The Pedagogy of Teaching Race

“Our classrooms are microcosms of the greater society; therefore, issues confronted in society must also be contended with in the classroom.”

Race remains one of the most contentious issues of our time. Its social relevance became a permanent feature of the American landscape when the founding fathers of this nation allowed chattel slavery to become synonymous with Black skin. Its significance is exemplified in the many Court decisions addressing the issue, even in recent times. These court decisions have served to whittle away at remedies that were once designed to address the reality of institutionalized racism (e.g., affirmative action). The significance of race in our society remains ever more critical, even in an era of a Black presidency, as evidenced by White students at Ole Miss greeting President Obama’s decisive re-election with racial slurs and protests (Hahn, 2012). Their reaction is a manifestation of the reality that the issue of race is still relevant and contentious.

Our classrooms are microcosms of the greater society; therefore, issues confronted in society must also be contended with in the classroom. Given the prominence of race in society, it becomes a challenging task to teach courses that address race. In this special issue, we examine the pedagogy of teaching race. We ask, what are the unique challenges confronted by faculty of color who teach race-related courses? How might the experience of these faculty members inform our practice? Similarly, what has been the experience of White faculty who teach race-related courses? How should White faculty approach teaching such courses? Both White faculty and faculty of color experience race; however, the experience of race from the perspective of the oppressed and disenfranchised and the perspective of the oppressor and privileged influence pedagogy in a different manner. This issue is a compilation of articles that interrogates these experiences and the various dimensions associated with teaching race-based topics from the perspective of faculty of color and White faculty.

In “Towards a Race Pedagogy for Black Faculty,” Closson, Bowman, and Merriweather assert Black adult educators are consciously or unconsciously guided by pedagogy when teaching about race. These faculty must make decisions whether to distance themselves from their own racial experiences, teaching solely prescribed curriculums and not personalizing the course topic, or take risks and teach from the perspective of their personal experiences with race in the hope of fostering transformational learning experiences for their students. The authors posit that the intentional use of race pedagogy is key to being an effective educator and argue for a purposeful and engaged pedagogy that encourages openness and risk taking.

Brookfield, in his article, “Teaching Our Own Racism: Incorporating Personal Narratives of Whiteness Into Anti-Racist Practice,” suggests White faculty must also engage in decision making, decisions that require revealing their existing racial perspectives and beliefs that aid in continuing racial oppression and in maintaining the status quo. He challenges these faculty to engage learners in a consideration of how to recognize such racist inclinations. The article offers an alternative pedagogical approach for White faculty teaching race.

The contributing authors also offer practical strategies for the development of race pedagogy. In “Learning to Teach About Race: The Racialized Experience of a South Asian American Feminist Educator,” Gnanadass, a South Asian American feminist, shares her intellectual and experiential journey of teaching about race and anti-racist issues in the United States. She offers a social construction of race informed by caste, religion, and culture. Her story also reveals the unique challenges faced by international non-White faculty who teach race-based courses. She concludes her discussion by offering her current approaches in teaching race, which include embodying the concept of race as a learned identity.

In “The Use of Social Media in Teaching Race,” Nakagawa and Arzubiaga interrogate social media as a significant influence on racism and a source for understanding race. At first glance, it appears benign and unrelated to race; however, the authors reveal social media can have a lasting impact on racism. They explore ways in which social media can be used to promote racial literacy and examine the issue of race and racism. The focus includes a discussion of intersectionality and highlights some ways in which resisting racism may still involve sexism and homophobia. Indeed, it is imperative that social media, due to its popularity, be incorporated into race pedagogy and praxis as an effective tool to combat social injustice.

Manglitz, Guy, and Merriweather, in “Knowledge and Emotions in Cross-Racial Dialogues: Challenges and Opportunities for Adult Educators Committed to Racial Justice in Educational Settings” note adult educators are called upon to facilitate dialogue across racial, ethnic, class, and gender identities. To accomplish this, adult educators must be deliberate and intentional in building their cognitive and emotive capacity. Such capacity building increases the need and ability to create conditions under which dialogue can take place. The authors provide considerations and recommendations for assisting educators in contributing to a more just society.

This issue offers an insightful look into how race pedagogy could influence practice. It is our hope that the work of the contributing authors will facilitate much-needed dialogue among adult educators about the realities of teaching race as well as challenge adult educators to look over the horizon to the future of adult education in terms of race and racism. Adult education has long prided itself as a field that was built, in part, on the pillar of social justice. Racial equality remains a critical social justice topic in our time. We should lead the way in developing a pedagogy for all faculty, regardless of race, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation, to effectively teach race in such a time as this.