"Not Regardless of Race, but Because of It": The False Rhetoric of Equity Dismantles Racial Literacy

• In Event: Vice-Presidential Session. The Pursuit of Truth "Turnt Up": Considerations for Advancing Racial Literacy Beyond This Space and Time

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the theoretical development of racial literacy and its evolution in the context of the national changing social and political landscape and discussions of race in school settings. The up-take of the terminological offer three propositions as a guide-post to ensure this work utilizes rigorous approaches and analysis. These propositions do not seek to add to the current working current definitions for racial literacy. I believe continued recursive theory building on racial literacy will require recursivity and criticality toward how the scholarship evolves and serves our communities. However, these propositions seek to challenge our thinking so that we too resist simplicity and can distinguish “race talk,” from “discussions of race,” from “racial literacy” and why these distinctions matter if we are to do the following: (1) acknowledge that discussions of race are prerequisite processes to building racially literate practices; (2) recognize that racial literacy is not a destination but works on a continuum as the complexities of race and racism continue to evolve in a society organized by race and struggles to embrace its own history; and (3) engages racial literacy practices as a component of developing critical thinking like any other set of practices. The presentation offers examples of data that illustrates ways to consider each of these propositions toward increased rigor for racial literacies research.

The primary approach to examining the trajectory of racial literacy was to begin an analysis of the uses of language in discussions of race (Author) that yielded thematic patterns that shifted from “race talk” to “racial literacies.”

Finally, we also analyzed the articles in terms of the types of methods or data sources utilized within the literature to provide us with insights into patterns within the literature. We organized the methods according to these four categories: Student Discourse (PK-12), Written Reflection, Pre-Service Teacher Praxis (undergraduate and graduate), and In-Service Teacher PD.

The data analysis of published scholarship revealed a gap where a content analysis was conducted determining where are how under theorization of racial literacy was possible. For example, discussions of racial literacy are overwhelming in the context of English Language Arts, Composition or Social Science courses. This, by proxy, suggested that while discussions of race in K-20 education may occur in STEM courses, race is not represented in the scholarship and therefore may not influence content knowledge development.

The propositions presented in this paper are a result of the detailed analysis of where racial literacies scholarship rests and considerations for its forward movement in the 21st century as race continues to grow in complexity and racism can be considered illusory for some while others see and experience it in overtly and explicitly.

Author

• Ayanna F. Brown, Erikson Institute
  Presenting Author