Racial Equality Research Articles

The equity inventory planning process: A pilot program promoting racial justice in early care and education organizations.

Leaders undertaking the effort to dismantle structural inqualities at the organizational level often find traditional professional development on diversity, equity, and inclusion to be limited in scope, rarely leading to meaningful organizational change. The Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Movement was developed in 2020 by associates within a Midwest university research center to increase efforts toward the pursuit of a holistic, systems-level approach to equity, social justice, and inclusion. REDI now includes several interventions that prepare associates and their teams to advance racial justice and equity across four levels of the REDI Framework: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Institutional, and Societal. This case study investigates a team-based, voluntary pilot intervention within REDI known as the Equity Inventory Planning Process (EIPP), specifically targeting policy development to address structural racism at the institutional level. We piloted the EIPP with seven early care and education organizations following a year of strategic planning and consultation with the leading statewide Head Start association.

Networked corporate advocacy in a polarized public arena: analyzing discourse networks of U.S. Fortune 500 companies on controversial issues

Abstract This study investigates how U.S. Fortune 500 corporate social advocacy (CSA) discourse on multiple contentious issues is associated with public attention on Twitter/X. Our theoretical framework elucidates three discourse types and conceptualizes the diversity, structure, and stability of discourse coalition networks. Utilizing computational methods and dynamic network analysis of 43,791 corporate tweets over two years, findings reveal a prevalent use of aspirational communication in addressing climate change and healthcare disparities. Functional discourse is predominantly employed in tweets on racial equality and COVID-19 vaccination, while localization discourse is concentrated in tweets about gender/sexuality. Network analysis shows that discourse coalitions exist across industries, with a convergence in discourse types and low temporal stability in network compositions. Most discourse types and features of discourse coalition networks are positively associated with public attention to CSA tweets, though these associations vary across different issues.

‘So, what’s wrong with colonialism?’ – Understanding colonialism’s political, territorial and epistemic injustice

Abstract An (ongoing) interrogation of colonial wrongdoing is important for debates on decolonisation, restorative justice, racial and gender equality and global political and socio-economic equality. This article presents a theoretical study of colonialism’s legal-political injustices and aims to (re)turn the discussion on colonialism to the field’s most powerful insight, i.e. that of of epistemic violence and injustice. This article also suggests that the reach of this historical injustice went much further than the politics of autonomy, usurpation of territorial rights, political disenfranchisement and resource appropriation. To address the question of colonialism’s distinctiveness as a political mission, which has been discussed in recent debates within analytic philosophy, it argues that colonialism’s epistemic injustice, which denied the very existence and the traditions of the colonised, is the foundational and distinctive feature of colonialism as a political system and which drives its continued impact to this day.

Centering Race in Career Development: A Critical Review of Career Scholarship and Practice

In response to calls for more attention to social justice in career development, many career professionals have undertaken equity-driven research and practice. Yet, direct attention to race and racism continues to represent a gap in the work of career vocational scholars and practitioners. This article reviews research on past and present links between race and work, along with the evolution of attention to racial equity. It highlights, in particular, the underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and Professionals of Color perspectives in the profession, and the ways in which career scholars and practitioners have evaded direct attention to systemic racism. The concepts of racial capitalism and representative bureaucracy, and their implications for the racial justice aims of the profession, are discussed. We provide recommendations for transforming career development professional associations into anti-racist organizations that can lead racial equity action in career development.

The Analysis of the Roles of Women in the Windrush Generation

After the British Nationality Act was enacted in 1948, the legislation expanded the pathway to immigration. In the same year, HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury with 1,027 Caribbean immigrants that were, later on, referred to as the Windrush generation. As the turning point of the UKs migration history, this specific historical period from 1948 to the 1970s had been studied thoroughly by scholars. However, only a limited proportion of them are about the 200 or more women on the Empire Windrush. Thus, this paper, through a method of literature review, explores and analyzes the roles played by women in the Windrush generation. The paper finds that Windrush women, firstly, often join the public phase and work as a paid workforce after immigrating to London through chain migration. By doing so, they not only provided additional income to their family but also contributed to the post-war recovery of the British Empire. Meanwhile, they served as community builders who not only managed chores but also bonded their family members and even the entire immigrant community. Moreover, the Windrush women became active advocates that voiced for racial and gender equality and social justice.

