Racial Consciousness Research Articles

Rediscovering the conflict zone: Can the subaltern redefine the theory?

By utilizing autoethnography as a research method of a reflective self-examination set within the author’s cultural context and experiential world, this essay elucidates the nuanced positionality of Asians/Asian Americans at the intersection of the model minority myth discourse, colonial narratives, and the black–white binary paradigm of race relations by the employment of Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS). While the recent global movement toward racial awareness pushes us to consider the use of CWS, probing into the positionality of Asians/Asian Americans from the perspective of the aforementioned intersection helps us understand the carefully constructed racial paradigm that sets up the complex of the racial status quo. The paradigm has not only created the precarious space for those whose racial identities do not fit in the binary—inclusive of but not limited to Indigenous people, Asians, Latinx, and multiracial people—but has also polarized whites under the white supremacist system.

Linguistic imperialism: countering anti Black racism in world language teacher preparation

PurposeThis study aims to highlight the planning, process and results of drawing on engaged pedagogy to humanize Blackness in world language (WL) teacher education. The activities were designed to center lived experiences, augment self-reflection and model instructional differentiation for WL preservice teachers (PSTs).Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research paper uses a self-study in teacher education practices (S-STEP) method. It explores how tailored resources, peer and self-assessments and a responsive environment can increase awareness of antiBlackness in instruction and curricula among WL PSTs during a semester-long methods course.FindingsFindings suggest that centering Blackness in WL methods initiates an awareness of antiBlack racism in WL pedagogy through opportunities for self-reflection and accountability through assessment. To varying degrees, participants demonstrated shifts in their understanding and valuing of Blackness in WL instruction as facilitated through a differentiated environment in which PSTs had access both to the instructor and to one another’s critical feedback.Originality/valueLinguicism through antiBlack linguistic racism, native speakerism, idealized whiteness and other constructs has been demonstrated to decrease Black and minoritized participation in language teaching. What has yet to be addressed is this same pushout from an inclusive Black diasporic approach to WL teacher preparation. This study highlights nationalism, ableism, accentism, racism, anti-immigrant sentiments and racial stereotypes as different entry points to understanding antiBlackness within WL teacher preparation.

Racial awareness and resistance in Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral

The origin of the racist approaches towards black people living in America dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. A small number of Africans brought to the Virginia colony by ships in that period were considered captives, but were not slaves in the current sense because they could have freedom and some land after working for a certain period of time. It was a form of indentured slavery. However, wealthy landowners soon concluded that this was a problem, and there followed a rapid transition from indentured slavery to slavery. By the mid-18th century, indentured slavery was almost nonexistent. With the American Revolution in the second half of the 18th century, the idea that slavery was a social problem predominated and many states, mostly in the north, began to enact freedom laws. But unfortunately, none of the laws enacted have been sincere or comprehensive enough to give black people a voice or freedom in its fullest sense. With the Great Migration that started in the 1910s, millions of black citizens immigrated to the Northern regions, especially New York, with the dream of equality and freedom. This was the event triggering the Harlem Renaissance, which began in the 1920s. With the Renaissance, black people had the opportunity to express their identity and art with their own style for the first time in their history. The writers of the period not only raised awareness about the racism they were exposed to, but also reflected the idea of resistance and being proud of their own identity. Jessie Redmon Fauset occupies a prominent place among these writers and successfully addresses the themes mentioned. This study examines racial awareness and resistance in Fauset’s Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral.

‘We didn’t learn enough about racism and anti-racist practice’: newly qualified social workers’ challenge in wrestling racism

ABSTRACT Since the murder of George Floyd, there has been an increase in discussions around racism and anti-racist practice in social work. There have been questions about how pre-qualifying training prepares newly qualified social workers for working with racialised groups and dealing with racism in practice. This paper reports on a qualitative study with sixty-seven newly qualified social workers on the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment programme (a twelve-month employment-based course providing extra support and enhancing skills and knowledge for newly qualified social workers employed in England) within two years of completing a social work degree. Our analysis identified challenges in dealing with racism, experiences of racism and the lack of guidance on dealing with racism, witnessed and/or experienced. There is a need for organisations, and educators to develop a greater sense of racial consciousness to successfully drive anti-racism in social work. A framework that supports newly qualified social workers with processes to help challenge and address incidences of racism should encourage social workers to wrestle with race.

