Keywords
curriculum
whiteness
racial justice
online learning
responsive pedagogy
How to Cite
Abstract
Racial injustice has traditionally been observed from the viewpoint of its impact and outcomes. Subsequently, educators and policy makers have generally focused on outcomes; unequal opportunity structures, disparities in educational achievement, the school-to-prison pipeline, disproportional health indicators, incarceration rates, and harsher punishment in school and judicial systems, are just a few of the contexts by which this nation’s racialized roots can be measured for present day mistreatment and disparate outcomes for minoritized populations. As policy makers and educators look to the impact of racial injustice, a true ontological vantage would reveal the cause as well as the perpetuation of these outcomes. As the current COVID-19 pandemic continues, and with increased interest in online learning, it is vital that teachers and professors seek new pedagogy and tools to teach about racism. Our study examined whether a virtual 1-hour presentation on white humanists influences students’ understanding of racial justice. Our research demonstrates that a colonized curriculum impacts student’s outlook on the world and themselves. Inversely, when we expose students to humanists throughout history, we are able to show that white people have a legacy and responsibility to fight for racial justice. This provides students with alternative models – beyond those that perpetuate white supremacy.
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).