Shedding and Sharing Tears: A Critical Examination of Conducting Research With Communities of Color

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Sixteen
  In Roundtable Session: Communities Engaged in Racial and Social Justice (Table 7)

Abstract

The paper examines the responsibility of researchers conducting research with marginalized communities. I focus on my experience conducting research for the first time and realizing how complicit the research process was in maintaining power structures by taking knowledge from participants and repackaging it as new (hooks, 1990), making participants relive traumatic experiences (Tuck & Yang, 2014), and building relationships that inspire hope only to feel limited by the formalities of research (Diaz-Strong et al., 2014). With this understanding, I challenge researchers to ask themselves, “How could I do justice to the complexity and richness of participants’ lives through a flawed academic discourse?” (Cervantes-Soon, 2014). Lastly, I discuss how researchers can create sites of radical healing, practice reciprocity, and encourage radical possibilities.

Author

• Rudy Medina, California State University - Monterey Bay
  Presenting Author