Stamped From the Beginning: Using an Antiracist Text to Explore Hegemonic Whiteness in Teacher Education

• In Event: Engaging Literature to Build for Equitable and Just Futures

Abstract

Teacher educators need to challenge racist institutional structures, and we must be prepared to understand our complicity with them. To do this, a group of white scholars formed a research collective in 2020 to study antiracism in their teacher education programs. Using Zoom, we led discussions with pre- and in-service teachers about race concepts, racism, and the book Stamped (Reynolds & Kendi, 2020). Critical phenomenology guided our study of hegemonic whiteness and concerns about antiracist pedagogy in our practice at Predominantly White Institutions. We analyzed talk about Stamped, reviewing transcripts of the discussions, participant interviews, and our own research meetings. Our analysis revealed our maintenance of hegemonic whiteness, revealing how power and oppression affected our perceptions, responses, and actions.

Authors

• Rachel Skrlac Lo, Villanova University

• Caroline T. Clark, The Ohio State University

• Mike P. Cook, Auburn University

• Ashley Summer Boyd, Washington State University

• Ryan M. Rish, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Adam Crawley, University of Colorado - Boulder