From silence to proclamation: Adolescent voices on racism

• Main Author: Pattee, Deborah Kay
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2004
• Subjects: Curricula; Curriculum development; Multicultural Education; Teacher education; Teaching
• ISBN: 0496774484; 9780496774487

Discrimination is an on-going reality in this country. People of color are still being followed in stores, charged more on automobile purchases, have problems getting picked up by taxis, and having a harder time finding jobs and apartments. These are issues rarely faced by Americans of European descent. The purpose of this project is to confront these issues directly and work toward meaningful changes. The dissertation has three parts: the video, a video guide, and this chapter. The primary piece is the video that is meant to raise and name the issue of white racism, reflect on it, and discuss significant responses. It is organized around five parts: the cycle of socialization, White privilege, race as a social construction, resistance, and solutions. The video is unique in that students are the focal point; they are the ones given voice, whose opinions on white racism are sought. In effect, the video seeks to counter the banking education that dominates in the contemporary American educational system. The second part of the dissertation is the video guide. It describes many activities that a teacher can use in the classroom and offers resources to help European Americans identify their own privilege and confirm for students of color just how little privilege they have. The third part is this chapter in which participatory action research (PAR) is identified as the methodology chosen for this study. The reason for this choice is the connection of PAR to critical pedagogy. Both call for radical social change by breaking down the distinction between the researcher and the researched, enabling, as Maguire (1987) argued, “researchers and oppressed people to join in solidarity to take collective action” (p.29), allowing for, as Freire wanted, the empowerment of those without voice.