Critical Race Framework Research Articles

Nice for Whom? A Dangerous, Not-So-Nice, Critical Race Love Letter

In this article, I critically analyze and respond to empirical data in the form of racialized discourse—specifically, racist messages sent directly to me as a result of my previously published article entitled, “A Love Letter to Educational Leaders of Color: CREWing UP with Critical Whiteness Studies”. Being informed by a robust racial analysis of acts that reinforce white supremacy, this article will likely be perceived as not nice by those who benefit from and work to protect white supremacy. Likely, I will be the one accused of being hateful, divisive, and even racist. In order to interrogate the weaponization of this conception of “niceness”, my analysis will be driven by Critical Race Hermeneutics with white emotionality and whitelashing used as interpretive lenses. As this article’s engagement with these critical race frameworks poses a threat to those who benefit from racism, this is a dangerous, not-so-nice critical race love letter.

A genealogy of Islamophobia in a global critical race framework: religion, whiteness, and controlling rationality

ABSTRACT Contemporary Islamophobia, while pervasive in the West, has now escalated in societies as distinct as China, India, Myanmar, and Israel in the post-9/11 era. Yet, Islamophobia is not something new, with roots from the centuries after Islam’s founding. This study argues that a global-historical framework is necessary to fully understand Islamophobia’s origins and impact. It extends previous global critical race and racism frameworks and their focus on whiteness to include an emphasis on the epistemological and structural foundations of global Islamophobia. Within these foundations, two key elements are forwarded as the basis for a guiding ontology of whiteness: (1) the Enlightenment-era epistemological transition from religious ways of knowing to knowledge based on controlled and controlling rationality; and (2) the institutions built by European conquest. Using this conceptual framework, the study traces a genealogy of Islamophobia to identify five key moments in its development and resurgence.

Examining Experiences of Academic Advisors of Color Using a Critical Race Framework

Abstract Part of a larger study exploring leadership development opportunities for academic advisors of color at a predominantly white institution, this paper focuses on the lived experiences of academic advisors of color. Through an understanding of race theory, a critical race lens is used to examine the predominantly white institution and the narratives of academic advisors of color in this racialized setting. This qualitative study explored advisors’ experiences with the structure of academic advising, their racialized experiences, and how race is addressed in the workplace. Implications for institutions of higher education are discussed, including how an understanding of the experiences of academic advisors of color can aid in challenging dominant narratives and practices within institutions of higher education.

A Community-driven Research Framework: Integrating Promotores as Co-Researchers

Abstract: Background: Integration of community health workers/promotores in community-based participatory research is an efficient strategy to advance research and health initiatives. We build on the principles of the interactive and contextual model of community–university collaboration for research and action, the public health critical race framework, and the situated learning theory to propose the community-driven research framework for the development of culturally appropriate research methods training and integration of promotores as co-researchers. Objectives: To present the community-driven research framework as a model that trains and integrates promotores in research methodologies. Application of the Community-Driven Research Framework: By showcasing three case studies (March 2019 to December 2021) we describe the promotores' levels of involvement through the various research stages highlighting the effectiveness of the community-driven research framework. Conclusions: The community-driven research framework fills a gap in the literature by providing a process through which researchers can engage in a culturally relevant learning process that allows entry to the community, fostering trust, and initiating a mutual collaboration that is embedded within the local context and needs of the community. The implementation of the community-driven research framework has implications for the development of culturally sensitive community partnerships as well as for designing research that is centered around the cultural and social context of the community.

‘This is so white’: examining black and Brown pre-service teachers’ sense of belonging in a predominantly White educator preparation program

ABSTRACT Drawing from Critical Race and Latino Critical Race frameworks, this qualitative study aimed to examine the role of race in the experiences of pre-service teachers of color at a predominantly White institution. The participants identified factors impacting their sense of belonging, which included perceptions of others, self-perception compared to White peers, isolation, invisibility, and the emotional and academic tolls on them when navigating microaggressions. Implications from this study implore EPPs to consider the development of anti-racist policy and practice and intercultural proficiency development in all aspects of the training process, including curriculum, field experiences, and student teaching. Furthermore, to combat the mechanisms of internalized racism experienced by the participants, this study highlights the need to examine majoritarian views and internalized deficit thinking by engaging pre-service teachers in unpacking their experiences with racist schooling in both K–12 and teacher preparation.

