"We Need Protocols": The Role of White Women's Emotions in Racial Justice Activism

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Eight
  In Roundtable Session: The Impact of Teacher Identity on Individual and Student Development (Table 15)

Abstract

Our study examined how white female staffs’ pursuit of racial justice activism within a public school was influenced by preexisting racialized gendered dynamics. Our analysis approached 8 interviews as a case study and used the flexible coding method to weave together theories of schools as racialized organizations, racialized emotions, and gendered whiteness. Three findings were identified: 1) emotional agency within the school was racialized and gendered, 2) gendered whiteness was an unspoken credential in racial justice activism, and 3) whiteness threatened to undermine progressive organizational change. The findings motivate gendered analyses of whiteness in education and are applied to the topic of teacher burnout.

Authors

• Samantha Guz, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author

• David Orta, The University of Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• David Wilson Johnson, University of Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Vincent Liu
  Non-Presenting Author