Tenets Of Critical Race Theory Research Articles

Enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural higher education: Insights from Black faculty and administrators in agricultural colleges at United States land grant institutions

The experiences of Black faculty as leaders and administrators in the field of agriculture have not been widely studied nor reported. The goal of this research focused on Black faculty leaders' experiences in agriculture to gain firsthand insights regarding the enhancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural higher education. The central research question guiding the study was: What are the experiences of Black faculty leaders at Colleges of Agriculture at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs)? Counter-storytelling was used to explore the personal narratives of eight participants. These experiences fall within the tenets of Critical Race Theory. Three primary themes emerged: Navigating Leadership: Microaggressions in the Midst; Inequities: Is Everyone Really Equal; and Isolation: The Lone Ranger. Findings of this study hold valuable implications for practitioners, policymakers, and academic institutions seeking to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural higher education. Recommendations for policy and practice include providing support for leadership mentoring and professional development, conducting robust research on the intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender for faculty of color, and establishing collaborative initiatives between academic institutions, industry partners, and community organizations to address historical disparities and stimulate interest in agriculture among Black communities.

Interest convergence and the maintenance of racial advantage: The case of diversity in higher education

AbstractOne of the major tenets of Critical Race Theory, the interest convergence hypothesis postulates that policies promising improvements for Black Americans are enacted only to the extent they advance White Americans’ interests. We elaborate and update Bell's argument by demonstrating that current diversity commitments in higher education are another example of interest convergence. First, we present empirical and theoretical evidence that ubiquitous approaches to diversity serve the psychological interests of White Americans more than those of Black Americans. Second, we advance a systemic framework for how social psychological processes intersect with normative ideologies in the law and in universities’ operations to facilitate the prioritization of White over Black interests. In so doing, our goal is to illuminate the primacy of White identity and power as fundamental to shaping American society's collective embrace of diversity.

Resistance from below among racialized peoples: Exploring Kurdish understandings of power

AbstractUnderstanding power and resistance dynamics from below requires focusing on the micropolitics of oppressed group existence. This involves exploring the ways members of the oppressed and resisting groups make sense of power in terms of identity, community, culture, and politics. As Kurdish researchers living in Turkey and Bakurê Kurdistan, we conducted in‐depth interviews with 16 Kurds in Van and Istanbul. We explored contemporary Kurdish epistemologies and praxis of racial critical consciousness toward contents and sources of Kurdish power. In this pursuit, we contextualized and synergized tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and anticolonial approaches. Our analysis shows that Kurdish understandings of power involve both representations and boundaries. Both themes are influenced by the multifaceted Kurdishness as an exteriority, a reclaimed racialized identity, an epistemology of existence, and a praxis of resisting in response to Turkish coloniality. Furthermore, the sub‐themes of power highlighted senses of agency, capacity, resources, community bonds, and social organization. We suggest that Kurdish power is constituted beyond a dualistic understanding of power, capable of creating subaltern strategies. We contribute to the transnational extensions of CRT and provide a contextualized account of antiracist and anticolonial resistance.

A critical race analysis of Māori representation in university strategic documents in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT Following the recent claims lodged at two universities in Aotearoa New Zealand alleging the existence of racism, there has been scepticism towards the professed commitments by universities to create an inclusive and safe environment for Indigenous Māori. As a Kaupapa Māori-informed study, we (a group of Māori and Tauiwi scholars) employed tenets of Critical Race Theory to examine how the representation of Māori is racialised and subordinated in university strategic documents. We located five predominant discourses portraying different mechanisms that reify whiteness in university practices such as the selective interpretation of Te Tiriti articles, targeted recruitment of Māori, framing of Māori as dependent on the Crown to succeed, commodification of mātauranga Māori, and avoidance of conversations about structural racism, colonisation, and racial equity. Our findings suggest that university strategic goal statements need to incorporate a critical race analysis, or else risk perpetuating practices that fall short of challenging the status quo.

