The antiracist educator’s journey and the psychology of critical consciousness development: A new roadmap

Figures & data

Figure 1. Conceptual and thematic foundations of the antiracist educator’s journey.

Figure 2. Race consciousness continuum.

Figure 3. Parallels among race consciousness, monomythic components, liberation psychology phases, and the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST).

Figure 4. Journey components of the awareness phase. Boldface: applicable to educators of color. Italics: applicable to white educators. Regular Text: applicable to all educators.

Figure 5. Journey components of the deconstruction phase. Boldface: applicable to educators of color. Italics: applicable to white educators. Regular Text: applicable to all educators.

Figure 6. Journey components of the reconstruction phase. Boldface: applicable to educators of color. Italics: applicable to white educators. Regular Text: applicable to all educators.

Table 1. Typology of system-justifying mechanisms and their respective attitudinal functions and counter-discourses.

Attitudinal function	System-justifying mechanism	Counter-discourse theme
Ego-defensive:	Pathologization:	Destigmatization: Educators can destigmatize people who appear to act in ways that do not match the social expectations of the dominant group. Educators can appreciate things that go against their notions of “normal.”
	Victimization:	Redemption: Educators can accept criticism with openness and grace. Educators can acknowledge that they may have engaged in discriminatory acts and, with this knowledge, can change their behavior.
Knowledge-management:	Ahistoricization:	Historicization: Educators can learn about the historical roots of structural racism and learn how prior acts of racism produce consequences that ripple into the present.
	Denialism:	Acceptance: Educators can accept that structural racism is a modern-day reality. Coming from a place of acceptance is necessary to effectively change racist institutional and cultural practices.
Social-adjustive:	Assimilationism:	Inclusivity: Through humility, educators can be non-judgmental, open to the contributions of minoritized groups, and intentional in personal efforts to create truly inclusive and accepting relationships.
	Color Evasion:	Race Consciousness: Educators can see race not as a biological reality but rather as a “divide-and-conquer” social construction designed to elevate “white” people above all others.
Utilitarian/Instrumental:	Avoidance/Aversive Racism:	Approach: Educators can lean on their discomfort and vulnerability. By approaching others who generate apprehension, educators can gain new insights and begin to see others as dignified human beings with value.
	Meritocracy/Symbolic Racism:	Collaboration: Educators can see people in ways that go beyond competitive ideas about worth and achievement. Educators can consider how racist social-political structures impact minoritized people and work together to change those structures.
Value-expressive:	Equality/Sameness:	Equity: Educators can value fairness. Unlike equality, or the principle of “to each the same,” equity, or the principle of “to each by need,” is much more likely to address the unique challenges of minoritized people.
	Individualization:	Contextualization: Educators can place human behavior in social-historical (ecosystemic) contexts. Educators can see how cultural legacies of racism continue to impede efforts toward realizing equity.

Note. Counter-discourses function in ways that are additive, interactive, and context-dependent. The 10 counter-discourses represent one possible set of critical behavioral-communicative strategies designed to assist in the development of race consciousness.

Figure 7. Journey components of the praxis phase. Boldface: applicable to educators of color. Italics: applicable to white educators. Regular Text: applicable to all educators.