Anti-Racist Teaching in Higher Education

“Antiracist teaching is not just about acknowledging that racism exists, but consciously committing to the struggle of fighting for racial justice." Bettina Love

Inclusive teaching is not a quick conversation on the first day of class, but a continuing act.  Antiracist teaching and decolonizing the curriculum are about fighting for more equitable and just institutions, and policies that support the thriving of black, indigenous and people of color. This requires a lifetime commitment to decentering whiteness, examining and improving our pedagogy through a critical framework.  Below is a list of resources to support us as we begin this work. Our first step is examining and interrogating whiteness.  While not exclusively, this list intentionally centers the knowledge and voices of black, indigenous and people of color. These readings may be uncomfortable and difficult for some. To quote, Lori Patton Davis and Chayla Haynes Davison (2020), “If you experience resistance, acknowledge it and keep reading.”

Examining and Interrogating Whiteness

For White faculty members, the first phase to fulfilling the promise of anti-racist teachings in your course is through examining whiteness, White identity and White supremacy and the way it impacts your everyday life.

• Anderson, C. (2016). White rage: The unspoken truth of our racial divide. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
• Cabrera, N. (2019). White guys on campus:  Racism, white immunity, and the myth of post-racial higher education. Rutgers University Press. 
• Estrada, F., & Matthews, G. (2016). Perceived culpability in critical multicultural education: Understanding and responding to race informed guilt and shame to further learning outcomes among White American college students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 28(3), 314-325.
• Leonardo, Z. (2004). The color of supremacy: Beyond the discourse of ‘white privilege’. Educational philosophy and theory, 36(2), 137-152.  
• Matias, C. E. (2016). Feeling white: Whiteness, emotionality, and education. Brill Sense.
• Patton, L.D. & Haynes, C. (2020). Dear White People: Reimagining Whiteness In the Struggle for Racial Equity, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 52:2, 41-45.  
• Young, D. (2020, July 10). Yeah, let’s not talk about race. The New York Times.