A Critical Race Analysis of University Acts of Racial “Redress”: The Limited Potential of Racial Symbols

2020 ◽  
pp. 089590482098303
Author(s):  
Antar A. Tichavakunda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Historically White ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Student Demands ◽  
Historically White Institutions ◽  
Race Analysis

More historically White institutions of higher education are compelled to respond, in some way, to increased activism and awareness of continued legacies of racism and racial crises on campuses. The author suggests that how schools wrestle with their legacies of racism and/or respond to student demands to right racial wrongs on campus might be considered university acts of racial redress. Through a Critical Race Theory inspired chronicle, the author argues that seemingly positive university acts of racial redress such as policies, place un/naming, or public statements are, in fact, Racial Symbols that do little to change the material realities of racially marginalized people on campus.

scholarly journals Studying and Challenging Racism in Higher Education: Naming Bad Faith to Understand the “Logic” of Racism

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 602
Author(s):  
Antar A. Tichavakunda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Black People ◽  
Hate Crimes ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Bad Faith ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Disconfirming Evidence

In this conceptual essay, the author argues that bad faith is a valuable concept in understanding and challenging racism in higher education. The philosopher Lewis Gordon argues that racism is a manifestation of bad faith. For the actor who sees Black people as less than human, for example, no evidence will allow the actor to see otherwise. Bad faith is the disavowal of any disconfirming evidence which allows actors to maintain their worldviews. The author draws from high profile examples of racism in higher education as conceptual cases to make his argument. Specifically, the author demonstrates how attacks upon Critical Race Theory in education, the currency of critiques of microaggressions research, and the perennial difficulty to name racist violence on campus as hate crimes operate upon a logic of racism through bad faith.

Transforming Higher Education in South Africa: A New Approach to Governance

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-16
Author(s):  
Teboho Moja ◽  
Nico Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Historically White ◽  
New Approach ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Resource Needs ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Black Institutions ◽  
Historically White Institutions

A recent review of South African universities concluded that higher education institutions have “in place considerable facilities and a substantial capacity to respond to the reshaping of post-apartheid education. However, in general the historically white institutions (and a number of black institutions) have little moral and political legitimacy. In contrast, the majority of black institutions (and a few white institutions) have little or no academic credibility. Overall, the ‘system’ is seen as one that perpetuates inequality, is hugely wasteful and is not serving the human resource needs of the country. These problems have led to numerous demands for reforms in order to redress inequalities, and to ensure greater relevance, accountability and democracy.”

Transforming Higher Education in South Africa: A New Approach to Governance

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teboho Moja ◽  
Nico Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Historically White ◽  
New Approach ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Resource Needs ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Black Institutions ◽  
Historically White Institutions

A recent review of South African universities concluded that higher education institutions have “in place considerable facilities and a substantial capacity to respond to the reshaping of post-apartheid education. However, in general the historically white institutions (and a number of black institutions) have little moral and political legitimacy. In contrast, the majority of black institutions (and a few white institutions) have little or no academic credibility. Overall, the ‘system’ is seen as one that perpetuates inequality, is hugely wasteful and is not serving the human resource needs of the country. These problems have led to numerous demands for reforms in order to redress inequalities, and to ensure greater relevance, accountability and democracy.”

scholarly journals Studying Black Student Life on Campus: Toward a Theory of Black Placemaking in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 004208592097135
Author(s):  
Antar A. Tichavakunda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Black Student ◽  
Student Life ◽  
Historically White ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Black Residents ◽  
Urban Contexts ◽  
Historically White Institutions

This essay outlines how Black placemaking, a sociological framework used to study Black residents in urban contexts, might be used to study Black students’ experiences at historically White institutions (HWIs) of higher education. Black placemaking engages with the intersection of Blackness, place, structure, and agency. The author argues that this framework has the potential to more expansively study Black students’ lives, experiences, and mechanisms of engagement without discounting realities of oppression. Drawing from research on Black students attending HWIs and data from an ethnography conducted by the author, this essay conceptualizes a Black placemaking approach for higher education.

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