An invitation to dialogue: Do communication journal reviewers mute the race‐related research of scholars of color?

I AM an Angry Black Woman: Black Feminist Autoethnography, Voice, and Resistance

“…Not only have Black women been taught and told via dominant discourses that our lived experiences are insignificant but we have also learned hard lessons around the consequences of speaking our truths to power. Furthermore, many Black female scholars struggle to achieve ''real'' scholar status as academics whose work is widely published, read, respected, and celebrated (Davis, 1999;Hendrix, 2002Hendrix, , 2005Hendrix, , 2010. Always already concerned with the struggles of publishing race-related research, which is often received with accusations of self-interest, narcissism, and vendetta (Calafell & Moreman, 2009;Hendrix, 2005Hendrix, , 2010Orbe et al, 2010), choosing a contested and subjective method such as autoethnography (Ellis, 2009;Shields, 2000) runs the risk of providing more ammunition for those with a vested interest in silencing our voices.…”

“…Black women have much to be angry about in the academy, including the poor representation of Black female scholars (Gregory, 2002;''The Profession,'' 2011) 2 and the difficulty of getting race-related research published (Hendrix, 2002(Hendrix, , 2005(Hendrix, , 2010Orbe, Smith, Groscurth, & Crawley, 2010), both of which fuel the absence of emancipatory scholarship by and about Black women. Looking back to move forward, the anger that I feel is not inventive, since Black women have furiously contested injustice in education and elsewhere for centuries (Allen, 1998;Cooper, 1995;Davis, 1998;hooks, 1981;Houston, 1992;Jones, 2003;Lorde, 1984;Madison, 1994Madison, , 2009Patton, 2004;Shange, 1975;Stewart, 1992;Truth, 1992).…”

Dialoguing with the “Communication Chorus”: Mapping the Contours of “the Morass”

“…During his graduate studies at the University of Southern Florida (USF), he was advised to search out the best and most critical feedback in order to grow into an excellent researcher on race=racism. 4 Winn advised that Whites interested in such research should (a) ''always strive to be extremely self-aware in the process, (b) be willing to take feedback from knowledgeable peers, and (c) focus on specific areas of interest in which they bring something of value to the table'' (2006, p. 4 In my earlier work (Hendrix, 2002(Hendrix, , 2005, I argued that even when scholars are not discouraged from conducting race-related issues, a problem can stem from the fact they are not being directed to sources that deeply challenge their cognitive schema; being encouraged to investigate race; or, at the very least, prompted to analyze their subjects'=participants' responses keeping in mind that they are racialized beings. As has been the case with scholars of color, young White scholars are also sometimes discouraged from becoming active, critical researchers on race.…”

“…I argued that our journals do not present a positive image to the public or encourage communication scholars of color to feel welcome in our field (Hendrix, 2005).…”

Still flies in buttermilk: black male faculty, critical race theory, and composite counterstorytelling

“…Amid such claims, which can be critically understood as old versions of oppressive discourses made anew, scholars insist upon the significance of race and additional identity markers that secure privilege, maintain power differentials, and justify systemic oppression in educational contexts (Alexander, 2010;Bernal, 2002;Calafell, 2010;Duncan, 2002;Holling, 2006;Hytten & Warren, 2003;Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000;Solórzano & Yosso, 2001;Stanley, 2006;Tate, 1994;Turner & Myers, 2000). Many advocate for race consciousness with regard to faculty of color in general (Allen, Orbe, & Olivas, 1999;Bernal & Villalpando, 2002;Hendrix, 2005;Johnsrod & Sadao, 2002;Patton & Catching, 2009;Smith, Yosso, & Solórzano, 2006) or female faculty of color in particular (Berry & Mizelle, 2006;Griffin, 2012;Harris, 2007Harris, , 2012Hendrix, 2011;Jones, 2003;Niles & Gordon, 2011;Patton, 2004;Rodriguez, 2006). Of the many facets of exploring academic Otherness that remain, this essay builds upon current scholarship by addressing experiences common to black male faculty at traditionally white institutions.…”