Grief as a Portal to the Past, Present, and Future: Narratives of Educators of Color

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session includes scholars, researchers, and educators committed to cultivating and sustaining humanization, healing, and collective liberation in education. The three papers address the need to center grief as a humanizing praxis, as we continue to experience many losses amid compounded sociopolitical and racial tensions across the nation. We present research and educator perspectives that emphasize (1) grief as a practice for healing that leads us to spirit-driven knowledge, (2) grief as an Ethnic Studies praxis, and (3) grief as a way to meaningfully engage in various aspects of masculinity. We offer our narratives as Educators of Color in hopes of illuminating the possibilities of how grief can be a portal to the past, present, and future.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Division K - Section 03: Teachers’ Lives, Identities, and Journeys

Chair

• Stephanie Cariaga, California State University - Dominguez Hills

Papers

• ‘I Was Never Told About the Sorrow’: A Critical Narrative on Embracing Grief as a Practice for Healing and Possibility - Sara Jasmin Diaz-Montejano, University of California - Los Angeles

• Understanding Grief as an Ethnic Studies Praxis - Lauren Arzaga Daus, University of California - Los Angeles

• Teaching Through Grief: Reflections on Masculinity for Men of Color - JC Lugo, California State University - Northridge

Session Organizer

• Lauren Arzaga Daus, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussant

• Sharim Hannegan-Martinez, University of Michigan