Educational gag orders as white property of interest: reinscribing higher education's ethos in radical tradition

PurposeIt is critical for those who are engaged in the work of resisting the movement of academically restrictive policy to understand that it is a deliberate act on the part of conservatives to outlaw critical race theory (CRT) specifically, because it is a theoretical mechanism for discrediting the rhetorical foundations of their policy movement. The knee-jerk institutional courses of action to now defund initiatives and curriculum related equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) represent what has always been a deeply rooted investment in white supremacy on the part of the institutions (Baldwin, 2021; Patel, 2021; Squire, 2021).Design/methodology/approachThe author explores and defines the CRT tenets of interest convergence (Bell, 1980) and whiteness as property (Harris, 1993) in relation to EI (Fricker, 2007; Dotson, 2011) as frameworks for examining three EGOs in the region where these policies have become most dominant. All three are critical tools of analysis for understanding the stake the White conservative political elite have in EGOs, and the magnitude of EI these policies represent, and stand endorse in their rhetoric. Definitions of EI often rely on the work of Amanda Fricker’s (2013) text on the subject, but this paper is invested in the expansions of this theorization for speaking to the nature of the injustice that EGOs represent as a matter of historical trend, with grave implications for futures marked by continued oppression. Whiteness as property and interest convergence are points for explicating the dialectic and material aspects of issues of race and equity in this country; namely, how knowledge processes inherent to higher education sound even more alarms as EGOs become commonplace for college campuses.FindingsTo support the arguments laid out, the author provides a historical review of the settler-colonial foundations of higher education as an american institution. This is meant to provide contour to the image of postsecondary education that exists today. In accordance with this paper’s allegiance to CRT, many of the texts would be considered revisionist history (Delgado and Stefancic, 2023), which stray from dominant narratives of american comfort and speak more accurately to the experiences of minoritized populations. The author then applies the same analysis to the sociopolitical contexts of EGOs, and to policy language itself. Each section is closed with an explanation of its connection to tenets of CRT and EI so as to provide a thread to follow into the subsequent discussion section.Research limitations/implicationsIn the first presentation of the early writings of this work, the author was lucky enough to be in community with Barbara Applebaum at the annual meeting for the American Educational Studies Association and engage in discourse surrounding EI and CRT applications to EGOs. In conversations surrounding the will in the willful ignorance that is exemplified in the movement of EGOs, the author had shared with Dr Applebaum the early thinking on how that will was the same force that brought together converging interests, which have continually forecasted interest divergence. This is commonly referred to as “political backlash.” The author had said something along the lines of: “if we follow the interest convergence, we can get in front of the subsequent political moves to turn the clocks on what was once celebrates progress.” This conversation planted the seed for what is the thesis of this paper. Interest convergence and divergence happen at the will of white populations because of the american truth of whiteness as property. In the context of higher education, this means that because educational pursuit has largely been white property, it has served as an arena for white populations to converge and diverge their interests with those of the minoritized. For example, the policies that drained federal funding for higher education in the 1970s were passed on the tails of a Civil Rights Movement that shook the very foundation of this country and expanded access to postsecondary education for racially minoritized groups (Berret, 2015).Originality/valueEnsuring that this social construction is a matter of status quo has largely been the work of postsecondary institutions, and EGOs represent the most recent attempt at epistemically imposed inferiority. Explicit attention to the fact of higher education’s complicity and overall investment in the socialization of oppression is necessary to engage in transformative practice that resists anachronism. If higher education researchers and practitioners do not recognize the stake in both the presence and resistance to EGOs, there would likely be acts of resistance that will belie an act of interest convergence – and later divergence – on the part of the state.

Race Matters: A Family–Educator Antiracist Curriculum Collaboration

ABSTRACT Systemic institutional racism in schools engenders different and difficult educational experiences for students of Color. Relatedly, there is an enduring divide between home and school that often influences school curricula, teachers’ pedagogies, and students’ educational progress. Considering this preclusion to learning, this case study gleans insight from a K-5 urban elementary school that partnered families and educators in an antiracist curriculum collaboration. Utilizing tenets of critical race theory and community cultural wealth, three salient themes emerged: (1) centering family voices and experiences, (2) calling for more antiracist practices and curricula, and (3) moving beyond the racist/not racist binary. We conclude with recommendations for schools engaging in antiracist work with family members.

Racial Discrimination in the Short Story Entitled “The Beautiful Thing” by Kit De Waal: A Critical Race Study

This study aims to identify the racism issue and character discrimination portrayed in a short story entitled "The Beautiful Thing" by Kit De Waal. The short story was chosen as the primary data source since it illustrated fairly how the racism issue occurred with black immigrants in England. The data was obtained using the documentation method and a note-taking technique. The note-taking technique used to find a result in the form of sentences and phrases quotations from the short story. Furthermore, the data were analyzed by referring to six basic tenets of critical race theory proposed by Delgado and Stefancic (2001). This study was merely focused on linking the storyline which presents a racism issue with six basic tenets of critical race theory. The analysis showed that the short story presented a comprehensive illustration of racism that occurred specifically to black people in America. The racism encountered including verbal abuse and racial discrimination.