European Empires in and Beyond Europe: Charles Aylmer Macartney and Herbert Adolphus Miller on Ethnonationalism and Minority Rights in Central Europe

ABSTRACT This article considers issues of ethnonationalism and minority rights in the immediate aftermath of WW1 when a new League of Nations was set up by the Allied (Entente) Powers. This body managed the end of empire in Europe and the new nation states in territories previously under the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman empires, alongside protections for their new minority subjects. This regime of protection was not extended to the minority subjects of Britain, France and Italy while, for its part, the USA and the Soviet Union did not join the League. Nor did the League intervene in the European empires outside Europe, except to re-assign the territories previously held by the defeated combatants. We consider these issues in the context of Central Europe and the role of two significant commentators, Herbert Adolphus Miller and Carlisle Aylmer Macartney, and their different understandings of the role of empire and racial equality.

Racial Injustice Against Blacks in the American Society as Represented in Wright’s Native Son

Racial injustice refers to the unfair treatment of a specific race in a community, which disadvantages one race. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the social consequences of systemic racism and identify the various types of racial injustices experienced by Black people in the 1930s, as depicted in Wright's Native Son. Qualitative and descriptive methods, as well as Lucien Goldmann's Genetic Structuralism methods, were used. The results showed various forms of racism, including prejudice, negative stereotypes, segregation, and social isolation. These types of injustice have had a severe impact on African Americans, as seen through the protagonist, Bigger Thomas, who represented the constant state of fear, uncertainty, and frustration inflicted upon Black people. By uncovering the different kinds of racial injustice, this study emphasized the importance of societal reflection and action in eliminating long-standing racial biases and injustices.

From Methodological Authoritarianism to Epistemic Realism: Multidisciplinary Research Paradigms and the Post-modern Turn

The 20th century was characterized by a radical paradigm shift from modernism to postmodernism. Postmodernism rejected the stances of objectivism, universalism and the construction of meta-narratives that were evident in the modern epoch. Postmodernism re-affirms subjectivism, perspectivism and particularism in knowledge attribution, acquisition and justification. Postmodernism therefore dethrones positivism, radical empiricism and all their objectivistic scientific edifices. Post-modernism has its roots in post-colonialism, de-colonialism and the agitations for racial and gender justice. This academic masterpiece used critical historical analysis, critical hermeneutics, decolonial and postcolonial criticism to situate postmodernism as an emancipatory philosophy of method that safeguards marginalized modes of knowledge in the South from the epistemicide of Western Positivism. The paper analytically illuminated that postmodern epistemological ethos leads to the emergence of post-positivism in the natural sciences and interpretivism in the humanities and social sciences by propagating deconstructionist and emancipatory multi-disciplinary methodologies such as critical discourse analysis, phenomenological interpretation, critical race theory and critical gender theory. This paper further argued that multi-disciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity are inevitable constellations of the eminent emergency of the postmodern epoch. The paper adds to knowledge by painstakingly contending that postmodernism entrenches situated knowledge and multidisciplinary methodologies that are equally valid, reliable, cogent and credible. Keywords: Methodology, Realism, Authoritarianism, Multidisciplinary, Postmodernism

Pathways to Allyship in Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

In pursuit of racial justice, there is a need to understand how to engage in anti-racist allyship to reduce potential harm as experienced by the most vulnerable members within academia. In this study, we utilized grounded theory methodology to create a model of allyship based on the definitions and experiences of BIPOC counselor education and counseling psychology faculty members. Participants included 12 faculty members who identified as BIPOC and who could identify traits of White allies through existing relationships and experiences. Participants represented diversity in racial identity and academic rank and were selected through theoretical, purposive, and convenience sampling methods. Through constant comparison of the data, we developed a model identifying contextual processes and components of White allyship. The model demonstrates generative and restrictive pathways for ongoing allyship across the domains of Humility, Engagement, Impact, and Positionality. Implications for counselor educators, counseling psychologists, and researchers are presented.

