Whiteness at work when students call their white and black teachers racist

Abstract

The author analyzes two episodic moments when a white teacher, Mr. Drake, teaching in a racially diverse school and a Black teacher, Dr. Selise, teaching in a mostly white school context are called racist by their students. This research demonstrated that the contexts of these teachers’ work was grounded in and shaped by whiteness. What happens when two teachers from different racial backgrounds are called racist in different sociopolitical contexts? What precipitates students’ accusation and the teachers responses to the accusation? What roles do contexts play in reifying whiteness and racism in, during, and after these discursive moments? A whiteness frame can shed light on the ways in which two different teachers experience and rationalize an accusation of being racist. Implications for theory, research and practice are considered.

Keywords:

• Whiteness
• racism
• teaching
• students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Pseudonyms are used to mask the identity of the teachers and communities.

2 The terms Black and African American will be used interchangeably throughout this article.

3 It is important to note that this teacher started where he was but did not stay there. In fact, he shifted his mindset, beliefs and consequently practices and began to build and cultivate powerful relationships with his students (see, Milner, 2020a). Although more attention was placed on relationship building over solely teaching science, the point remains that his view of particular experiences was still steeped in whiteness.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

H. Richard Milner

H. Richard Milner IV (also known as Rich) is Cornelius Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor of Education and Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. His research, teaching and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education, African American literature, and the social context of education. Professor Milner is President-Elect of the American Educational Research Association, and he is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association.