ERIC Number: EJ1255984
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jul
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0042-0859
EISSN: N/A
Backpack of Whiteness: Releasing the Weight to Free Myself and My Students
Urban Education, v55 n6 p937-962 Jul 2020
This essay decenters whiteness and centers who I am as a Black teacher weighed down by boulders representing the dominance of whiteness and internalized racism as well as the institutional and social systems within which I dwell. Slowly, I release them through partnerships, "remembered" histories, "re-righted" curriculum, and confidence in self-worth. While I write about degradation, marginalization, disrespect, and omission of my Blackness in relationships with universities, I also write about supportive partnerships with Professional Dyads of Culturally Relevant Teaching (PDCRT) Colleagues of Color, administrators, and students emphasizing that, at the end of the day, the partner I must hold onto first is me.
Descriptors: African American Teachers, Racial Discrimination, Power Structure, Self Esteem, Partnerships in Education, Culturally Relevant Education, Kindergarten, Elementary School Teachers, African American History, Urban Schools, Self Concept, Females, Social Justice, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A