The sociology of white America: A teaching and learning guide

The sociology of white America: A teaching and learning guide

Race-related Stressors and Resources for Resilience: Associations With Emotional Health, Conduct Problems, and Academic Investment Among African American Early Adolescents.

African American youths in the United States grow up in a society with a long, pervasive, and living history of interpersonal and institutional racism. This study examined whether race-related stressors (awareness and experiences of racism) and resources for resilience (racial-ethnic connectedness and perceptions of embedded achievement) were associated with emotional health, conduct problems, and academic investment among African American early adolescents. Embedded achievement is the belief that achievement is a part of one's racial or ethnic group identity. Participants were recruited from an urban school and youth club (N= 75, mean age= 11.6 years, 71% male participants). Structured interviews were administered to youths. Adjusting for age and sex, racial-ethnic connectedness and embedded achievement were associated with fewer emotional problems and conduct problems. In addition, embedded achievement was associated with greater academic investment. Racial-ethnic connectedness modified associations between awareness and experiences of racism and emotional problems; racism was associated with more emotional problems, but only among youths with lower levels of racial-ethnic connectedness. Youths' perceptions of embedded achievement modified an association between experiences of racism and conduct problems; experiences of racism were associated with more conduct problems, but only among youths with lower perceptions of embedded achievement. Race-related resources for resilience appear to promote emotional, behavioral, and academic well-being among African American youths and to confer protection when youths are confronted with the stress and adversity of racism. Health professionals can advocate for policies and practices to combat racism and to foster racial pride and connectedness among youths of color.

Awareness, social cognition, and commitment: Developing a social justice orientation in psychology training programs.

This study investigates how the awareness of social inequities and racism may serve as a foundation for psychology trainees' social justice self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, interests, and commitment. Using the social-cognitive justice developmental framework proposed by Miller et al. (2009), a total of 222 participants were recruited from accredited applied psychology programs across the United States. Participants completed measures assessing their levels of two dimensions of critical consciousness: Egalitarianism and awareness of inequality (Diemer et al., 2017), their colorblind racial attitudes (Neville et al., 2000), and their social justice self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, and commitment (Miller et al., 2009). A hypothesized path model was fit to the data. Alternative models were also considered. Results indicated that participants who endorsed egalitarianism and were more aware of social inequities showed greater awareness of racism and, in turn, were more likely to endorse a higher orientation and commitment to social justice. Limitations and implications for future research and training are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Youth are watching: Adolescents’ sociopolitical development in the Trump era

This study examined whether appraisals of 45th U.S. President Donald J. Trump by 1433 adolescents (Mage =16.1, SDage =1.16, Female=56.9%, Latinx=43.6%, White=35.7%, Black=12.6%, Asian=5.8%) predicted change from 2017 to 2018 across four dimensions of sociopolitical development (SPD): marginalization, critical analysis, civic efficacy, and political action. Trump supporters declined in awareness of inequality and race consciousness but increased in voting intentions. Trump detractors increased in awareness of inequality, race consciousness, and experiences of discrimination. Trump supporters and detractors increased in civic efficacy compared to youth with no opinion. Additional findings were moderated by race and ethnicity. Findings suggest adolescents' SPD has been shaped in distinct ways by the Trump era.

Judges’ Perceptions of Systemic Racism in the Criminal Justice System

Recognition of the causes and consequences of systemic racism, particularly related to the criminal justice system, has increased in recent years, in part because of the Black Lives Matter movement. Awareness of racism and how it intersects with the justice system is a first step to addressing it; thus, it is critical to understand the sentiment of justice employees regarding systemic racism. This content analysis assessed the sentiment of 632 judges who responded to The National Judicial College's Question of the Month. Approximately 65% believed that systemic racism exists in the criminal justice system. Assessment of open-ended responses revealed many themes. Some judges pointed toward disparate treatment, while others denied racism exists. Some claimed that racism occurs but is not systemic. Many said that disparities are not a result of racism, but a result of SES, education, etc. Judges specified training and reforms (e.g., bail) that are needed. Suggested solutions included increasing accountability for police, prosecutors, and judges who display discriminatory behavior. These solutions indicated that judges are amenable to training and other reforms; such policy shifts should be pursued.

