An Ethnic Studies Scholar/Third-World Feminist Up Against Most Odds: Leading in Racially Contested Spaces

• In Event: 32.020 - Scholars of Color Leading in Professional Colleges/Schools of Education: Challenges, Opportunities, and New Perspectives on Socially Responsible Leadership

Abstract

In this paper, I will share my discursive career pathway in different racially “contested spaces” (Hune, 2011): first as a preschool teacher, then to a leadership position at a Midwestern public university as a student-affairs director, then to faculty life as an ethnic studies scholar at two liberal-arts universities with majority-White teacher-preparation programs, and now, as a department chair in a predominantly White school of education. I will discuss how my approach to leadership as an ethnic studies scholar and third-world feminist of color has involved complex dimensions of social responsibility that is difficult to navigate in majority-White spaces where individualistic assumptions and narratives of competition or self-interests, as well as the commodification of racial differences (Leong, 2013), are central parts of everyday practices.

Conceptually, I draw from the Third World Feminist notion of “oppositional consciousness” (Sandoval, 1991, p. 11) and my multiple identities as an Asian/American female from an immigrant/working-class family to articulate my specific ideas about the social responsibility that institutions of higher education, especially colleges/schools of education, should have as they address issues pertaining to diversity and equity in various aspects from the macro-level (e.g., institutional policies and practices pertaining to recruitment to disciplinary actions) to the micro-level (e.g., curricular and instructional practices). I will discuss specific critical incidents and moments where my interpretive framework as an ethnic studies scholar and third-world feminist have fallen at odds with White faculty and staff who are generally uncomfortable engaging in critical conversations about the role of anti-racism and racial equity in diversity political projects.

I end by sharing my insights about my own diverse pathway into leadership including suggestions for negotiating various challenges that arise due to racialized biases against leaders of color. For example, what are ways that scholar of color should prepare for career advancement? What barriers are common or expected due to institutional racism and racialized biases? What ethical considerations come with leading in contested spaces as a racialized body, and how should one determine which individual and institutional priorities to tackle?

Author

• Rachel Endo, University of Washington Tacoma