The Perpetrator-Centered Narrative of the Holocaust in Social Studies Standards: A Case Study of South Carolina

In this study, I used a critical analysis approach to identify and examine the perpetrator- and victim-centered perspectives within the Holocaust narrative of the 2019 South Carolina Social Studies College- and Career-Ready Standards. Given the recent revision of the standards, I compared the 2019 standards to the 2011 South Carolina Social Studies Academic Standards to identify shifts in the prescribed Holocaust narrative. Because the 2019 standards are inquiry-based, I explored the role of perpetrator-centered narratives in relation to inquiry goals. Past studies of the Holocaust in state standards and materials focused on accurate content inclusion. However, using Rubin’s (2020) Jewish critical race framework, this study moves the research in a new direction by examining the text of the Holocaust content in standards for culturally inclusive narratives. The findings of this study indicate that the Holocaust narrative in the 2019 standards was predominantly perpetrator-centered, thereby the marginalization of Jewish voices was embedded in the standards. The findings also demonstrate that developing inquiry-based standards does not guarantee the expulsion of oppressive narratives from standards documents.

Every information context is a CRiTical Race information Theory opportunity: informatic considerations for the information industrial complex

PurposeThis paper is an extension of a panel presentation delivered in response to a joint call for panels by the Social Informatics and Information Ethics and Policy Special Interest Groups for the 2022 Association for Information Science and Technology conference. The purpose is to introduce critical race frameworks and tenets as a lens to develop, assess and analyze the social informatics (SI) within information science (IS) research, professional discourse, praxis and pedagogical paradigms. This paper spotlights one of the presentations from that panel, an iteration of Critical Race Theory (CRT) designed specifically for information studies: CRiTical Race information Theory (CRiT).Design/methodology/approachJust as importantly, using SI as part of the context, the paper also includes a discussion that illustrates research and theory building possibilities as both counter and complement to the technocratic advances that permeate society at every level (macro, mezzo and micro), which can also be reasonably framed as the information industrial complex. Thus, CRiT joins other forms of critical discourse and praxis grappling with deconstructing, decolonizing, demarginalizing and demystifying the influence and impact of information technologies. While CRiT has global intentions and implications, this specific discussion has an extensive American focus.FindingsIf we consider the rapid pace in which techno-determinism is moving toward the vise grip of techno-fatalism controlled by frameworks generated from the information industrial complex, we can reasonably consider that humanity on a global basis is living within a meta-large technocratic crisis moment. This crisis moment is both acute and chronic. That is, the technocratic crisis is continuously moving quickly while simultaneously worsening over an extended period of time with no remedies and few responses to substantively address the crisis.Research limitations/implicationsPart of the nature of information and data is measurability. Thus, identifying compatible nomenclature connecting the descriptiveness of intersectionality (a seminal CRT tool) as a qualitative research method to the measurability of data connected to quantitative research, a mixed method approach moves from possible to plausible. Additionally, within IS, there are often opportunities to measure human engagement, such as social media content, search engine use, assessing practices of categorizations, and multiple forms of surveillance data as a short list. Hence, the descriptiveness of intersectional qualitative research “mixed” with the measurability of quantitative research within information settings implies exponential methodological possibilities.Practical implicationsCRiT is multilayered, on the one hand, with the intention of being a discipline-specific, information-specific form of CRT. On the other hand, CRiT theory building is interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary based on information as omnipresent phenomena. An ongoing challenge for CRiT theory building is identifying and working within a balance between, practitioners who typically throw anything and everything at practical problems, while scholars often slice problems into such small segments that practical understanding is severely limited. Embracing and integrating the dynamic interplay between developing ideas and using them is the key to evolving CRiT within the social sciences.Social implicationsThere is plenty of room as well as a need for additional narrative discussing or challenging the use or appropriation of information from a technocratic approach, a counter to the information industrial complex.Originality/valueCRiT is emerging and cutting edge in discussion that addresses the technocratic determinism found in most scholarly discourses.

The impact of systemic racism on health outcomes among Black women: Recommendations for change.

Black women suffer disproportionately from healthcare inequities in comparison to their White counterparts. Using the Public Health Critical Race framework, this article explores the lasting effects of systemic racism on the health outcomes of Black women across the lifespan. A case study and specific strategies are presented to examine how clinicians, educators, and policymakers can work with Black women to mitigate and eliminate health inequities.

From Colorblindness to Critical Investigations: Examining Structural Racism in Social Work Research.

Current and persistent racialized inequalities in the United States raise important research questions investigating the social structures and systems that underlie racist outcomes. Consequently, social workers are called to centralize race and racism in their research agendas and utilize critical race theories and methodologies to examine institutional racism. This study investigates the extent to which critical race frameworks are utilized in mainstream social work research. The researchers conducted a content analysis of three top-ranked mainstream social work research journals (N = 407) to determine the extent to which critical race theories and methodologies are utilized for the investigation of institutional racism. Findings demonstrate a dearth of critical investigation into issues of race and racism in mainstream social work research as well as the underutilization of critical race frameworks. In conclusion, researchers argue for a critical shift in mainstream social work research through utilizing critical race theoretical frameworks and methodologies.

