Critical race theory, race and gender microaggressions, and the experience of Chicana and Chicano scholars

“Some have argued that higher education, as it is currently structured, subordinates minority groups, whether those groups’ minority status is defined according to sexual orientation, gender, race, or ethnicity (Rhoads, 1995; Bensimon, 1995; Solórzano, 1998).”

“Although overt forms of racism are rare on these campuses, research has shown the multiple and varied ways students of color are marginalized and assaulted in predominantly white communities (Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000).”

“‘Screaming silences’ therefore draws on feminist, ethnicities based and criticalist viewpoints where personal experiences are critical strategies in freeing research from rigid adherence to traditional or dominant discourses (Solorzano, 1998; Seibold, 2000).”

“Racism-related vigilance 2 For cogent discussion of racial microaggressions from a critical race theory perspective, see Solórzano (1998); Solórzano, Ceja, and Yosso (2000), and Solórzano, Allen, and Carroll (2002).”

“Microaggression, in the most simplistic sense, can be defined as subtle forms or expressions of racism or bias ( Solorzano 1998; Davis 2001).”

“A few studies examine the experiences of Latinas/os (De Luca and Escoto 2012; Delgado-Romero et al. 2007), Chicanas/os (Solórzano 1998), black and African American faculty (Griffin and Reddick 2011), and the intersection of gender with race/ethnicity (Baxley 2012; Jean-Marie 2011; Mayuzumi 2008,…”

“Similarly, Latina women report experiencing racism and sexism within academia, including isolation and alienation, microaggressions, and lower expectations of one’s capabilities (Camacho & Lord, 2011; González, 2007; Solórzano, 1998).”

“…that shape the essential perspectives, methods, and approaches: the centrality and intersectionality of race and racism, the challenge to dominant ideology, the commitment to social justice, the centrality of experiential knowledge, and the interdisciplinary perspective (Solórzano, 1998, p. 122).”

“They were joined in this critique by other analyses of the inequities experienced by Latinos/as and Chicanos/as (Solórzano 1998; Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Solórzano & Yosso, 2000).”

“…CRT adheres to the following five tenets: (1) the centrality of race and racism; (2) the challenge to dominant ideology; (3) the centrality of experiential knowledge; (4) the utilization of interdisciplinary approaches; and (5) the commitment to social justice (Solórzano 1997, 1998; Yosso 2005).”

“This is the theory that gender or racial equality at the higher levels of an organisation takes time to address itself as a higher level of participation would eventually lead to higher level at leadership roles once experience is gained (Solorzano, 1998).”

“Solórzano (1998) defined critical race theory in education as a framework to challenge “the dominant discourse on race and racism as they relate to education by examining how educational theory, policy, and practice are used to subordinate certain racial and ethnic groups” (p. 122).”

“, Harper, Patton, & Wooden, 2009; Solórzano, Villalpando, & Oseguera, 2005; Taylor, 1999; Yosso, Parker, Solórzano, & Lynn, 2004), the racialized experiences of minoritized1 students and faculty (e.g., Harper, 2009a; Harper et al., 2011; Jayakumar, Howard, Allen, & Han, 2009; Johnson-Bailey, Valentine, Cervero, & Bowl…”

“Mentored students are more likely to make decisions leading to academic persistence (Gloria and Robinson Kurpius, 2001), with positive mentoring being cited as the most important factor in degree attainment (Solorzano, 1998).”

“Critical Race Theory (CRT) gave educational scholars an arsenal of concepts, such as knowledge apartheid (Delgado Bernal and Villalpando 2005), microagressions (Solorzano 1998), and critical race pedagogy (Lynn 1999; see also Lynn and Jennings 2009).”

“However, in his study of Chicana/o scholars, Solorzano (1998) indicated that racial microaggressions can also come in the form of not so subtle racially assaultive remarks.”

“Sixty percent of the participants are second generation Americans (signifying that their parents are immigrants to the United States).”

“The use of interviews, especially when focused on the way the students talked about themselves and their experiences, is very much aligned with the CRT perspective and the value it places on the emic perspectives of minorities by using methods such as narrative and storytelling (Solórzano, 1998).”

“He shows subtle micro aggressions (Solórzano 1998) that serve to maintain privilege among groups of students on the basis of their language.”

“…one term critical scholars within and outside of education have used to characterize the day-to-day experiences of being positioned outside of the assumed and policed norms related to race, class, gender, and sexuality (e.g., Solorzano, 1998; Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000; Sue, 2010).”

“This storytelling led us to more data, this time, to the qualitative interview data we have collectively gathered over our years of research with Latina/o students and parents, where research participants have described the meaning of higher education (Solórzano 1998).”

“…1993; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1998; Reay, 2004; Swartz, 1997) and scholarship on Critical Race Theory in education (Delgado Bernal, 2002; Dixson & Rousseau, 2005; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano, 1998), the CCW framework acknowledges the wealth in the lived experience of students of color.”

