A Comparative and Intersectional Anti-Blackness Framework for Humanizing Higher Education

• In Event: Advancing a Transnational Comparative Framework for Racial Equity in Higher Education

Abstract

The first presentation has two goals: 1) to illustrate the methodological and pedagogical underpinning of the racial-equity and social justice Summit; and 2) present an overview of the ICARE4Justice framework. The ICARE4Justice transnational summit builds upon a series of international convenings since 2017 at the University of Denver including a 2019 graduate student convening and a 2020 Racial Equity Faculty Summit that both took place in the Netherlands. The purpose of the ICARE4Justice Summit was to bring together a group of transnational critical scholar-practitioners to analyze, assess, and design a framework for establishing a global framework for decolonizing higher education praxis and policy through a lens of intersectional anti-Blackness. The Summit has three aims: first, to connect researchers, policy makers, administrators and students who engage in transnational approaches to decolonization and anti-Blackness in higher education. Second, we aim to analyze, collate, and design innovative global strategies for advancing decolonization and dismantling anti-Blackness in higher education. Third, we aim to examine and advance research and transnational understandings of decolonization and anti-Blackness in higher education research, praxis, and policy.

The ICARE4Justice Summit occurred in 2022 and 2023, bringing together scholars and practitioners from across the Caribbean, Brazil, the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Botswana to analyze, assess, and design considerations for establishing a global framework for advancing equity for REM communities in education research, praxis, and policy. In the current iteration of the framework, participants from the ICARE4Justice Summit identified four key praxis areas to more narrowly consider implications for advancing racial equity transnationally: Teaching (Curriculum), Research, Leadership, and Policy. Surrounding these four praxis areas were emerging themes across contexts integral to advancing racial equity and the praxis areas:

• Multi-Level Scaling (Glocal Levels): Participants shared the importance of both keeping the shared knowledge of the global community in mind when advancing racial equity while responding directly to local community needs.
• Shared but Contextually Defined Terms: It was clear there were pervasive shared experiences of racism, islamophobia, and anti-Blackness across contexts, although varied terms to refer to these experiences and systemic inequities are used in each context. Participants emphasized the importance of no single context’s terms dominating the shared space, but rather discussing the terms, the implications of the terms, and defining them collectively.
• Good Troublemaking: “Good Troublemaking” acknowledges the former US Representative, John Lewis’ famous words. It also acknowledges the risk and affirms the integral nature of resistance to the status quo when advancing racial equity on a structural level.
• Radical Humanization: At the core of advancing racial equity and dismantling anti-Blackness is the rehumanization of REM communities. All efforts to advance racial equity should center the voices and lived experiences of REM communities to rehumanize these communities.
• Making Equity Actionable and Equity Minded Actions: Though similar in spirit, Making Equity Actionable speaks to the importance of ensuring our theoretical work remains grounded in actionable outcomes, while Equity Minded Actions speaks to our commitment to ensure our actions are intentional in equity-mindedness rather than resorting to status quo.

Author

• Saran Stewart, University of Connecticut