Towards inclusive public administration systems: Public budgeting from the perspective of critical race theory

AbstractWhile there is a developing consensus that governments need to address systemic racism, public administration scholarship has not played a large role in supporting policymakers who want to achieve that end. To institutionalize that effort, we analyze the budget process as a setting to identify inequities and incorporate social equity given its overarching reach across all programs and policies. This article uses the tenets of critical race theory to illustrate how to use the budget process to incorporate equity. The resulting racial equity budgeting (REB) framework has three tenets: acknowledging and correcting historic biases, increasing the voice of nondominant groups, and disrupting the status quo by ensuring equity in current policies. The REB framework suggests how public officials may apply these tenets to the stages of public budgeting, including the use of reparation statements, increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities, and reviewing the disaggregated impact of policies, among others.

Teaching and Learning in Black and White: Unpacking Students’ Perceptions of Black Faculty Teaching at a Predominantly White Institution

ABSTRACT Extant research suggests that students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) rate faculty of color (FOC) more negatively than White faculty. Despite these trends, efforts to promote the equitable interpretation of end-of-course evaluations remain elusive. In this self-study, we examined portfolio construction’s practical and empirical utility as a tool to combat biased student evaluations. Thematic content analysis was used to explore how students evaluated a Black female tenure-line and a Black male non-tenure-line professor at a PWI in the southern region of the United States. We investigated the effects of instructors’ perceived race and gender on students’ course evaluations. Data saturation was achieved after analyzing the open-ended responses, and three themes emerged: 1) values/biases, 2) intellectual inferiority, and 3) ‘othering’. Utilizing the tenets of critical race theory (CRT) and the phenomenon of ‘teaching while Black’, we reveal how race trumped gender and how negative student comments impacted our course evaluations. We constructed a reflective inquiry teaching portfolio to unpack these themes and engage in self-study. Implications and recommendations for using portfolio construction for reflective self-study are provided.

Exploring the Role of Race in Social Cohesion in Two Rural Communities of South Africa

Globally, race and social cohesion in urban areas have received significant research focus. However, it may appear that scholars have not paid adequate attention to the role of race as a facilitator or barrier to social cohesion in rural areas. Thus, the aim of the study was to explore the role of race as a facilitator of, or barrier to, social cohesion in two South African rural communities, namely, Lambert’s Bay, Western Cape, and Philippolis, Free State Province. The study uses some of the tenets of critical race theory to interrogate the issues of race in South African rural communities. A qualitative research design was utilised to gather in-depth knowledge of the participants’ views. Nineteen participants participated in the face-to-face interviews conducted with the stakeholders and parents of both communities under study. The data was analysed thematically and five themes were identified, presented and discussed in the results: (1) Experiences of other racialised groups, (2) Experiences of immigrants, (3) Race as a factor influencing cohesion, (4) Experiences of racial discrimination, and (5) Fear of marginalisation and exclusion. Additionally, the findings highlighted physical separation and segregation between races as barriers to race relations in the communities. The study highlights that segregated communities limit interracial interactions, and rather foster intolerance, which in turn fuels racism. As a result, these factors have negative consequences on social cohesion in South African communities. Keywords: Race, Social cohesion, Rural community, Critical theory, South Africa

“Son, Black People are Like Superman. But Cops Can Be the Kryptonite:” Communication About Police Brutality in the Black Family

ABSTRACT Even with heightened scrutiny and augmented visibility of cases, the Black community continues to experience police brutality more than their racial counterparts. Previous research has highlighted the prominence of the Black family in the process of racial socialization and identity construction, and other research has reinforced the family as an influential factor in one’s perception of police. However, still, there is a significant absence of communication-centered research that analyzes the issue of police brutality, especially within the Black family. This is true even though police brutality has a well-documented and long-lasting impact on the Black family. Therefore, guided by core tenets of Critical Race Theory, this qualitative study utilized interviews to analyze how interviewees from Black families communicate about police brutality. The following themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Critical Cases: family members remember Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland, (2) Critical Incidents: communication about first-hand accounts and familial stories, and (3) Critical Conversations: stages of “the Talk.” Findings from this study can be used to understand better how Black families navigate police brutality, an issue known to increase stress, trauma, and rates of race-based mortality. This study’s findings can be applied to social work, family therapy, and mental health fields.

