One Beige Crayon: Rethinking the Social Construction of Racism

A predominantly White group of 19 men and women educators in a graduate seminar on qualitative research methods explored the social construction of race through experiential learning of the interview method. They interviewed a primarily Black group of fellow educators, staff members, and students in their own schools. This critical analysis of students' struggles with knowledge construction reveals how educators talk about race and racism in the context of their personal and professional lives. The data suggested six ways in which race conflated with racism. In addition, racism was constructed as an exclusively Black and White experience and social agenda in public education.