A Reckoning Moment: Understanding How Black Children Unpack Their Racial Identities in a Science Classroom

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Four
  In Roundtable Session: STEM Stories: Black and Latinx Narratives of Challenge and Achievement (Table 5)

Abstract

This paper argues for the importance of centering Black children’s racial identities throughout their education, specifically during the elementary years. Despite myriad research demanding culturally-affirming learning experiences for Black children, society constantly reflects this ongoing need. Through critical ethnography, this case study centers the voices of 9 Black fifth graders in a science classroom. Despite racialized learning experiences, findings suggest that students of color adopt color-evasive racial identities early in their academic careers. Using system-justification theory as a lens to unpack the nuances of these identities, this paper argues that despite the adoption of color-evasive identities, Black children are likely to experience a reckoning moment in their early adolescent years that calls into question their confidence in the (education) system.

Author

• Terrance Burgess, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author