The Crisis of Michigan’s Public School Funding and Its Influence on Human Resources Management

Human resource management (HRM), particularly within urban public school districts, cannot generate adequate resources to compensate for inflation and cannot offer adequate instructional programs similar to those found in larger districts, resulting in inequity in educational opportunities. Studies have emphasized the importance of staffing schools with quality teachers, as this has the greatest effect on student achievement. School district HRM units with high-percentage Black and under-resourced (free and reduced-priced lunch) students are challenged with recruiting, retaining, and compensating highly effective and diverse educators. The challenge is reflected in outcomes such as teacher turnover rates in Michigan’s under-resourced districts and districts serving high percentages of Black students. This study sought to explain Michigan’s historical and current public school funding structures that exasperate Black and under-resourced districts’ HRM pressures, utilizing the integrated tenets of critical race theory (CRT) and critical policy analysis (CPA) to understand how history has affected policy creation and implementation of funding. This study applied select tenets of CRT and CPA through quantitative analysis of school funding to determine the extent of the impact on HRM seeking to staff schools.

Representations of Racism in Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

This paper explores different aspects of racism within the context of the novel Children of Blood and Bone (2018) by Tomi Adeyemi, utilizing Critical Race Theory or CRT as an analytical tool. The novel is written within the genre of Young Adult Fiction which tackles the problems of young adults. Although the events of the novel take place in a fantastical setting, they capture reality and depict the lives of black African Americans.   Black African Americans in the novel are represented by the oppressed minority who are the diviners. Critical Race Theory recognizes that the legacy of slavery and the racial subordination of black Americans are not only socially inherent within the non-black society but they are still covert in the legal and caste system. The novel is analyzed according to the five tenets of Critical Race Theory which can be listed as follows: Race is a social construct, Racism is ordinary, Intersectionality, Interests convergence, and Counter-Storytelling.  These five basic tenets will be examined thoroughly in the paper   in relation to the events of the novel.

Graphic novels as counter-stories: Jerry Craft’s New Kid as a way to teach critical racial awareness

This chapter examines Jerry Craft’s 2019 published graphic novel New Kid by applying Critical Race Theory (CRT). New Kid is based on autobiographic experiences of being African American at an American, mainly white, (elite) school, and can therefore be read as a “counter-story”. It is written out of the perspective of 12- year-old black boy, Jordan Banks, who is a “New Kid” at the private Riverdale Academy. The book has caused a nationwide debate in the US, being accused of preaching Critical Race Theory (CRT). Craft meanwhile claims that he did not write it with any political intentions. The article takes this debate as point of departure to first explain the main tenets of CRT and to explore in what way New Kid can be read as a counter-story in the sense of CRT. The analysis shows that New Kid reflects structural racism towards African Americans (e.g., microaggressions, othering and deficit orientation) in an educational context and reveals the negative consequences of racism for students’ self-perception.
 In the second part, the article investigates possibilities to teach New Kid in a European setting, taking the new Norwegian curriculum (Kunnskapsløftet) as an example. New Kid is identified as an appropriate medium to discuss race in Norwegian schools. This is particularly because of the sophisticated way New Kid approaches racism. At the same time New Kid itself can be examined for racism towards other marginalized groups, namely Asian Americans.

A critical race theory analysis of STEM schools in an urban school district

AbstractThe creation of specialty science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Schools has been presented as a way to improve both academic and STEM‐related outcomes, particularly in urban school districts where “failing” schools are converted the STEM Schools. This study examines this conversion process through the tenets of critical race theory, particularly the tenets of Whiteness as property, interest convergence, and the power of discourse. Using data collected from 28 textual sources and 29 interviews of teachers, students, and administrators at STEM Schools, a comparative case study approach was used to examine the historical development of two STEM Schools in one urban area. Findings indicated that the creation of STEM Schools was a way to protect STEM as a property of Whiteness by funneling resources toward White, middle‐class students. Additionally, the motivation for the conversions demonstrates how interest convergence functions in educational reform. In particular, the interests of White parents (to have access to high‐quality educational resources) and industry leaders (to develop a STEM workforce) temporarily converged with the interests of local families to improve neighborhood schools. However, ultimately, Black students and families, particularly those from lower socioeconomic status, were not served by the new STEM Schools.

Upward bound students' experience with bias in healthcare: An application of critical race theory.

To explore how students participating in Trio Upward Bound, a federally funded program for low-income and future first-time college students, experience bias when seeking healthcare. Qualitative group discussion. Twenty-six Trio Upward Bound students participated in a group discussion about their experiences in healthcare. Questions for the discussion were developed using Critical Race Theory. Student comments were analysed and coded using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results were reported using Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research. Students reported experiencing bias in the healthcare setting because of age, race, native language, traditional dress and/or ability to advocate for their rights. Three themes emerged: communication, invisibility and healthcare rights. Through these themes students expressed how their experiences with healthcare lead to further cultural mistrust and mistrust of healthcare providers. The comments provided by students included examples of the five tenets of Critical Race Theory: the permanence of racism, colorblindness, interest convergence, Whiteness as property, and the critique of liberalism. Among this group of adolescents, early negative experiences in healthcare have led some to avoid seeking treatment. As this continues into adulthood it may further health disparities in these groups. Critical Race Theory is a valuable tool in understanding how race, class and age intersect to create disparities in healthcare.

