Working through Whiteness: White, Male College Students Challenging Racism

Abstract

This qualitative study relies on Freire’s conception of liberatory praxis to examine White male college students’ becoming aware of racism and translating awareness into action. The participants developed racial cognizance via crossracial contact and course content. They also tended to be open to interrogating racism and racial privilege due to other marginalized identities (e.g., being gay). The participants took actions against racism but continued to struggle with race (e.g., essentializing minority experiences). The findings demonstrate the importance of race-conscious curricula, empathy, and cross-racial contact in promoting racial justice actions, while illustrating the nonlinear trajectory of White student racial identity development.

Thinking About Race: The Salience of Racial Identity at Two- and Four-Year Colleges and the Climate for Diversity

“…the pervasiveness of privilege, particularly white racial privilege, is critical to address in improving the racial climate (gusa, 2010; harper & hurtado, 2007; s. hurtado et al, 2012). increasing awareness of white racial identity and racial privilege encourages white students to understand their role in improving the campus climate and increases their potential to become allies in social justice activities beyond campus (Cabrera, 2012).…”

“But I’m oppressed too”: white male college students framing racial emotions as facts and recreating racism

“…The groups solicited included, but were not limited to, Objectivists, Campus Republicans, College Democrats, and Students for a Democratic Society. This strategy yielded 43 total interviews, which I divided into two groups: those working through Whiteness (Cabrera, 2012) and those normalizing Whiteness (Cabrera, 2011). Those working through Whiteness tended to have the following four traits: (1) systemic (as opposed to individualized) understandings of racism; (2) auto-criticism regarding racial bias; (3) support for race-conscious policies; and 4) actions that supported racial justice.…”

“…analyzing Whiteness in relation to racial oppression), instead focusing on how individual students "work through their Whiteness," develop their racial selves, and sometimes become racial justice allies (e.g. Cabrera, 2012;Ortiz & Rhoads, 2000;Peterson & Hamrick, 2009;Reason & Evans, 2007;Reason, Millar, & Scales, 2005). There are, however, a few critical interrogations of Whiteness formation in higher education.…”

Beyond Black and White: How White, Male, College Students See Their Asian American Peers

“…Thus, Asian American racialization only exists in a context of white hegemony (Cabrera, 2012a), but CWS analyses tend to avoid the unique racialization of Asian Americans. Downloaded by [Rutgers University] at 10:44 11 April 2015 CABRERA The literature on whiteness in higher education tends to focus on either ally development (e.g., Broido & Reason, 2005;Reason & Evans, 2007;Reason, Millar, & Scales, 2005) or students working through whiteness (Cabrera, 2012b;Ortiz & Rhoads, 2000;Peterson & Hamrick, 2009). These analyses take a direction that is different from the literature on CWS, which is dedicated to making the frequently invisible privileges of whiteness visible, while critically interrogating and challenging systemic racism (e.g., Leonardo, 2009;Sullivan, 2006).…”

“…In previous research on this sample of students, I divided them into those working through whiteness (Cabrera, 2012b) and those normalizing whiteness (Cabrera, 2014a) based upon their racial ideologies (working through whiteness being more racially progressive). By racially progressive, I mean participants who viewed race as systemic reality instead of an individual defect.…”