Cycles of (In)Justice: Applying the Convergence-Divergence-Reclamation Framework to U.S. Federal Racial Equity Policy

• In Event: Braving and Caving in Combative Terrains: Responding to Anti-DEI Discourse and Legislation

Abstract

Over time in the United States, fights to advance racial justice have been cyclical, transitioning through convergence, divergence, and reclamation (C-D-R; Thompson Dorsey & Venzant Chambers, 2014). Utilized as a framework in the literature to analyze and temporally contextualize policy (Sung, 2017, Vigil and Muños, 2023), this paper utilizes Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (CPDA) to examine the C-D-R model’s applicability to federal policy data including supreme court cases, executive orders, and congressional higher education acts. The primary findings of this paper demonstrate C-D-R's applicability to the policy landscape and offers implications encouraging policy makers and institutional leaders to be proactive rather than reactive in their fight for racial justice.

Authors

• Saran Stewart, University of Connecticut

• Franklin A. Tuitt, University of Connecticut

• Kelly Schlabach, University of Connecticut

• Stephanie L. Simpson, University of Connecticut