Experiences of agency in historically underrepresented racial and ethnic dental faculty at predominantly white institutions.

Historically underrepresented racial and ethnic (HURE) dentists remain underrepresented in dental education and dental practice, and surprisingly, little is known about the factors that enable them to thrive. The lack of information about their experiences is a critical gap in the literature. The purpose of this critical qualitative study is to describe how HURE dental faculty in predominantly white institutions (PWIs) exercise agency to thrive and advance in academic promotion when faced with challenges and adversity in the workplace. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2021 and 2022 with HURE dental faculty from 10 different institutions. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the construct of agency and tenets of critical race theory to understand how they thrive in their institutions. HURE dental faculty experienced racism as normal from both faculty and students. Racism centered around white faculty guarding access to white spaces, including things that should be open to everyone like meetings and information about promotion. To counter this, HURE faculty engaged in individual agency by fighting for their perspectives to be heard, proxy agency by seeking and building relationships with mentors and colleagues who could use their whiteness to create change, and improvisational agency by going outside their institutions for support. To thrive in PWIs requires HURE faculty to exercise various forms of agency to directly or indirectly advocate for themselves as professionals. These findings have implications for dental leaders to change their existing structures and improve the work environments for HURE dental faculty.

Under-treatment of Pain in Black Patients: A Historical Overview, Case-based Analysis, and Legalities as Explored Through the Tenets of Critical Race Theory

Pain, also called the “fifth vital sign” is an important topic in healthcare settings. It requires urgent attention and treatment to minimize agony and discomfort. Unfortunately, multiple clinical studies conducted over the last few decades have repeatedly shown disparately inferior pain management in Black patients in medical settings when compared to White patients with similar pain levels. This Article utilizes Critical Race Theory to examine the understudied issue of under-treatment of pain in Black patients. It discusses the story of a real patient, Jacqui, who was under the medical care of the author. It examines her unfortunate experiences with poor pain management throughout different stages of her life, including a blood disorder as a child with, a traumatic arm fracture as a teen, during childbirth, and finally, later in life with advanced cancer. Three points are addressed in this Article: first, a discussion of Jacqui’sexperiences, and an analysis of those experiences through the available clinical data. This Article reveals the extent to which Black patient’s pain is undertreated, and how it led Black patients to mistrust our healthcare system. Second, the Article explores malpractice based legal analyses to these issues based on federal and state legislation. Third, various proposals to correct various systemicdiscrepancies in medical-education and clinical settings to minimize such racial biases in pain management are discussed. It concludes by talking about the final part of Jacqui’s clinical journey.

Examining Implicit Biases of Pre-Service Educators Within a Professional Development Context.

The opportunity gap, or conditions and barriers that impede the academic performance and school experience of minoritized students, may be exacerbated by educators' implicit biases. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand preservice educators' awareness of individual, structural, and systemic racism with regard to implicit bias. Our sample included 154 preservice educators, enrolled in an anti-bullying/harassment/discrimination training, which is required for any New York State (NYS) educator certification. Educators responded to questions about group generalizations, factors contributing to these biases, and how biases may affect their behavior toward students. Our content analysis revealed several themes, most notably that frequent biases existed toward Asian/Asian Americans, Black/African Americans, males, and people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Although participant responses reflect an open-minded approach to discussing bias, many responses reflected no observable desire to change potentially biased interactions with students. Responses with racially held biases aligned with the tenets of critical race theory (CRT), particularly racism as permanent and racism as normalized. Implications for practice, with an emphasis on anti-bias training and professional development, are discussed.

Hospitality, Self-Determination, and Black Refugee Students in Manitoba

A large number of refugees come to Canada every year, supporting the government’s claims that they are encouraging of “cultural diversity.” Nonetheless, the pervasiveness of racism and the paucity of research focused on the intersectional identity of Black refugee students raises several concerns, especially in light of the White savior myth that is embedded in a White society like Canada. Based on the ethic of hospitality, self-determination theory, and the tenets of critical race theory, this case study explored the hospitality of K–12 schools for Black refugee students in Manitoba. Through the voices of five students, this research demonstrates how students’ needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competency were often threatened by racist (in)actions of teachers and classmates, thus negatively impacting their educational experience.