"We Aren't Terrorists ... We Are Good Citizens": The Micro-Invitations of Im/migrant High School Students

• In Event: 53.049 - Effective and Inclusive School Strategies for Children of Immigrants

Abstract

Racial microaggressions describe how People of Color experience daily racial assaults in seemingly minor, but nonetheless insidious ways. The photovoice project highlighted here demonstrates the ways in which im/migrant high school students challenged everyday microaggressions by making clear how they wanted fellow students, teachers, and other members of society to acknowledge, respond, and interrupt racist discourses. We introduce the concept of micro-invitations to describe strategic efforts to build collective forms of resistance. We argue that micro-invitations, as a both a theoretical and pedagogical intervention, helps us better understand how marginalized youth, in this case im/migrant youth, resist dominant understandings of who they are and invite others to mediate and dismantle everyday forms of racism.

Authors

• Kevin C. Roxas, Western Washington University

• Veronica Nelly Velez, Western Washington University