Crazy, Depressive White Ghosts in the Closet: Someone Help Me Say the “N” Word

• In Event: The (Non)Invisible Researcher

Abstract

A torn American flag ignites an autoethnographic journey down a dark road for a veteran White male English teacher trying to define his lens and understanding of attitudes impacting race, gender, income, and illness based on experiences, before equity instruction begins in a predominately White Southern high school. The only hitch in his plan…a relapse of major depression. Through reflexivity and transportation theory, discussions emerge that address the impact of major (clinical) depression on the tools of remembering while fighting against prejudice.

Author

• David Lawrence Humpal, Texas A&M University