(Re)Imagining Maps as Critical Race "Portraits": Geographic Information Systems, Critical Race Spatial Analysis, and the Pursuit of Spatial Justice

• In Event: 33.067 - The Search for Justice in Critical Race Spatial Analysis

Abstract

Purpose
Critical race spatial analysis (CRSA) extends GIS as a tool for educational inquiry on space to describe how GIS can address spatial inequities and support social justice efforts. This paper furthers CRSA by utilizing portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis 1997), a methodological approach that bridges aesthetics and empiricism to create a “portrait” of a group within a particular setting. Using a qualitative case study of Latina (im)migrant mothers organizing for school reform, this research envisions maps as critical race “portraits” that tell textured counter-cartographic narratives (Knigge & Cope 2006) about educational (in)opportunity and the efforts of one community to enact spatial and racial justice.

Conceptual Framework
This paper borrows broadly from critical spatial theory (Lefebvre 1991; Delaney 2002; Soja 1989, 1996, 2010) and critical inquiry in geography that explores how ideologies of race and racism constitute space, and vice versa (Delaney 2000; Kobayashi & Peake 2000; Soja 2010). To frame the use of GIS specifically for educational inquiry, this study uses critical race theory (CRT) in education (Solorzano & Yosso 2001) and Tate’s (2008) work on “geographies of opportunity” to reconsider the role of space in mediating the educational experiences of and opportunities afforded to Communities of Color.

Data Sources/Methods
Data were drawn from a 5-year community-based participatory action study with a grassroots organization of Latina (im)migrant mothers mobilizing to create greater equity and inclusion in their school district. The mothers organized a GIS training session driven by two goals: 1) to build GIS-specific skills to enhance the group’s capacity, and 2) to develop a community-led research project employing GIS to explore spatial indicators of educational (in)opportunity, drawing evidence from their and their children’s lives. Focusing on the latter goal, data sources were the GIS maps the mothers produced, participant-observation over 8 months of the training, and in-depth semi-structured interviews with the 20 mothers. These data provided a nuanced look at how the mothers engaged with GIS to tell counter-narratives about their experiences as political actors.

Results/Significance
Utilizing GIS to map qualitative data via critical race “portraits” reveals the potential of GIS to build spatial models of the world from the lived experiences of People of Color. Beyond its importance for research, GIS also serves as an important pedagogical tool for teaching about race and racism. Through a CRSA framework, GIS maps function as teaching devices that highlight the importance of geographical and spatial features for maintaining racial divides in schools and society.

Utilizing portraiture and action research to drive the use of GIS, this study identifies key elements of a “grassroots spatial pedagogy” that embeds the technical training of GIS with CRT through an approach that is culturally relevant and directly aimed at addressing social concerns. As the mothers developed their GIS skills they simultaneously increased their sense of political agency. Although highly technical, the mothers found GIS to be a necessary tool to voice their concerns to an audience of school administrators and policy-makers that often discounted their stories and experiences as anecdotal and lacking evidence.

Authors

• Veronica Nelly Velez, Western Washington University

• Daniel Gilbert Solorzano, University of California - Los Angeles