“While some articles were written about microaggressions in the three decades following its conceptualization (e.g., Solórzano, 1998), the concept did not gain mainstream popularity until counseling psychologist Derald Wing Sue and colleagues (2007) reintroduced and reconceptualized the term in the…”

“In the following sections, I incorporate the five tenets of CRT discussed by Solórzano (1998) into my analysis of Mendez and its value as a precursor of Brown.”

“In fact, only a few scholars have examined the experiences of Chicanos/Latinos(as) in doctoral programs (e.g., Achor & Morales, 1990; Bañuelos, 2006; Cúadraz, 1993; Espino, 2014; Gildersleeve, Croom, & Vasquez, 2011; González, 2006; Ibarra, 2001; Solorzano, 1998; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001).”

“…and deficit notions of education and seeks to disrupt the reproduction of these notions that distract attention from relationships and systems of power and subordination (Gillborn, 2008; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Rousseau & Dixson, 2016; Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).”

“Critical race theorists (D. Bell, 1987; Collins, 1998; Crenshaw, Gotanda, Peller, & Thomas, 1995; Delgado, 1988/1989, 1995; Lorde, 1984; Matsuda, 1996; Parker, Deyhle, Villenas, & Nebeker, 1998; Solorzano, 1998; Williams, 1991; Wing, 1997) expose different forms of racism and critique legal, educational, and other soc…”

“…(1) the intercentricity of race and racism with other forms of subordination; (2) the challenge to dominant ideology; (3) the commitment to social justice; (4) the centrality of experiential knowledge; and (5) the incorporating of transdisciplinary/interdisciplinary approaches (Solórzano 1998).”

“…1996; Parker, Deyhle, Villenas, & Nebeker, 1998, Parker et al., 1999; Tate, 1997), Latina/Latino critical theory (LatCrit; Pizarro, 1998, 1999; Solorzano, 1997, 1998; Solorzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Solorzano & Villalpando, 1998; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001, 2002), Chicana feminist epistemology…”

“Not mentioned in the report, however, is the mounting research on racially hostile college climates, unwelcoming environments and the potential influence on student experiences and persistence decisions (Clements, 2000; Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, & Allen, 1998; Rhoads, 1999; Solórzano, 1998).”

“Cumulative over time, microinsults, microassaults, and microinvalidations build up to racial microaggressions (Solórzano, 1998).”

“…on racialized experiences of graduate students of color (Espino, 2014; Gay, 2004; Gildersleeve et al., 2011; Solem, Lee, & Schlemper, 2009; Solórzano, 1998; Truong & Museus, 2012; Truong, Museus, & McGuire, 2016), few studies have used a CRC perspective (Griffin et al., 2012; Hurtado,…”

“In college, racial microaggressions perpetrated against students of color often take the form of lower expectations (Solórzano 1998; Solórzano, Ceja, and Yosso 2000; Solórzano, Allen, and Carroll 2002).”

“Higher education scholars have used the microaggressions framework to study modern-day racism through the perspective of groups such as Black students (Beagan, 2001; McClelland & Auster, 1990; Solórzano et al., 2000) and Latina/o students (Solórzano, 1998; Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solórzano, 2009).”

“…bring racial equity to the forefront by adhering to a set of tenants: recognizing the centrality of race and racism, challenging dominant ideologies, counter-storytelling and maintaining a commitment to social justice, and utilizing interdisciplinary approaches (Solórzano 1997, 1998; Yosso 2005).”

“These reminders usually come in the form of “microaggressions” by otherwise good-hearted people – looks, attitudes, body language, mannerisms, verbal articulations, written speech, and other indignities – where the offense usually goes unnoticed by the perpetrator because they are usually unaware of the messages they’…”

“The analysis in this article emerged from a larger study that examined Asian American college students’ experiences with racial microaggressions, which are daily experiences of subtle discrimination and racist assaults experienced by people of color that socially maintain their racially subordinated position and White…”

“Numerous studies highlight these differences specifically with Asian Americans (Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007), Black Americans (Sue, Capodilupo, & Holder, 2008), and Latino Americans (Solorzano, 1998).”

“…the systemic, everyday forms of racism encountered by People of Color that are layered, cumulative assaults based on race, gender, class, sexuality, language, immigration status, phenotype, accent, or surname (Solorzano, 1998; Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000; Solorzano & Pérez Huber, 2012).”

“While CRT gained significant traction in legal studies, it has influenced a great number of scholars in various disciplines to study the relationship between race, racism, and power in the United States (Delgado & Stefancic, 1992; Duncan, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Lynn, Yosso, Solorzan…”

“…“as a discourse of liberation” (Parker & Lynn, 2002, p. 7), provides the anti-racism scholar in education with a framework to envision and “transform those structural, cultural, and interpersonal aspects of education that maintain the subordination of [students] of color” (Solórzano, 1998, p. 123).”

