Voices from the red states: challenging racial positioning in some of the most conservative communities in America

Abstract

Using positioning theory (PT) and critical race theory (CRT), we examine disparate power relations between White governance and faculty of color (FOC) in one rural American teacher education context. PT and CRT allow researchers to analyze how the positionings of White-Other have been historically rooted and impacting the meso-institutional policies/practices and the micro-individual relationships. Findings show that racial relations in academia does not exist in a social vacuum: the cyclical patterns of discrimination and rural racism have endured in university practices under study and shaped the current unequal power relations between White governance and FOC. We suggest changing the current policies and practices to include deliberate initiatives in hiring, retaining, and promoting FOC to leadership positions in teacher/higher education. We conclude that Whites and people of color must redouble efforts to form coalitions with one another that will advance progressive institutional practices and improve campus racial climates.