"Rehearsal for the Revolution": Using Composite Narratives as Resistance to Anti–Critical Race Theory Legislative Discourse

• In Event: Policy and Protest: K–12 Education in the Era of Critical Race Theory

Abstract

In this paper, we present a composite narrative that centers Carmén’s lived experience as a newly appointed queer Latina principal faced with bureaucratic responses to proposed anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) legislation. This is particularly salient when Carmén is forced to contend with teacher responses and concerns related to the proposed anti-CRT policies and the subsequent district response. The composite narrative creates space to imagine a policy response that resists anti-CRT attacks. By engaging and blending Critical Policy Analysis (CPA) and CRT principles, we nuance the messiness involved in policy sense-making and response. Furthermore, by incorporating elements of Theater of the Oppressed (TO), we create space for the audience to collectively and radically (re)imagine future possibilities anchored in Carmén’s experiences.

Authors

• Bryan J. Duarte, Purdue University
  Presenting Author

• Erica Fernandez, Miami University
  Presenting Author