“…as they are understood at the level of everyday experience The concept of microaggression is used to describe these small—though cumulative— units of experience Solórzano (1998) defined microaggressions as subtle insults, slights, and everyday exclusions encountered when navigating dominant…”

“Given the proposed framework, researchers should centralize Latinx students as legitimate holders of knowledge and consider using critical race theory to develop additive studies that account for intersectional experiences (Solórzano 1998).”

“Otherwise you begin to wonder, to doubt, to second guess yourself” (Solórzano, 1998, p. 128).”

“Solorzano (1997, 1998), an early leader of CRT in education, outlines five tenents of CRT critical to the field of education.”

“…research that has used CRT, particularly in education has been grounded in the idea of race as a social construction deeply rooted in the notion of whiteness as property and White supremacy (Dixson & Rousseau, 2006; Harris, 1993; Lynn & Dixson, 2013; Solórzano, 1998; Taylor et al., 2009).”

“Exclusion occurs through overtly racist interactions, but institutions also perpetuate it through allowing microaggressions, which are subtle, often nonverbal interactions that devalue people and have a significant cumulative effect after continual abuse (Solórzano, 1998).”

“Solórzano (1998) was the first to develop a structural approach to defining microaggressions, connecting racial and gender microaggressions to legal scholarship on Critical Race Theory (CRT): “Critical race theory recognizes that the experiential knowledge of women and men of color is legitimate, appropriate, and crit…”

“Pertaining to education, Solórzano (1998) describes CRT as a theory that “challenges the dominant discourse on race and racism as they relate to education by examining how educational theory, policy, and practice are used to subordinate certain racial and ethnic groups” (p. 122).”

“…marginalize Black and other racially-different students, particularly regarding negative- or deficit-labeling in a variety of situations—classrooms, summer internships, teacher interactions and relationships, and curricular content (Solorzano, 1998, 2009; Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2009).”

“These behaviors are evidence of the power of Whiteness and negatively impact the work and learning experiences of minoritized groups in educational settings (Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000) often instilling a sense of self-doubt, frustration, and feelings of isolation (Solorzano, 1998).”

“Specifically, I drew on five themes from CRT in education as outlined by Solórzano (1998): 1.”

“A. Solórzano (1998) outlined how Utah’s history includes a legacy of indigenous residents occupying the land for many centuries prior to the arrival of the Mormon “pioneers.””

“CRT within education is an evolving methodological, conceptual, and theoretical movement (Taylor, 1998) that examines and disrupts race and racism in education (Solórzano, 1998).”

“CRT interrogates how ‘educational theory, policy, and practices are used to subordinate certain racial and ethnic groups’ (Solórzano 1998, 11: 122).”

“…and racism with other forms of subordination such as class and gender, challenging the dominant ideology, working towards social justice, recognizing the centrality of experiential knowledge, and crossing disciplinary boundaries (Solórzano 1997, 1998; Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Yosso, 2005).”

“Solorzano (1998) categorized them as follows: (a) the intercentricity of race and racism with other forms of subordination; (b) challenge to dominant ideology; (c) commitment to social justice; (d) centrality of experiential knowledge; and (e) interdisciplinary approaches.”

“These moments confirm previous research about how students of color are systemically marginalized within the classroom, due to stereotypes stemming from deficit cultural models, which position them as unconcerned with educational attainment (Howard, 2008; Solórzano, 1998; Thomas & Stevenson, 2009); a phenomenon primar…”

“A relatively small, albeit growing, body of empirical literature has documented the experiences of Chicanos/Latinos(as) in doctoral programs (e.g., Achor & Morales, 1990; Bañuelos, 2006; Castellanos, Gloria, & Kamimura, 2006; Cuádraz, 1993; Cuádraz & Pierce, 1994; Espino, 2012; Gildersleeve, Croom, & Vasquez, 2011; Go…”

“Centrality of experiential knowledge and voices of People of Color: CRT recognizes that lived experiences of People of Color are legitimate and critical to understanding the current condition of educational inequality (Solórzano 1998, Solórzano and Yosso 2002).”

“CRT aims to challenge ahistoricism and insists on historical and contemporary contextual analysis of race and racism in society through interdisciplinary approaches (Solórzano, 1997, 1998; Tate, 1997).”

“…the mid-1990s, researchers defined CRT in education as “a set of … perspectives, methods, and pedagogy that seeks to identify, analyze, and transform those structural, cultural, and interpersonal aspects of education that maintain the subordination of [students] of color” (Solórzano, 1998, p. 123).”

“This outward expression of national and cultural pride is also a function of racial positioning (Blumer, 1958; Solórzano, 1998).”

“CRT centers on several principles (Decuir & Dixson, 2004; Solórzano, 1998).”

“Consistent with critical race theory (Solórzano, 1998) and classical feminist therapy (Fischer & Bolton Holz, 2010), womanism and the ability to contextualize the problem may relieve women’s distress by allowing them a means of elucidating the broader social and historical underpinnings of their…”

“While CRT focuses on race and racism these processes ‘‘are also viewed at their intersection with other forms of subordination such as gender and class discrimination’’ ( Solorzano, 1998, p. 122 ).”