Immigration from a Christian Perspective: The Challenge and Imperative of Racial Justice

ABSTRACT This Essay seeks to encourage Christians – especially those working communities who identify with or are perceived as evangelical – who speak and advocate for greater humanity in immigration to engage more deeply with the interconnectedness of racial justice and immigration law and policy today. Framing a self-consciously Christian approach to immigration to include concerns about racial justice raises challenges related to the fraught nature of both immigration and racial discourse during an era of deep politicization and polarization. But positive practical effects might also follow from such engagement, such as enhancing Christian communities’ ability to ameliorate the harms imposed by contemporary immigration enforcement on people of color, bringing Christians into greater proximity with the concerns animating movements for immigrant and racial justice, and theological enrichment around faith-based discourse regarding immigration.

Character Identity, Struggles, and Resilience: Acting Exploration of Selected Monologues

This article examines the portrayal of identity, struggles, and resilience through theatrical monologues, focusing on Sizwe Bansi is Dead by Athol Fugard and Fences by August Wilson. Both plays present socio-political and socio-cultural challenges faced by black individuals in apartheid South Africa and segregated America, respectively. Through detailed analysis of selected monologues, the study explores how acting techniques are employed to convey these themes and resonate with contemporary audiences. The findings reveal that the systemic discrimination, hardships, and resilience depicted in the monologues remain relevant today, as issues such as racial injustice and inequality continue to affect black communities globally. The analysis also highlights how acting can powerfully communicate these experiences, shaping audience perceptions and encouraging social reflection. The paper concludes that theatrical acting is a potent tool for social change, allowing actors to embody and reflect the struggles and triumphs of their communities. The study underscores the need for actors to immerse themselves fully in character roles to effectively convey these complex narratives. The recommendations include encouraging actors to deepen their training through rigorous script analysis, accent mastery, and exploration of diverse acting techniques. Additionally, it suggests that future studies should continue to explore the role of theatre in addressing identity and socio-political issues, with a focus on how contemporary performances can inspire social change and personal reflection.

Supporting Public Humanities at the Critical Intersections: An Imagining America Manifesto

Abstract Drawing upon findings from an Imagining America research project funded by the Mellon Foundation (2019–2023), this research paper and manifesto proposes five critical ways in which institutions of higher education can better support public humanities. Through over one hundred individual interviews, twenty multimedia case studies, a national graduate scholar survey, an online study group, and public conversations, we learned how public scholars have consistently conducted research that matters – responding to urgent challenges in the world, including on the pressing ecological, social, racial, and economic justice issues of our time. However, the diverse inter-generational Imagining America (IA) research team also found that most academic institutions are still not designed to support this important work. By favoring narrow disciplinary boundaries and norms and individualized methods over collective commitments and reciprocal partnerships, most institutions marginalize and disincentivize public humanities. Our research respondents overwhelmingly agreed that instead of change initiatives led from the top of the university, publicly engaged scholars themselves lead the way by virtue of their groundbreaking collaborative, relational, reflective, critical yet hopeful grounded research. The manifesto shared at the end of the paper proposes how to support this important work today.

Racial Trauma Unfolds: The Spectacle of Witnessing George Floyd`s Murder

Abstract In this article, we chart some of the detrimental emotional impacts of what we consider a human disaster: denying Black people’s humanity. We focus on the highly publicized and violent killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers in 2020: 9 minutes and 29 seconds of state-sanctioned, anti-Black violence that was filmed and circulated globally and has sparked the largest racial justice protest and beyond since the civil rights movements of the 1960s. We consider the impacts of viewing this footage, this spectacle, on Black people, seeing this human disaster playing out in front of their eyes through the lens of anti-Black racism (ABR), which serves as an analytic lens to theorize this trauma within the context of visceral and ubiquitous anti-Black racism. We further contextualize these links between racism and trauma by drawing from our firsthand experience, as well as the stories, worries, and feelings shared with us by Black professionals, families, and members of the community. We focus specifically on that shared by Black youth, which has primarily been the focus of our professional work. We conclude by highlighting strategies of resistance to counteract these impacts, as well as shifts to clinical practice that might better address them and structural shifts towards social justice. Keywords: Human-made disasters, mental health, trauma, anti-Black racism, resistance, resilience.