Changing Eyes and Ears: Using Racial Lifemaps to Address Microaggressions with Interracial Couples

Microaggressions can adversely impact the relational quality of interracial couples comprised of Black women and White men. Microaggressions are verbal, non-verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities that convey negative racial slights to individuals of color (Sue et al., 2007). Although couple and family therapists are implored to discuss microaggressions within therapy, a specific intervention to explore this dynamic is lacking. However, a lifemap could be utilized by therapists who assist interracial couples. Lifemaps are a client-constructed pictorial detailing the life events of a specific personal trajectory (Hodge, 2005b). This intervention has been used to ascertain an individual’s spiritual awareness, but they have not been modified in the clinical literature to assess an individual’s racial awareness. The theoretical framework for modifying spiritual lifemaps into racial lifemaps is Critical Race Theory (CRT). The themes of endemic racism and voices of color within CRT are particularly insightful for exploring the experiences of interracial couples. This paper will provide a composite case study of Black women married to White men demonstrating the use of racial lifemaps to address unresolved microaggressions and strategies for future microaggressive experiences.

Negotiating white normativity in sport

Student-athletes of color navigate white normativity daily, yet it is a form of racism rarely examined in sport psychology. Examining people of color’s daily experience can be instructive to understanding how whiteness gets normalized and challenged in various contexts. Moreover, as white normativity is ubiquitous, research methodologies themselves must explicitly acknowledge and challenge white normativity. This study examined (a) manifestations of white normativity in the daily lives of student-athletes of color, (b) student-athletes of color’s processes of negotiating and navigating whiteness, and (c) methodological designs for creating safe spaces for student-athletes of color to make meaning of race. Seven women student-athletes of color engaged in group and individual interviews during which the interviewer foregrounded race and racism and facilitated participants’ meaning-making. Specifically, building from humanizing research and heeding the call for empirical spaces to be culturally-responsive, participant storytelling was encouraged and stories were reexamined through critical lenses. Through our findings, we illustrate how women student-athletes of color are not merely passive recipients of dominant (white) culture but, in different ways, active agents negotiating their status as athletes, women, and people of color within white normative contexts. Conscious of their deviance from the white norm, participants engaged in continuous negotiation processes of normalizing, nuancing, and resisting whiteness. Lay Summary: Racism is often thought of as racist people harming people of color with malintent. In this paper, we show how racism is upheld and maintained even without individual racists through the normalization of whiteness. We also examined the everyday experiences of women student-athletes of color navigating, negotiating, and resisting white normativity. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Racism is not limited to overt actions perpetrated by individuals with intent to harm but, rather, through the normalization of whiteness. Thus, we must all critically examine the racial implications of our everyday assumptions Studying race must be done thoughtfully and explicitly as racial consciousness is subverted due to white normativity in academia, research, and society There are diverse positions women student-athletes of color can take as they navigate daily racism and white normativity. Sport and exercise psychology (SEP) professionals should hold space for student-athletes of color to consider their perspectives as there is no single right way to dismantle racism. SEP professionals must also actively seek for strategies to agitate and disrupt white normativity

Testimonios in the mouth of the dragon: A call for Black liberation in psychology.

U.S. society has witnessed and experienced the impact and suffering caused by the racial pandemic within the COVID-19 viral pandemic. In response to anti-Blackness, a multigenerational and multiracial movement of people is rising and demanding justice for Black lives. Using testimonio research and Liberation Psychology as a theoretical framework, the authors describe their current understanding of what it means to practice a more responsible resistance to racist power structures as non-Black Latinas in the field of psychology. Braun and Clarke's (2016) thematic analysis (TA) was used to search for patterns of meaning within the authors' testimonios. Results revealed four themes: (a) to "hold the line" means to struggle for Black liberation, (b) confront anti-Blackness and colonial mentality in the self and community, (c) challenge anti-Blackness within the field of psychology, and (d) collective struggle. The third theme was divided into two subthemes: (a) tear down and (b) center Black lives. The testimonios emphasize that practicing allyship involves being a dissenter who questions and challenges colonial mentality and anti-Blackness, who fights for the abolition of racist policies and power systems, and who moves beyond the hegemonic values that exist in the field of psychology. This study presents the use of testimonio research and Liberation Psychology as suitable tools for psychologists to increase their racial consciousness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

