Racialized Equity Labor, University Appropriation and Student Resistance

Lerma, Veronica; Hamilton, Laura T; Nielsen, Kelly

doi:10.1093/socpro/spz011

Cited by 123Critical Race Theory in EducationSocial Movements and Cultural IdentityRace, History, and American Society

Racialized Equity Labor, University Appropriation and Student Resistance

Lerma, Veronica, Hamilton, Laura T, Nielsen, Kelly·2020·Social Problems

DOI 10.1093/socpro/spz011

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Abstract

We coin the term “racialized equity labor” to describe the often uncompensated efforts of people of color to address systematic racism and racial marginalization within organizations. Using a year-long ethnographic and interview study of a majority-minority public university, we focus specifically on the racialized equity labor of college students who, like many faculty and staff of color, often labor to make their campuses comfortable and functional for historically underrepresented populations. We identify a cycle of racialized labor appropriation whereby: 1) people of color identify problems in the racial environment of their organizations and work to solve them; 2) leadership responds by blocking efforts and/or denying issues; 3) external and/or internal pressures force introspection and push leaders to resolve an organizational threat (e.g., to the university’s public image of diversity); and finally, 4) leadership appropriates racialized equity labor, and in doing so converts it into a diluted diversity initiative. Those engaged in racialized equity labor may resist appropriation, but the cycle takes a toll on activists. The ways in which organizations respond to racialized equity labor offers insight into the reproduction of racial inequities, despite the hard work of people of color to create meaningful racial change.

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Copyright Page
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“Diversity is a corporate plan”: racialized equity labor among university employees
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Authors: Lerma, V., Hamilton, L. T., & Nielsen, K.
Affiliations: University of California, Merced (US)
Cornell University (US)
Corresponding author: Lerma, Veronica
ORCID: Lerma, Veronica
Hamilton, Laura T
Venue: Social Problems
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published: 2019-05-13
Volume: 67
Issue: 2
Pages: 286-303
ISSN: 0037-7791 (ISSN-L)
1533-8533
DOI: 10.1093/socpro/spz011
OpenAlex: W2946393136
Cited by: 123
References: 48
Citations by year: 2026: 24 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 15 · 2018: 1
FWCI: 22.66
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
Locations: Social Problems (publishedVersion)
Funders: William T. Grant Scholars
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Movements and Cultural Identity
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
Keywords: student resistance, public universities, people of color, systemic racism, racial marginalization, diversity initiatives, racial inequity, campus diversity

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Racialized Equity Labor, University Appropriation and Student Resistance

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