Empowerment through entrepreneurship: An intersectional analysis of race, gender, and class in Self Made

The miniseries Self Made depicts Black women's empowerment, intersectionality, and entrepreneurship. The study examines how the series depicts Sarah Breedlove's socio-economic hardships as she overcomes racial, gender, and class oppression to become America's first self-made Black female millionaire through qualitative analysis of key scenes and dialogues. The study uses Black feminist theory and intersectionality to show how Sarah's entrepreneurial career empowers Black women by questioning beauty norms and providing economic opportunity. Analysis shows how the series criticizes racism and misogyny while glorifying resistance and communal cohesion. The analysis also highlights the series' relevance to racial and gender equality discourse in capitalist economies. The study shows how cultural representations like Self Made may drive social change and help us comprehend Black female entrepreneurs' particular obstacles by focusing on their intersectional experiences. This research advances media studies, feminist theory, and African American cultural history by demonstrating entrepreneurship's transformative capacity to empower.

Online Allies? Exploring Black Travelers’ Perceptions of DMO Social Advocacy Statements

Many U.S. destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have utilized social media to express support for the Black community amidst the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement. Current research lacks insight into ways in which Black travelers judge these efforts known as advocacy statements. This study uses a 2 × 2 experimental design to examine how Black travelers evaluate various forms of statements. Additionally, this work explores the mediating role of relational legitimacy between advocacy statements and behavioral intentions and finds it to be significant. Black travelers in this study find statements containing both an image and text to be the most appropriate form of digital social advocacy. Organizations can leverage these findings to create effective advocacy campaigns that go beyond performative acts and reflect substantive policies and strategies.

Reckoning with Racial Terror Lynchings for Healing and Justice: Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 2019, the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission (MLTRC) was established. The first of its kind in the United States, this official body was tasked with investigating racial terror lynchings of African Americans in the state of Maryland and their legacy. While the MLTRC’s work is ongoing, it has already held six public hearings in different state counties where racial terror lynchings occurred. Each hearing provides an opportunity for descendants of victims, perpetrators, and witnesses to testify regarding the impact these lynchings have had on their lives and that of their families. The descendants are also invited to share recommendations for achieving healing, justice, and reconciliation. Archivists, scholars, and expert witnesses are similarly provided the opportunity to offer testimony about the lynched victims, the impact of racial terror on the respective county, and to provide suggestions for addressing the legacies of racial terror lynchings. As part of a larger comparative project focused on truth commissions addressing racial and indigenous injustice in the United States, this paper will analyze the MLTRC Hearings. More specifically, this paper will explore how descendants and expert witnesses understand both the legacies of racial terror lynching and what is needed for healing, justice, and reconciliation. It will conclude with a brief discussion of the MLTRC’s significance and challenges that it faces.

School Social Workers' Responses to Racial Injustice During COVID-19: A Need for Anti-Racist Practice in K-12 Schools

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines how school social workers (SSWers) responded to the U.S. racial injustices highlighted by the media during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. SSWers were interviewed during what some scholars dubbed a “moment of reckoning and crisis” following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent nationwide demonstrations for justice that aimed to challenge racialized police violence (Villarreal Sosa 2022, p. 67). Seventeen SSWers in K–12 public schools from various school districts across three states (Minnesota, Colorado, and Nevada) completed two key informant interviews related to their experiences during the spring and fall semesters of 2020. A constructivist grounded theory approach, including three coding cycles, was used to analyze participant narratives. A substantive theory for understanding SSWers’ responses (or lack of responses) to racial injustices during this period emerged. The findings provide an initial understanding of how SSWers’ responded to racial injustice during this moment of crisis and some of the factors that impacted their responses. The most common responses to racial injustice during this moment of crisis included: 1) engaging in conversations about race and racism and 2) participating in learning opportunities about race, racism, and racial justice. Our theory highlights how (lack of) structural support influenced SSWers’ responses. Implications for school social work (SSW) practice, curriculum, and research are discussed.

