The Destruction of Peace in the U.S. Classrooms Under Racial Gaslighting and Anti-CRT Legislation

• In Event: Positive Peace, Global Transformations, and U.S. Contestations: Decolonial, Ecological, Economic, and Democratic Pathways in Education (Part 2)

Proposal

Since 2020, the introduction of anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) measures has surged across the United States, leaving the U.S. education system shaken by unprecedented political pressure and surveillance (Dush et al., 2024). In light of this political positioning, this study will explore how recently enacted anti-CRT and “divisive concepts” laws in the United States undermine the pursuit of peace and justice in education.

Under the guise of protecting neutrality, these bills disproportionately target teachers of color. And with this introduction of so-called “divisive concepts” and bans on CRT, these sanctions have created an especially hostile educational environment for teachers and students of color (Jayakumar & Kohli, 2023). Comparatively, teachers of color continue to face racially discriminatory surveillance, cultural burdens, and ideological censorship under the guise of professional neutrality and political objectivity (Kohli, 2018; Gist, 2022). This study is significant for centering the experiences and perspectives of teachers of color directly affected by these policies.

This paper explores the perceptions, experiences, and impacts of these bills through in-depth interviews with nine teachers of color working in Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Texas, and the District of Columbia (D.C.). This study is part of a larger ethnographic study in which we interviewed practicing teachers across the U.S. regarding their understandings of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the current political moment. This data set represents nine of the teachers in the study who identified as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), or who we are referring to as teachers of color (TOC).

This study adopts the core analytical framework of “Racial Gaslighting” proposed by Davis and Ernest (2019), focusing particularly on how anti-CRT and “divisive concepts” legislation in the education field perpetuate white supremacist structures. Davis and Ernst emphasize that racial gaslighting is structural, unlike interpersonal gaslighting. Therefore, using racial gaslighting as an analytical framework (Davis & Ernst), this study explores how their perceptions and experiences are denied, distorted, or silenced in educational settings.

These conclusions drawn from this research indicate that anti-CRT and “divisive concept” bills in the United States function as political tools that promote division and censorship in educational settings. This politicization process transforms educational spaces from places of peace and equality into sites of conflict and oppression. In particular, teachers of color are silenced and intimidated, weakening their ability to engage in critical and peaceful education with their students.

Furthermore, by situating the current state of education in the United States within broader comparative and international education discussions, this study highlights the negative impacts and significance of the politicization of education. And this case study demonstrates that education for peace and social justice can persist and adapt even under political oppression and censorship. By revealing the ways in which educators are forced to remain silent or endure such conditions, and how these conditions expose the vulnerable role of education in a divided society, it is the goal of this study to contribute to ongoing discussions about peace education in the 21st century.

Authors

• Yaereem Lee, Penn State University

• Brittany Aronson

• Haniyeh Kheirkhah