From One Generation to the Next: Hmong American Adolescents’ Views of Maternal Racial Socialization

This study investigated Hmong American adolescents’ perceptions of their mother as helping them understand race as Asian American youths in an urban context. Twenty-four Hmong American adolescents ages 14 to 18 ( M = 15.8; 67% female; 54% U.S. born, 46% born in Southeast Asia) participated in semi-structured interviews, following approval of the Institutional Review Board. Directed content analysis revealed three themes of racial, ethnic, and neutral socialization practices. Frequently, responses reflected the categories of racism awareness, racial group identification, and diversity awareness, as well as no discussion of race (racial socialization theme). Although the study asked specifically about racial socialization, some responses indicated that mothers engaged in cultural practices that included cultural markers and ethnic group identification (ethnic socialization theme). A few responses also represented neutral socialization that emphasized good behavior. Emergent categories included intra-racial discrimination and bicultural socialization. More frequently than girls, boys reported having discrimination experiences without discussing race with mothers. Girls reported more intra-racial discrimination messages, as well as bicultural and neutral messages than boys. These findings can help Hmong American adolescents and their families continue to build successful strategies for dealing with racism and discrimination, and support understanding how Asian Americans address racialized experiences in the U.S.

Friends or Foes? U.S. Women’s Perceptions of Racial Justice and the Black Lives Matter Protests during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Scholarship on the first waves of the Black Lives Matter protests (2013–2014) has emerged in recent years but little is yet known about women’s responses to the cycle of Black Lives Matter/George Floyd protests that occurred in the Summer of 2020. This study analyzed semi-structured interviews with a racially diverse community sample of 20 women and two nonbinary individuals who mostly identified as feminists (mean age = 34.05, SD = 13.11). To address the salience of BLM framing practices during an ongoing protest, this study explored an awareness of structural racism and reactions to the presumed goals and tactics of this antiracism social movement. We identified six themes in how this racially diverse sample responded to these protests against racism and police brutality: 1) Caricatures of BLM protestors as criminals; 2) Protests were too extreme; 3) Concern about the COVID risks and social context of COVID; 4) More education needed about race relations; 5) Protests were long overdue; and 6) Protests were effective and necessary. Implications for better understanding the rhetoric of white liberalism, solidarity within racial justice movements, and fragmentation or unity among women were explored.

Race-Conscious Racism: Alibis for Racial Harm in the Classroom

Abstract I draw on three years of participant observations in one socio-economically marginalized public elementary and one middle school to document how teachers strategically mobilize the discursive landscape of race consciousness to 1) position themselves as racially progressive while perpetuating racial harm; 2) pathologize racially marginalized students, their families, and communities; and 3) engage in racial harassment. Drawing on these findings and adding to a body of work on race-conscious racial ideologies, I articulate some basic contours of race consciousness as an emerging racial ideology within educational institutions in an era of diversity: an increased interest in, and proliferation of, race discourse; the use of progressive language around race and racial inequality that involves defining racism as inscrutable and implicit bias as unavoidable; and racial education and acknowledgement of privilege as one of the dominant pathways to achieving racial justice. Race-conscious racism, thus, re-inscribes white supremacy and Black and brown racial suffering by obscuring its own nature as a form of racism. It allows white people to treat race-talk as racial justice, and therefore inherently virtuous. It is mobilized by those with racial power to pathologize communities of color and justify racial harm while simultaneously positioning themselves as both morally superior and anti-racist.

“Dutch Racism is not Like Anywhere Else”: Refusing Color-Blind Myths in Black Feminist Otherwise Spaces

Despite myths of color-blindness in the Netherlands, Black women are marginalized by mainstream expectations of racial and cultural homogeneity. I use Amsterdam Black Women as a case study to illustrate the lived experiences of women affected by this exclusion. In this space, women freely critique Dutch society through mundane moments of truth-telling, venting, and joking, which enable individual problems to rise to a community level. I explore how subtle configurations of Black feminist organizing can be key sites of healing, experimentation, and political engagement. This research complicates how we understand experiences of misogynoir when race consciousness is blended in a transnational context and how Amsterdam Black Women has made possible the refusal of Dutch norms that require members to accept their oppression silently and support false narratives of progressiveness and color-blindness.

