to take action following the murder of George Floyd. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study examines how young adolescent cisgender Black and Latinx students, specifically cisgender boys at two independent middle schools, navigate the often-contradictory forces of gender, race, and class. Research Design: Drawing on one year of participant observation and 33 semi-structured interviews, I examine how these students contend with the simultaneity of color-blind and race-conscious realities in the United States. Conclusions/Recommendations: This study finds that as teachers, administrators, and boards engage in subsequent equity and diversity efforts, they must pause and reconsider our students’ lived experiences that are part and parcel of ongoing calls for action. Moreover, educators should center the interrogation of what it means to be human in independent schools—in our missions, policies, culture, curriculum, traditions, admissions, and hiring—as one of the most urgent institutional tasks needed to activate the most liberating possibilities of schooling.