Lesbian Motherhood and Artificial Reproductive Technologies in North America: Race, Gender, Kinship, and the Reproduction of Dominant Narratives

This paper reviews current ethnographic literature on lesbian motherhood as it relates to artificial reproductive technologies (ART) through intersectional, biopolitical and critical-race frameworks. I argue that white, lesbian intending mothers intersecting identity markers of whiteness and queerness place them in a unique position within ART discourses. ART functions as a biopolitical mechanism which aims to normalize and naturalize privilege in hierarchized power structures, while suggesting that the meanings that it produces are objectively scientific rather than socially constructed. I suggest that ART mechanizes white lesbian women’s insecurities as queer women, nearing the falsified construction of ideal motherhood, by exerting pressure on them to conform and therefore, reproduce dominant reproduction narratives. Simultaneously, I assert that white, lesbian, intending mothers’ positionality could enable critical interrogation into the harmful social stratifications that ART perpetuates based on race, class, ability, and sexuality. In sum, a review of relevant literature is used to posit that women privileged within dominant ART discourses must utilize that privilege to create meaningful change.

Confronting the racism boogeyman: Educational leaders make meaning of the impact of George Floyd

Using a Critical Race framework, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews to explore how educational leaders across Texas have made meaning of the impact of George Floyd on their practices. Findings from this study add to the literature by examining administrators’ reflections on race, racism, and their impact on their approaches to leadership. The four of the most prominent themes that emerged from this qualitative study, including Increased Critical Self Awareness and Reflection, Critical Awareness Influencing Decision Making, Disconnect Between What is Known, What is said, and What is practiced, and Racial Battle Fatigue. Despite the resolute and rampant backlash against Critical Race Theory, the findings from this study underscore its relevance to education. Implications of these findings beseech educational leaders and policymakers to consider implementing professional development and accountability measures that center race in educational equity.

The Hat-Trick of Racism: Examining BIPOC Hockey Players’ Experiences in Canada’s Game

Recent high-profile incidents involving racism at hockey’s highest levels have cast serious concerns regarding the prevalence of racism in the sport. However, limited scholarly literature has examined the prevalence of racism in Canadian hockey across the lesser-known competitive developmental levels (e.g., junior, collegiate, and minor-professional). Employing a critical race framework, we interviewed Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) regarding their experiences with racism in Canadian hockey. The findings reveal that actions that keep BIPOC players on the outside looking in exist at even the sport’s youngest levels. The findings also indicate that governing bodies often fail to protect BIPOC players when racist incidents occur. Further research regarding racism in hockey is needed to more fully understand the deleterious impact of racist behavior on the sport and those who play it, and to identify strategies that can promote a more egalitarian opportunity structure than currently exists.

The Politics of Postgenomic Reproduction: Exploring Pregnant Narratives from within a Clinical Trial

There are more large-scale pregnancy trials that implement lifestyle interventions than ever before; yet, there is a dearth of information on pregnant peoples’ experiences in such trials. Contemporary lifestyle pregnancy trials draw on epigenetics and DOHaD research to design and justify prenatal interventions on the material environment to reduce health risks in future generations. This article draws on ethnographic data from a prenatal trial in the United Kingdom and focuses specifically on the experiences of pregnant participants during the intervention phase. In this article, I develop the politics of postgenomic reproduction as a feminist and critical race framework to examine the complex and mercurial stakes of contemporary pregnancy trials. I argue that narratives of control and responsibility in epigenetic models are echoed and preceded by participants’ own embodied experience. The pregnant narratives show at once how their bodies are exposed to unpredictable and uncontrollable environmental exposures and that they are required to respond as if they have absolute control and responsibility. Attending to trial participants’ narratives from a feminist and critical race framework reveals how individualized lifestyle interventions are deeply political and racial, and carry implications for how pregnancy trials influence postgenomic reproduction.

Methodological interest convergence: research site anonymity’s maintenance of structural racism

Anonymity is an unquestioned norm in education research, yet few scholars have theorized how this methodological standard reaffirms structural racism. This practice is critical to question given the presiding mismatch between the rhetoric and practice of racial diversity across educational contexts. Using Derrick Bell’s interest convergence as a critical race framework, I contend institutional review boards (IRBs) embody a converging of interests between educational institutions and research participants (particularly People of Color). As a de facto requirement of IRBs, research site anonymity disrupts readers’ ability to imagine structural racism as a normal and endemic component of American education. As a result, the predilection to default to anonymity without question minimizes racism’s impact and perpetuates cultures of silence deeming racism socially taboo. This conceptual paper concludes with a discussion of limitations and additional methodological points for readers to consider.

