The “New Racism” of K–12 Schools: Centering Critical Research on Racism

Abstract

While organizing efforts by movements such as Black Lives Matter and responses to the hate-filled policies and rhetoric of President Donald Trump are heightening public discourse of racism, much less attention is paid to mechanisms of racial oppression in the field of education. Instead, conceptualizations that allude to racial difference but are disconnected from structural analyses continue to prevail in K–12 education research. In this chapter, our goal is to challenge racism-neutral and racism-evasive approaches to studying racial disparities by centering current research that makes visible the normalized facets of racism in K–12 schools. After narrowing over 4,000 articles that study racial inequity in education research, we reviewed a total of 186 U.S.-focused research studies in a K–12 school context that examine racism. As we categorized the literature, we built on a theory of the “new racism”—a more covert and hidden racism than that of the past—and grouped the articles into two main sections: (1) research that brings to light racism’s permanence and significance in the lives of students of Color through manifestations of what we conceptualize as (a) evaded racism, (b) “antiracist” racism, and (c) everyday racism and (2) research focused on confronting racism through racial literacy and the resistance of communities of Color. In our conclusion, we articulate suggestions for future directions in education research that include a more direct acknowledgement of racism as we attend to the experiences and needs of K–12 students of Color.

Unsilenced voices : a narrative study of parental engagement practices for black parents of sons being served under IDEA 2004

“…This concept is described by Bell (as cited in Parker, Ledesma, & Parker, 2015) as a "critical response to deal with fundamental issues such as the continued ways in which students of color are being underserved in schools (p.203)." Bell admonished Black scholars to exercise any type of influence in educational policy they may have in circles of national importance (p. 204); and where researchers would be encouraged to engage in current research that will operationalize and to "make visible the normalized facets of racism in K-12 schools" (Kohli et al, 2017).…”

“…She continued that without understanding the gravity of racism and its effects in education studies, "we will continue to get the same "short-term solutions" regarding the achievement gap without all stakeholders' acknowledgement and understanding of the long-term underlying problem" (p. 4). Researchers Kohli et al (2017) have theorized that racism has evolved from a mostly covert construct that is typically recognized and that there, is now a "new racism" that has manifested in various ways and according to these scholars has been re-branded in order to avoid or evade the permanence of racism that plagues K-12 education curricula and policies (Brown & Brown, 2010). Overall, this discourse speaks to the negative presentation as a direct comparison of Black males and their parents to Eurocentric and assimilative ideological standards (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995); hence, exercising a continuance of institutionalized oppression of people of color as demonstrated by pervasive conditions such as high numbers of Black males assigned to special education programs, exclusionary disciplinary programs in addition to other anomalies that will be discussed in detail in subsequent paragraphs.…”

“…To say that Whites are secure in their position of prepotency is an understatement. While attention is focused on these occurrences, Kohli et al (2017) have highlighted the ongoing racial oppression that is quietly wreaking havoc in America's schools (p. 182). Based upon the theory of new racism, a termed coined by Martin Baker in his book, The New Racism:…”

“…This study placed its focus on the parental engagement of Black parents with sons who receive specialized instruction and educational services under IDEA 2004. Researchers Kohli et al (2017) conducted a study where 4,000 articles related to racial disparities and inequity in K-12 schools. At the conclusion of the study, they stated that only 186 studies in the U.S. investigated racism.…”

“…Since the parent voice has little representation in the literature; narrative inquiry as the selected research tradition presented other perspectives in addition to an opportunity to hear the voices of those who are categorically left out of the discussion (Kohli et al, 2017). Telling one's story without the fear of retribution or judgment speaks to the value of the narrative tradition as a way for marginalized groups to be heard and to enable educational research scholars to identify and transform the policies and practices that maintain subordinate and dominant racial positions.…”