Students’ Deliberations on Race and Racism and the Politics of the Past

• In Event: Roundtable Session 79
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Race Talk in Pre-K-12 School Settings

Abstract

Young Americans are more racially diverse and more accepting of racial diversity than prior generations. Yet, significant racial inequalities persist. How do young Americans make sense of race and racism in this context? How can teachers facilitate their critical deliberation on these issues? Using a Discourse-Historical Approach, we identify the argumentation strategies students in a multi-racial high school English classroom use to talk about US race relations. Our analysis reveals how this talk is embedded in struggles over the legacy of past racial injustices and structured by a dynamic of remembering and forgetting. The study raises essential questions about the purposes of classroom discussions of race and racism and the possibility of argumentation as a vehicle for racial reconciliation.

Authors

• Dorothea M. Anagnostopoulos, Michigan State University

• Carleen Carey, Michigan State University

• Sakeena G. Everett, Michigan State University