"We Don't Use the Term Antiracist": Investigating How K–12 Equity Leaders Negotiate Race Work

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Social Justice Praxis in K–12 Schooling Contexts

Abstract

Despite demands to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in K-12 education following state-sanctioned violence against Black bodies including the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, DEI work is still met with fierce opposition. In response, white parents and Republican governors—encouraged and misinformed by conservative media—rallied around the U.S. to ban school instruction on systemic racism and how it functions in the U.S. While these volatile debates persist, Black and Brown K-12 equity leaders are tasked with addressing systemic racism. Drawing on in-depth interviews with thirteen (13) Black and Brown K-12 equity leaders across the U.S., this proposal highlights how DEI work is consumed and defanged by whiteness, preventing substantial equity outcomes.

Authors

• Damaris C Dunn, University of Georgia - Athens

• Jaminque Latasha Adams, University of Georgia

• Alex Chisholm, University of Georgia - Athens

• Elizabeth Claire Spaulding, University of Georgia - Athens

• Bettina L. Love, University of Georgia