Abstract
The extent to which any social scientist is authentically an insider continues to be a spirited debate within qualitative circles. Amid this weighty dispute, “insider” researchers, or me-searchers, maintain that we have certain advantages in conducting qualitative inquiry in marginalized communities that mimic our personal histories and life experiences. This article reports my first professional study as a publicly engaged scholar who directed an ethnographic childhood lead poisoning study among my cultural group, and the ways in which that initial investigation formed the trajectory of my identity as an educational researcher. Two investments needed by African American me-searchers, regarding personal and professional contributions for qualitative inquiry among marginalized people, are explored. Upon reflection, disclosure of the insider’s personal history and the inclusion of the researched as affirmed collaborators in studies that impact their lives are determined to be prerequisites to epistemic justice.
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