Revolutions: an introduction to the #AoIR2023 special issue

ABSTRACT This paper introduces the ‘Revolutions’ themed special issue which includes research presented at the 24th annual Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) conference (2023). The conference theme centered on revolutions, highlighting the connections between digital transformations and social movements across time and space. Focusing on the affordances of digital technologies for mobilization, resistance and achieving social justice, but also their limitations in enabling lasting social change, the conference theme asked participants to reflect on the tradeoffs between empowerment and subordination, and the relationship of digital ‘revolutions’ to racial justice, anticolonial movements, and the rising tide of white supremacist and fascist mobilization. This special issue includes six papers that offer new angles on critically assessing the groundbreaking early ideas underpinning online networked spaces and questioning the revolutionary potential of the internet today. The range of papers includes contexts related to platform power and user agency, online political subcultures and memeification, the balance between visibility and power for content creators revolutionizing live streaming and influencer cultural industries, and perceptions of AI’s revolutionary impact on romantic relationships. The studies in this issue also offer a global view, with geographies stretching from the MENA region and China to subcultures and marginalized groups in Western contexts such as the US and Canada.

Call to Action: Responding to COVID-19, Racism, and Student Mental Health on University Campuses

ABSTRACT The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic initiated a cascade of stressors that occurred concurrently with increasing issues of racism and racial injustice events. These compounded healthcare and societal stressors significantly impacted the mental health of individuals worldwide, including university students. To address the needs of students, a survey was administered to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at a large public university in the southeastern United States. Qualitative data were collected regarding student mental health, recommendations for institutional resources, and support needs therein. Thematic analysis of qualitative responses from 1050 university students indicated six areas students stated they wanted the university to address to support their mental health needs: (1) Communication, (2) Academic Concerns, (3) Mental Health Resources and Connections, (4) COVID-19 Safety, (5) Social Injustice, and (6) Financial Concerns. To address these areas, we propose a set of evidence-based recommendations within the Social-Ecological Framework for colleges and universities to adopt to support student mental health considering all races, backgrounds, and experiences. Additionally, we propose strategies for university and college counseling centers to provide an essential leadership role on campuses to move these recommendations forward and positively impact the mental health of students.

Emergency hospital admissions for stress-related presentations among secondary school-aged minoritised young people in England.

Minoritised young people face a double burden of discrimination through increased risk of stress and differential treatment access. However, acute care pathways for minoritised young people with urgent mental health needs are poorly understood. To explore variation in stress-related presentations (SRPs) to acute hospitals across racial-ethnic groups in England. We examined rates, distribution, duration and types of SRPs across racial-ethnic groups in a retrospective cohort of 11- to 15-year-olds with one or more emergency hospital admissions between April 2014 and March 2020. SRPs were defined as emergency admissions for potentially psychosomatic symptoms, self-harm and internalising, externalising and thought disorders. White British (8-38 per 1000 births) and Mixed White-Black (9-42 per 1000 births) young people had highest rates of SRPs, whereas Black African (5-14 per 1000 births), Indian (6-19 per 1000 births) and White other (4-19 per 1000 births) young people had the lowest rates of SRPs. The proportion of readmissions were highest for Pakistani (47.7%), White British (41.4%) and Mixed White-Black (41.3%) groups. Black Other (36.4%) and White Other (35.8%) groups had the lowest proportions of readmissions. The proportion of admission durations ≥3 days was higher for Black Other (16.6%), Bangladeshi (16.3%), Asian Other (15.9%) and Black Caribbean (15.8%) groups than their White British (11.9%) and Indian (11.8%) peers. The type of SRPs varied across racial-ethnic groups. Patterns of SRP admissions systematically differed across racial-ethnic groups, indicative of inequitable triage, assessment and treatment processes. These findings highlight the need for implementation of race equality frameworks to address structural racism in healthcare pathways.