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

“” The majority of research on microaggressions has focused primarily on race and gender (Alabi, 2015; Lewis & Neville, 2015; Ong et al., 2013; Pierce, 1974; Pittman, 2012; Rivera, Forquer, & Rangel, 2010; Robinson-Wood & Weber, 2015; Solorzano, 1998; Sue et al., 2007; Sue et al., 2008; Torres, Driscoll, & Burrow, 2010…”

“Solórzano and his colleagues have identified how these leakage points precipitated specific educational experiences outside traditional institutions or how the conditions within formal schooling systems have led to low matriculation and achievement rates, and high rates of push-outs (Covarrubias & Revilla, 2003; Covar…”

“…harmless—even complimentary—although evidence suggests they cause psychological distress and evoke insidiously racist stereotypes linked in part to one’s intelligence (Constantine & Sue, 2007; Solorzano, 1998; Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000; Sue et al., 2007; Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solorzano, 2009).”

“During our week about theories of power and privilege, we discussed microaggressions, the daily comments, or acts that reveal stereotypical and discriminatory beliefs based on race, gender, class, and other identities (Solórzano, 1998; Sue et al., 2007).”

“In the late 1990s, scholars (Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano et al., 2000; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001) explicitly situated microaggression within CRT to reference Compton-Lilly 1319 microaggressions as layered—sometimes subtle and unconscious—forms of racism that reflect racist structures and ideologies.”

“Education scholar Daniel Solorzano (1998) identified five central tenets that guide a CRT examination of racial phenomena in education: (a) the centrality and intersectionality of race and racism, (b) the existence and need to challenge dominant ideology, (c) the role of social justice in using…”

“CRT is used in education to highlight the creation and maintenance of inequalities experienced by people of color throughout the educational pipeline (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Ledesma & Calderón, 2015; Solorzano, 1998).”

“…and subtle communications of racism and prejudice are prevalent in higher education, sometimes imbedded in curricula, mentorship interactions, and science training programs, and have negative impacts on student emotional well-being and academic persistence (Solórzano, 1998, Solórzano et al., 2000).”

“…ethnic-based inequities (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Maldonado, Rhoads, & Buenavista, 2005; Rhoads, 1995a, 1998a, 1998b; Solórzano, 1997, 1998; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001). methods The findings presented in this paper are part of a larger project conducted over a…”

“Minority students also described being ignored, excluded, or having their contributions overlooked (McCabe, 2009; Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano et al., 2000; Torres et al., 2010).”

“Underrepresented scholars and students may experience racial and gender micro-aggressions and this could be why some students have trouble belonging in their programs (Gay, 2004; Herzig, 2004; Solórzano, 1998).”

“…grounded in CRT accounts for race and racism within the educational system and challenges traditional deficit perspectives about communities of color and dominant “race-neutral” ideologies that perpetuate racial and ethnic subordination (Delgado Bernal, 2002; Solorzano, 1998; Villalpando, 2003).”

“The Critical Race theorist is armed with analytical tools to understand and explore the deleterious impacts and insidious nature of racism and white supremacy (e.g., Sol orzano, 1997, 1998).”

“In contrast, by engaging hip hop music as a discourse that connects unequal structures, opportunities, and everyday racial acts (Roithmayr, 2003; Solórzano, 1998), youth like Frank arrive at a different understanding of the intersection of race, power, and identity.”

“The current study began as an expanded investigation that focused on experiences of everyday racism (Essed 1991) and microaggressions (Solorzano 1998) among Palestinian1 professionals employed in Jewish organizations2 in Israel.”

“For example, Solórzano (2000) defines seemingly minute, but significant slights towards people of color as microaggressions.”

“An example of what stereotypes and microaggressions look like comes from the work of Solórzano (1998), who documented examples of microaggressions against scholars of color, such as: “When I talk about those Blacks, I really wasn’t talking about you.”

“Pearl (1991) argues that this cycle of failure is reaching disastrous proportions as it continues to replicate itself (see also Solórzano, 1998).”

