Out of the frying pan and into the fire: the emotional labor of excavating internalised racism

ABSTRACT

This research comprises a collaborative auto-ethnographic narrative inquiry study conducted by a doctoral student and four undergraduates at a university in the Southwest of the US over two years – between 2017 and 2019. The intent of this study was to uncover ways internalised racism influenced the researchers in their earliest socialisation years. The authors’ interest in anti-racism provided the impetus to co-create a pedagogy of discomfort, which may be of value to teacher educators, as well as those who seek to do the work of excavating deeply-rooted internalised racism. Using a Critical Race Theory theoretical framework, the authors share their findings as a bricolage of synergistic stories. Their conclusions show how racism is passed down in families, the impact of whiteness on the sense of self, and how facing internalised racism can be simultaneously painful and healing. This article provides an exemplar of a process to conduct anti-racism inner work.

KEYWORDS:

• Anti-racism
• collaborative auto-ethnography
• internalised racism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.