Struggle as engagement

Struggle within the sociopolitical context of white supremacy culture (WSC) -- as characterized by Okun (n.d.) in Appendix F -- creates both individual and collective anxiety as community members try to reconcile the struggle with the conspiring pressures of perfectionism, a sense of urgency, and either/or thinking. This pressure to reflexively respond “appropriately” in the moment of confrontation was implied by many of the participants. For example, when asked about the barriers teachers face when trying to disrupt patterns of interpersonal racism, this participant explained:

The hardest thing is just being ready in the moment when it happens, to catch it and sort of handle it gracefully and adeptly and all of that. (Participant E, Phase Two Booklet, p.5)

Naming the pressure and anxiety experienced as a consequence of the interrelated characteristics of WSC potentially provides us an opportunity to pause so that we all have the space to process (read: struggle with) and prepare ourselves to offer a thoughtful response. Consider this participant’s explanation for why a student of Color’s impromptu announcement that he “felt white” prompted them to engage their class in a conversation about race and identity: 

“So things like that, just sort of giving them the space to talk about what they’re experiencing. Because a lot of the times, I think if we don’t actively give them that space, their default is just going to be to put on a good face and act like everything’s fine, and just go about their academic business. Because it’s the kind of school this is, and the pace is fast, and they’re not-- yeah, they’re not disposed naturally to give themselves emotional processing space, if we don’t sort of like puncture, put in these moments of pace slowing and inviting whatever reflection.” (Participant H, Phase Two Booklet, p.4)

This response suggests the need to create space for students to struggle as they try to make sense of themselves in relation to the world. As this participant suggests, without this space students default to “performing” the “good” student who is focused on the academic content we have framed as universal and racially neutral -- that is, “to put on a good face and act like everything’s fine” (Participant H, Phase Two Booklet, p.4). 

Cross-racial dialogues about race is a time when our conflicting realities are apparent.  Sue (2015) asserts, “Not only does race talk represent a clash of racial realities, but it is also a sociopolitical act in which the dominant group attempts to impose their version upon less empowered groups in our society” (Emphasis added, p.37-38). This assertion reminds me of a conversation I had with a student shortly after Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States. As she explained, as a Black woman, she knew -- “since day one of ninth grade” -- that it was unlikely that she would ever “feel comfortable” in this predominantly white independent school community; however, as she saw it, being assured “comfort” was not what school is about -- that is, discomfort and struggle necessarily result from engagement in the learning process. As such, she was perplexed by the reminders from her teachers and the administration to “be gentle” with the white male conservative students who felt their voices were being “oppressed,” both in the classroom and during community conversations about the national political climate. She wondered, “Why does it seem like everyone is now concerned with how comfortable students feel within the walls of the school building?” To appropriate a line from Participant H’s response above, perhaps it’s because it’s just the kind of school this is.

Imagine a world in which struggle was understood as a sign of engagement. A world in which it was commonly accepted that we were all struggling to make sense of ourselves in the world. A world in which the silence of students in our classrooms prompted us to reflect on our last few interactions with our students and/or the aspects of our classroom ecosystem that may result in the disengagement of some students (hooks, 1994). A world in which we reflexively reject deficit models that localize the reason for struggle within the individual. A world in which teachers understand the “saliency of race in education and society” and “the need to make racism explicit so that students can recognize and struggle against this particular form of oppression” (Ladson-Billings, 2016, p.26).