“Individual distinctiveness, no matter how strategic, does not alter structural disadvantage and white supremacy impeding the lives of Black fathers (Bell 1992; Soloranzo 1998).”

“Applications of CRT within educational research studies have become more prevalent (e.g., Delgado Bernal, 2002; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Sol orzano, 1998).”

“…and incidents that students shared with me (and which are consistent with those uncovered by other researchers [Sidel, 1994; Feagin et al., 1996; Solorzano, 1998; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001]) create a troubling picture that responsible college educators and administrators should feel compelled to…”

“In agreement with previous literature, the Chicana/o professors expressed feeling isolated and alienated at their institutions (Reyes & Ríos, 2005; Solórzano, 1998).”

“CRT challenges the traditional claims of the education system and its institutions to objectivity, meritocracy, color and gender blindness, race and gender neutrality, and equal opportunity (Solórzano 1998, 122).”

“…research as scholars have sought to more effectively understand the role of race, racism, and racialization in the educational experiences and outcomes for communities of color (Dixson & Rousseau, 2006; Irizarry, 2011a; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Lynn, 1999; Milner, 2008; Solórzano, 1998).”

“Five tenets outline the basic themes of a CRT/LatCrit perspective: the centrality and intersectionality of race and racism, the challenge to the dominant ideology, the centrality of experiential learning, the commitment to social justice, and the interdisciplinary perspective (Solórzano, 1998).”

“Analysis Our analytic framework incorporated Yosso’s CCW model (2005), grounded in critical race theory, which acknowledges the “centrality of experiential knowledge” and the stories of people of color as marginalized groups (Solórzano, 1998).”

“There are five tenets of CRT, as espoused by Solórzano (1998).”

“Solórzano (1998) provided the premise to develop a CRT in education, arguing that CRT “challenges ahistoricism and the unidisciplinary focus of most analyses and insists on analyzing race and racism in education by placing them in both a historical and contemporary context” (p. 123).”

“Solórzano (1998) explains, ‘critical race theory in education challenges the traditional claims of the educational system and its institutions to objectivity, meritocracy, color and gender blind- ness, race and gender neutrality, and equal opportunity’ (122).”

“Critical race theory (CRT) (Solórzano 1997, 1998; Delgado and Stefancic 2001; Bell 1995; Yosso 2005, 2006) encompassing the ideas of racism, social justice, the dismantling of dominant praxis, and lived experience of people of color, along with interdisciplinary tools to achieve social justice in…”

“Although their exchange was quick, they identified a shared understanding and experience of racial discrimination, and even shared a laugh about the ‘white gaze’ (Solórzano 1998).”

“We use tribal critical race theory (TribalCrit) (Brayboy, 2005a), which is a subset of critical race theory (CRT), and racial microaggressions (Solórzano, 1998) to analyze Joy’s experiences at SU.”

“, undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty) is accounted for (Gildersleeve, Croom, & Vasquez, 2011; Gomez, Khurshid, Freitag, & Lachuk, 2011; Pittman, 2010; Solórzano, 1998).”

“Theorist Daniel Solórzano (1997, 1998) identified five tenets of CRT that can and should inform theory, research, pedagogy, curriculum, and policy: (1) the intercentricity of race and racism, (2) the challenge to dominant ideology, (3) the commitment to social justice, (4) the centrality of…”

“…(3) the commitment to social justice in education and beyond, (4) the centrality of experiential knowledge, and (5) a transdisciplinary perspective (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solorzano, 1997, 1998; Solorzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Solorzano & Ornelas, 2002, 2004; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001).”

“…studies have documented how racism operates in a variety of educational settings, including subtle microaggressions that systematically marginalize students of color, by deficit and negative labeling in a variety of educational situations (Solorzano, 1998; Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2009).”

“While racist acts are often thought of as more obvious transgressions and/or cases of blatant discrimination, racism can also play out in much more subtle ways in everyday life, i.e., as racial microagressions (Kohli 2009; Kohli and Solórzano 2012; Solórzano 1998).”

