ABSTRACT
This article theorises and historically contextualises the racialised experiences of a Black male who has attempted to do racial equity work with white teachers in a suburban Minnesota school district. I use Afro-Pessimism as a theoretical tool and guidepost as I weave the journey to becoming a racial equity teacher and the systemic troubles of succeeding and failing in that kind of work.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. The word ‘master’ is a metaphor for both systems and people that structured and anchored by white supremacy. When I evoke the word ‘master’ I am speaking to those systems and those who uphold them.
2. I use Kiswahili specifically here because the ‘Ki’ denotes the language of the Swahili people. Whereas if I were to say in ‘Swahili’ then I would be talking about the actions of the people who are known as Swahili. That would be grossly misleading because that is only a small section of East African peoples. However, the majority of East African people speak the language of Kiswahili.