In our yearlong examination of current educational research, I
found a very interesting study published in this month’s issue of American
Educational Research Journal published by AERA. The study was
entitled “‘Despite the Odds’: Unpacking the Politics of Black Resilience
Neoliberalism” completed by Kevin L. Clay of Rutgers University. There
were two things that initially caught my eye about the study. First, the title seemed to question that idea
of resilience, similar to the study that Jae Cody wrote about in last month’s
newsletter, and secondly, it was action research-- a type of research that
positions the researcher not only as a scientific observer but as an advocate,
implementing an action step of some sort. Action research is not a new
methodology, but it hasn’t always gotten the same attention as the other forms
of educational research.
In this case, the
researcher, working with eight high school students in an Upward Bound program,
set out to help them “destabilize” the idea of Black Resilience Neoliberalism
in order to “reconstitute empowerment”. Ok, that sounds really academic
and heady. However, the argument of the
study is much more accessible. The gist
of the study is that students have internalized a narrative about Black
resilience. The narrative tells them “despite the odds,” they can succeed.
On the face of it, that might seem like a good thing, right? We want our students to believe that no
matter their circumstances, hard work will pay off. And the author certainly states that he
doesn’t want anyone to be discouraged from working hard and doing their best in
the face of adversity and White supremacy. However, the Black resilience
narrative has consistently been used throughout the educational community as
well as throughout political dialogue on race, as a means of decentralizing the
larger story of structural racism that has created the need to overcome
adversity in the first place.
As an example,
Clay uses the rhetoric of former Presidential candidate Ben Carson, who is
African American and who often talks about how “exceptional” people-- and
specifically exceptional Black people-- will be successful no matter their
circumstances, so everyone should be exceptional and overcome their obstacles.
Clay argues that this type of rhetoric has a number of extremely negative
effects. First, it normalizes structural
racism. It essentially argues that the
system can’t be changed to become more equitable, so instead individuals simply
have to rise to the occasion and overcome racism. Second, it leaves those who are struggling to
overcome those obstacles feeling inherently broken. Stories of Black
exceptionalism-- people who have succeeded under extraordinary conditions--
when overused are “leveraged as a critique of Black folks who, for whatever
reason, cannot summon the will and long-suffering demonstrated by their
enslaved, maimed, and generally despised ancestors to mettle their way
through all manner of state-sponsored obstacles, dehumanization or terror.”
What is at stake,
Clay furthers, is “a desire to centralize ingenuity and triumphalism in a story
that is at its core a testament of the state’s perpetual violence against Black
people.” In working with his action research, he found that this group of
students-- all of whom were students of color-- had embraced many of the
aspects of this Black resilience narrative, and as a result had internalized
beliefs that if someone didn’t succeed, it was simply because of their own
shortcomings. Furthermore, they come to think of these oppressive
obstacles as character building. As one
of his students wrote in a journal, “I believe everyone has the chance to reach
their riches in life. If anything, where
I live [a segregated community] pushes me to fulfill my every dream.” In other words, she believes that her
experiences in segregated spaces actually toughens her for the fight ahead.
Within her world view, the inequality has become normalized and
unchangeable. It is no longer the
problem. Not having enough resilience
and toughness is.
Clay concludes
that the shift should be to exploring more narratives of “collective
transgression” on the part of the Black community. Instead of focusing on
stories of individuals who have overcome the system of White supremacy, stories
and narratives should highlight the success of “organized deviance” undermining
structural racism.
As mentioned in earlier
letters, educational research has the capacity to challenge and encourage
schools and educators beyond their current understandings. In a state
which still has the largest racial gap in student performance, we need to
continue to critique and question our choices and to work more diligently to
address the way we have institutionalized narratives that perpetuate the
problem.
