Restrictive Racial Justice and the Workings of White Supremacy in Liberal Public School Parent Groups

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Increasing Effective Parental Involvement and Family Engagement Strategies in Schools

Abstract

This paper draws from a qualitative multicase study examining Black parents’ K-12 school engagement experiences in a liberal Midwestern school district. Using a Critical Race Theory analytical lens, I focus on participants’ involvement with school parent groups – both traditional Parent Teacher Organizations and African American parent groups. The study suggests school governance in this district was the property of white community members. Black parents’ contributions were only embraced when they converged with the interest of whites, and the African American parent groups were examples what Crenshaw calls restrictive antidiscrimination policy. In conclusion, the study indicates our need for expansive and intersectional racial justice policy for Black parent school governance.

Author

• Jennifer L McCarthy Foubert, Knox College