Navigating common challenges: Guidance for educators in racial justice work

Abstract

The work of racial justice advocacy in the field of education is fraught with responsibility and challenge. The impact of historical racism on social policy within the United States has had an enduring effect in the educational realm, which is maintained in part by the prevailing white supremacy culture (WSC). Recent middle level education scholarship has emphasized the urgency of addressing racial inequities in middle schools. Yet teachers attempting to confront unjust practices and policies are often met with significant obstacles, which can curtail racial justice efforts. Antiracist middle grades teachers could benefit from a knowledge base regarding how to respond to common challenges faced in racial justice work. Drawing on the experiences of a group of middle grades educators who are striving to create more racially just schools in their communities, this article offers guidance for navigating resistance. We describe three pervasive challenges the group faced in their work: (a) antiracist initiatives without antiracist school policy; (b) resistance from colleagues; and (c) self-doubt. We subsequently draw connections between these challenges and WSC and offer recommendations for potential ways to respond to these challenges.

Keywords:

• equity
• middle level
• racial justice
• white supremacy culture

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

¹ Note that in this article, we have decided not to capitalize the term white as a grammatical move in keeping with our commitment to decenter white dominance (Perez Huber, 2010). See Daly and Shah (2022) and Mohajeri (2022) for examples of other scholars who have decided not to capitalize white for this same reason.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jessica DeMink-Carthew

Jessica DeMink-Carthew, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education at University of Vermont. E-mail: [email protected]

Kristie W. Smith

Kristie W. Smith, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Secondary and Middle Grades Education at Kennesaw State University. E-mail: [email protected]

W. Keith Burgess

W. Keith Burgess, is a STEM instructor at Char-Meck Schools of Charlotte, North Carolina and a doctoral candidate at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. E-mail: [email protected]

Susan Y. Leonard

Susan Y. Leonard, Ph.D., is a school administrator in Madison County, Georgia and a recent doctoral graduate at University of Georgia. E-mail: [email protected]

Bogum Yoon

Bogum Yoon, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership at State University of New York at Binghamton. E-mail: [email protected]

P. Gayle Andrews

P. Gayle Andrews, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice at University of Georgia. E-mail: [email protected]

James Nagle

James Nagle, Ph.D., is a Professor and the Chair of the Education Department at St Michael’s College. E-mail: [email protected]

Penny Bishop

Penny Bishop, Ed.D., is a Professor and the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at University of Maine. E-mail: [email protected]