Poetic Possibilities of Becoming-Antiracist Educator: The Ever-Evolving Nature of Everyday Antiracism

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Race and Antiracism in Teachers' Lives (Table 12)

Abstract

Abstract: This study explores the experiences of white, mid-career, social justice-driven teachers in their daily realities of becoming-antiracist, offering a pathway for other white educators seeking authentic antiracist antidotes. Framed by Deleuzoguattarian(1989) concepts of becoming as ongoing and rhizomatic, the research aims to humanize and de-valorize the ever-evolving nature of antiracist work in education. The study employs arts-based education research, particularly poetic inquiry, to capture the nuanced and vulnerable aspects of teachers' personal and pedagogical antiracist development. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of the complex, ongoing process of becoming-antiracist– challenging static definitions of race, whiteness, and teacher– as well as current political pulls between performative antiracism and conservative silencing efforts, while illuminating everyday places for possibilities.

Author

• Marika Belusa, University of Minnesota