Abstract
In this chapter we argue that social studies education is rooted in a non-racist ideology that has been systemic within its history. Non-racism, the passive rejection of extreme racism in the form of behaviors, discourse, and ideology, effectively does little to transform our collective thinking about race. In fact, it reinforces racial structures and accepts terms of racism by being passive and silent about racial knowledge. Instead we propose that social studies promote more anti-racist frameworks for social studies education, which actively rejects institutional and structural aspects of race and racism. We propose using racial pedagogical content knowledge (RPCK) (Chandler, 2015) in social studies teacher education to move past non-racism and into anti-racist pedagogical spaces. We highlight contemporary forms of non-racism and juxtapose them/these forms with anti-racist approaches. We conclude with concrete suggestions and insights into moving past non-racism and further anti-racism in social studies teacher education.
George Bush doesn’t care about Black people. –Kanye West
It was one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency. He called me a racist.” “And I didn’t appreciate it then. I don’t appreciate it now. It’s one thing to say, ‘I don’t appreciate the way he’s handled his business.’ It’s another thing to say, ‘This man’s a racist.’ I resent it, it’s not true. –George Bush
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Notes
- 1.
West’s preceding speech juxtaposed societal discourse between White and Black victims during Hurricane Katrina and the systemic way Blacks have been discriminated in the US He stated, “I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, ‘They’re looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They’re looking for food.’ And, you know, it’s been 5 days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I’ve tried to turn away from the TV because it’s too hard to watch. I’ve even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I’m calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help—with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way—and they’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us!” see NBC News. (2005, September 2). Kanye West off the script. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/9172802#9172802
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King, L.J., Chandler, P.T. (2016). From Non-racism to Anti-racism in Social Studies Teacher Education: Social Studies and Racial Pedagogical Content Knowledge. In: Crowe, A., Cuenca, A. (eds) Rethinking Social Studies Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22939-3_1
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