“Although some of this intersectional literature discusses the experiences of Latino and Asian American professors or students (Arriola, 2012; Lugo-Lugo, 2012; Solórzano, 1988; Võ, 2012), the majority of the work focuses on the African American experience.”

“…and family engagement, critical race scholars were also calling attention to deficit constructions and assimilative demands, as well as their consequences, of parent involvement paradigms (e.g., Delgado and Stefancic 2000; Howard and Navarro 2016; Ladson-Billings and Tate 1995; Solorzano 1998).”

“Rather than allowing exclusionary racialized environments to act as barriers, some studies demonstrate that Black and Latinx students and scholars leverage these experiences as a way to motivate themselves and build resiliency [55,59,60].”

“Critical race theories argue that institutions (i.e., law and education) are ingrained with racism (Bell, 1995; Crenshaw, 1995; Solórzano, 1998).”

“…are important because they aim to critique and change society (Horkheimer, 1976) by attending to the multiple and intersectional identities of their participants (Crenshaw, 1991) and challenge dominant norms with a commitment to social justice (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solorzano, 1997, 1998).”

“Although CRT is most concerned with racial discourse, it also acknowledges its intersection with class, gender, ability, and sexuality (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001).”

“Often, the experiences of students of color in higher education are shaped by their racial background, making it critical to examine educational structures and practices that create inequities for students from marginalized racial/ethnic backgrounds (Solórzano 1998).”

“…to centralize race, racism, and intersectionality with other forms of subordination; center experiential knowledge and transdisciplinary perspectives; and to challenge dominant public and academic ideologies while committing to social justice (Solorzano 1998; Solorzano and Delgado Bernal 2001).”

“For example, I grew up listening to my Mexican father’s stories about racism – about racial profiling and various racial microagressions (Solórzano 1998).”

“aimed at faculty of color (Constantine, Smith, Redington, & Owens, 2008; Solorzano, 1998).”

“…from related theories, including critical race theory (e.g., Delgado & Stefancic, 2012; Howard & Navarro, 2016; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano, 1998), racial literacy (Guinier, 2004), intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991; Núñez, 2014), opportunity hoarding (DiTomaso, 2013; Lewis &…”

“At the same time, the ethics of requiring ‘‘all students to adopt the same set of values and ideology that come with the language’’ must be questioned, and a more ‘‘heteroglossic’’ approach must be taken that ‘‘decenters’’ formal scientific language and counts as science the broader, contextual, issue-focused everyday…”

“…of CRT in education has allowed scholars to disrupt prevailing racial ideology driving research in areas such as educational achievement, high-stakes testing, assessment, curriculum, and instruction, among others (Howard, 2008; Ladson-Billings, 2004; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solorzano, 1998).”

“For example, some White Americans have raised public attention about President Obama’s middle name—Hussein—to suggest that he is dangerous, “the Other,” possibly linked to terrorists, and cannot be trusted as President of the United States.”

“…systems bolster Eurocentric, Western, and White majoritarian ideologies and epistemologies to the detriment of an increasingly diverse population of students, while validating the experiences of students of color (Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1997; Solórzano, 1997, 1998).”

“Daily encounters that graduate students from underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups have with cultural insensitivity or racial microaggressions can reduce their achievement (Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000).”

“Mrs. Solomon: Yeah, but, but when he first started, I mean nothing, absolutely nothing.”

“Both CCW and AsianCrit draw from Critical Race Theory (CRT; Bell, 1987; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017) in education (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 2016; Solorzano, 1997, 1998) CRT highlights the centrality of race, racism, and racialization to the experiences of POC (Bell, 1987).”

“Highlighting the value of lived experiences and the interlocking nature of multiple oppressions, critical race scholars call attention to the role of counternarratives in challenging the majority group when studying education (Solórzano 1997, 1998; Solórzano and Yosso 2002).”