Growing up with systemic racism in the USA

Growing up with systemic racism in the USA

“We share the same ancestry”: US Kurdish diasporas and the aspirational and ascriptive practices of race

AbstractThe conflating of the Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) region with Arabs is a common trope that also governs how we study West Asia and West Asian diasporas in the United States. I ethnographically highlight the lives of Kurds in mainly Nashville, Tennessee, and the northeastern United States while foregrounding their racial aspirations that disrupt essentialized depictions of the SWANA region and challenge the nation‐state's racial ascriptions. The use of the “Indo‐European” language family as racial classification in opposition to Arabs, the quotidian practices of racializing Kurds through the “Muslim‐looking” racial formation, and the everyday forms of solidarity with Arab Americans during this period of the global war on terror provide traction on the ways the ascriptions of race and aspirations to race influence Kurdish identity formation. Through evocations of “Indo‐European‐ness,” Kurdish Americans conceptualize transnational and transhistorical forms of whiteness/Europeanness/Aryan‐ness and racialized difference from Arabs, offer critiques of nation‐states, and accentuate dynamic forms of racial consciousness. Kurds simultaneously engage with ethnological understandings that are naturalized as racial difference at the very moment they must also manage the racial hysteria post‐9/11. With increased xenophobia and Islamophobia, Kurds challenge their racializations by embracing nonwhiteness that opens possibilities for coalition‐building with Arab Americans and various racial “Others.”

African American mothers' racial socialization practices with preschoolers: A mixed methods study

AbstractObjectiveThis pilot study examined the racial socialization frequency, practices, and goals African American mothers use to socialize their preschool‐age children around race.BackgroundPrevious studies have demonstrated that African American mothers engage in racial socialization. However, little research has focused on how race and racism influence African American mothers' racial socialization frequency, practices, and goals.MethodsIn the quantitative phase, a racial socialization measure was used to assess African American mothers' (N = 30) racial socialization frequency. In the qualitative phase, follow‐up interviews conducted with eight African American mothers explored how race and racism influence the mothers' parenting.ResultsMothers with a high racial socialization score encouraged racial awareness, whereas mothers with low scores discouraged racial awareness. Most mothers used oppressive practices to keep their preschoolers safe. Most mothers braided their parental practices with their racial experiences from childhood.ConclusionsMothers of African American children are processing parental guidance approaches on two levels—general guidance related to their child's development and a track related to the role race may be playing.ImplicationsThe implications of this study will be influential in the development and effectiveness of culturally centered practices that support Black children as well as Black mothers' parenting.

Use of Critical Race Theory to Inform the Recruitment of Black/African American Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers into Community-Based Research.

Nearly 30 years after the 1993 National Institute of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act, which required the inclusion of women and racial/ethnic minority groups into government-funded clinical trials, minority groups remain underrepresented in research, and disparities in health outcomes and longevity remain. These problematic trends are particularly evident when considering Black and community-based research in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD). Deeply rooted historical race-based mistreatment in research and in the health care system at large along with ineffective recruitment approaches persists as barriers to the low participation of Black participants in dementia care studies. In this article, we explore Critical Race Theory, its tenets, and applicability to inform national strategies to encourage participation of Black participants in ADRD research. We describe how Critical Race Theory constructs (e.g., race consciousness, storytelling, and praxis) can be used to inform recruitment strategies of Black caregivers for people living with dementia into community-based research. We provide a case example that draws upon our NIH-funded Adult Day Service Plus randomized trial and its engagement of Black caregivers into a community-based biomarker research arm of the main trial. Although the contribution of this article is primarily theoretical, in the spirit of Critical Race Theory it is also a call for action to transform dementia care research by offering a conceptual tool to assure inclusivity of Black participants, who are disproportionately affected by dementia when compared to other racial groups.