Weaponizing COVID to Uphold White Supremacy: The Intersection of Public Schools and Development of Democratic Citizenship

• In Event: Critical Perspectives on Democratic Education

Abstract

A qualitative narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990), this paper examines identities and the development of democratic citizenship through how school board interactions unfold to address the questions:
How is emotionality used in a school board meeting community’s discussion around COVID and mask-wearing? How does this influence the perceived development of democratic citizenship in public schools?
The significance of this research is to examine the development of democratic citizenship below the surface, to interrogate what occurs and how it impacts students and the community. It addresses white emotionality to discover the processes of how people benefit from whiteness. There is a need to intentionally and systematically examine expressions of white privilege to dismantle the power given to these expressions.

Authors

• Laura Edwards, University of Northern Iowa
  Presenting Author

• Seema Rivera, Clarkson University
  Presenting Author