“They are Scared of Me”: Black Male Perceptions of Sense of Belonging in U.S. Public Schools

Using a Critical Race framework, this study examined black male perceptions of their sense of belonging in U.S. public schools. The author conducted semi-structured interviews with ten black males who had been expelled from schools. Findings reveal perceptions of a stark discrepancy in the quality of education provided at schools that are predominantly black vs. schools that are more racially diverse. Furthermore participants describe school as a hostile environment for black males citing microaggressions, isolation, and verbal abuse as indicators. Based on the findings, practical recommendations for supporting the educational experiences of black males are offered.

Student interns and their field supervisors’ perceptions of a school psychology training program to support emergent bilinguals

ABSTRACT School psychologists are increasingly placed in advocacy roles to support a growing diverse population of emergent bilinguals (EBs). The pre-training practices of school psychology programs that prepare graduate students to specifically engage with EBs and their families are largely unknown. The purpose of the current study was to better understand the perceptions of graduate school psychology student interns and their respective group of field supervisors around a school psychology program that incorporated experiences and content knowledge to prepare students to respond to the multi-dimensional needs (academic, socio-emotional, assessment) of EB PK-12 students. Findings indicated that students benefited from the school psychology training but the internship experience included challenges that suggested gaps in students’ preparation. These findings are reminiscent of 35 years of investigations and outcomes about school psychology trainings to support culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Implications for practice include requiring more comprehensive and diverse program experiences that are contextualized within a social justice and critical race framework.

Bringing psychological science to bear on racial health disparities: The promise of centering Black health through a critical race framework.

Bringing psychological science to bear on racial health disparities: The promise of centering Black health through a critical race framework.

“Who Do These People Want Teaching Their Children?” White Saviorism, Colorblind Racism, and Anti-Blackness in “No Excuses” Charter Schools

In this article, we explore how White supremacist ideologies operate in “no excuses” charter schools. Drawing on critical race frameworks and qualitative data collected in two “no excuses” charter schools in New Orleans, we illustrate how anti-Blackness, White saviorism, and colorblind racism are taken up through hiring practices, discipline policies, and school culture. Collectively, these constructs are used in efforts to justify the mistreatment of Black students. We argue that it is the presence of an elite network of entrepreneurial organizations that have gained power over schools through corporate reform that allows for this unbridled racism.

Race, ethnicity, and telecommunications policy issues of access and representation: Centering communities of color and their concerns

This paper examines how and why activist groups representing marginalized communities of color are increasingly engaging in communications technology policy issues, particularly in relation to issues of digital access and representation. It explores three distinct but related case studies to disentangle the issues and concerns of a range of communities of color, and the challenges and opportunities for their advocates in navigating the highly technical communications technology policy arena: the first case study, which centers on the NAACP's original opposition to net neutrality, reveals the primacy of issues surrounding the “digital divide” to populations of color, and the difficulties of engaging in technical conversations surrounding Internet governance when issues of access persist. Meanwhile, the second case reviews the campaign by Free Press to promote set-top box liberalization as an issue of representation and diversity to both policymakers and citizens. The final case, which examines the work of the Tribal International Carrier to build an alternative internet service network for Native populations, highlights the precarity which organizations must strategically navigate in order to mitigate the influence of both the state and large corporations over Internet policy issues in order to both serve and represent their constituents. In all, this paper presents and extends upon a novel approach to communications policy research, foregrounding the need to integrate critical race frameworks and, relatedly, to center the breadth, depth, and lived experiences of communities of color, which can therein facilitate more inclusive digital media and communication environments and policy structures.

Color Crit: Critical Race Theory and the History and Future of Colorism in the United States

Critical race theory teaches that racism and racial inequality are constants in American society that stand outside of the prejudices of individuals. It argues that structures and institutions are primarily responsible for the maintenance of racial inequality. However, critical race theorists have neglected to formally examine and theorize colorism, a primary offshoot of racial domination. Although studies of colorism have become increasingly common, they lack a unifying theoretical framework, opting to lean on ideas about prejudice and preference to explain the advantages lighter skinned, Black Americans are afforded relative to darker skinned Black Americans. In this study, I deploy a critical race framework to push back against preference as the only, or primary, mechanism facilitating skin tone stratification. Instead, I use historical Census data and regression analysis to explore the historical role of color-based marriage selection on concentrating economic advantage among lighter skinned Black Americans. I then discuss the policy and legal implications of developing a structural view of colorism and skin tone stratification in the United States and the broader implications for how we conceptualize race in this country.