“This is what we wanted to learn”: Anti-racist and anti-colonial education with 1st gen Korean American seniors in a time of Asian hate and racialized dread

Abstract

In this paper, I explore the challenge and promise of developing an anti-racist and anti-colonial curriculum and pedagogy in a time of racialized dread. Drawing on my experience teaching a 10-week course on racial justice, delivered in the Korean language, to 1st generation Korean American seniors in the Southern United States. I explore how the group channeled their frustration, tension, and anger in the face of Asian hate into hope and a passion to learn about the history of race in the United States and the Asian American community. Through weekly lectures, counter-storytelling, and in-depth discussions, I learned of their desire to name the racialized dread arising from everyday racism. By employing Critical Race Theory and Asian Critical Theory, and centering the Ethnic Studies’ liberatory approach to education, I demonstrate that the community’s perceptions of race and racism are shaped at the intersection of U.S. imperialism, South Korea’s transnational ideology of meritocracy, and the legacy of the unending Cold War on the Korean Peninsula. This paper also reflects on how engaging an ethnic community through teaching transformed my pedagogy and perspectives to be more decolonial and inclusive. In light of the current war on Critical Race Theory, this paper contributes to expanding discussions focused on reimagining and revitalizing the liberatory pedagogy of community as a way to confront racialized dread.