Fighting Without Fear: Critical Race Praxis as Struggle and Resistance for Self-Determination

• In Event: School, Community, and Family Partnerships in Support of Black Success

Abstract

Referenced as “the Word” by Charles Laurence III, our stories, specifically in relation to racism and hegemony, are “subjective, consciously historical, and revisionist” (Laurence III in Crenshaw, Gotanda, Peller and Thomas 1995, p. 337). Where some may consider Laurence’s statements as conflicting, Critical Race Theory (CRT) locates the stories of people of color in the US and the larger world as historically relevant and valid. I agree with Laurence that our stories (in conjunction with the historical record) are key to “praxis…in the ongoing work of the scholar as teacher (and activist)” (ibid.). Ours is not the only viewpoint, but a perspective that is often excluded. Due to these omissions, it is critical for the activist/scholar to intentionally engage the political exercise of claiming space to tell our story. The proposed presentation, in the spirit of Laurrence’s words, are an attempt to tell a complex story with multiple, simultaneously moving parts.

By engaging in counternarrative, the presentation is the account of an attempt to carefully and critically test the theoretical construct of CRT and its utility as critical community praxis. Through the advent of counternarrative, my involvement on the design team for the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice (SOJO) operated under the premise of a commitment to challenge white supremacy/racism by working with community members focused on gaining access to quality education. Members of this community took it upon themselves to become literate in the practices and policies that limited their access to a universal human right (education). Discussed in detail throughout the paper, counterstory highlights the multiple contradictions between myself and community members when things do not go as planned, delving into the messiness of disagreements rooted in multiple competing visions for the school, the adjacent neighborhoods, and beyond. The hope is to challenge the traditional colonial relationship between university “partners” and community members and the ability of university-based researchers to support community-based initiatives once a substantial victory is achieved (in this case the building of the school).

Critical Race Theory (CRT), as a theoretical construct in education, “seeks to inform theory, research, pedagogy, curriculum and policy (Solozano and Yosso in Yosso, 2006).” Operating on theoretical and practical level, CRT in education should be included as making a contribution to praxis, in that it supports the necessary actions needed to support communities engaging the day-to-day realities of demanding quality education. Education, as the process of making informed decisions to improve the human condition through critical analysis and action, is not confined to the walls of a school building. Instead, it is a political exercise with the intent of equipping marginalized communities with the ability to analyze and change systems of power. Inherent to this process is working with people and groups in communities to develop capacity to utilize their own skills and expertise to address issues and concerns that threaten their existence.

Author

• David O. Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago