8 Embracing Diffi cult Conversations: Making Antiracist and Decolonial Writing Center Programming Visible

Abstract

Brooks-Gillies 'I was told not to go to the Writing Center, that the Writing Center wasn't for me'.These words came from an undergraduate student on the first day of class in my writing center education course, required for students interested in becoming writing consultants i at the center I direct. His words took me by surprise. The studenta Black ii man who was a returning student, raised in Ghana, and a long-time US resident -continued, 'One of my Africana Studies professors said, "The Writing Center isn't for you", to my class'. He indicated that it was understood that the University Writing Center (UWC) saw language difference as a deficit, not an asset. The perception he shared indicated that the UWC was not designed to support Black students or international students, that the UWC did not support language rights. He was taking the class because he wanted to change the Center; he said, 'It's better to change something from the inside'.The event I've recounted happened in autumn 2015 during my first semester as the director of the UWC. I was in my first month and trying hard to listen to my staff and observe my surroundings. I had just moved across the country with my husband and 2-month-old son; I was navigating change in every part of my life. As a White, non-disabled, monolingual,