Abstract
The recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have violently shaken the sleeping consciousness of White America. In the wake of these killings, many White Americans are not only beginning to explore racism and its various presentations, but are also seeking an understanding of how to be antiracist—how to “confront, eradicate, and/or ameliorate racism” in their own personal and professional lives (Bonnet, 2000, p. 4). In the timely 2019 release of Letting Go of Literary Whiteness: Antiracist Literature Instruction for White Students, authors Carlin Borsheim-Black and Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides address how to tackle racism through literary study, particularly with White students.
Co-author Carlin Borsheim-Black spent many years in rural and small towns, teaching a predominantly White population, where she struggled to help White students “acknowledge racism in literature, in society today, in themselves, usually in the context of a curriculum that also centered Whiteness” (p. 2). When she and co-author Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides began careers in predominantly White institutions instructing pre-service teachers, many of whom planned to return to teach in their predominantly White communities, it became clear that there were few readily available resources that would support the antiracist work they were trying to do with their students. The culturally sustaining strategies they were accustomed to did not fit the needs of the classrooms since many White students planned to return to teach in White communities. This book provides the reader with language, tools, and strategies needed to teach about racism in the secondary or postsecondary English classroom. The authors explain that Derek Bell’s Critical Race Theory informs their understandings about race and racism, and they use much of the introductory chapter to provide the reader with a brief succinct description of the tenets of CRT: (1) the notion that racism is ordinary and not aberrational; (2) the idea of an interest convergence; (3) the social construction of race; (4) the idea of storytelling and counter-storytelling; and (5) the notion that whites have actually been recipients of civil rights legislation. (Hartlep, 2009, p. 6)
Chapter 1 acquaints the reader within the context that the book was authored, and gives insight into the problems that the authors experienced in their classrooms. Notably, the authors wrote that though some literature read in class highlighted race, classroom discussions they facilitated only resulted in “shallow understandings of racism.” These superficial discussions resulted in the realization that instruction about racism to White students could and should be done more effectively. This book proposes antiracist literature instruction as a tool to be used in the English classroom to make race a deliberate part of the curriculum in White-dominant schools. The authors wrote this book “. . . to expose the institutional, societal, epistemological, and interpersonal racism that undergirds our Whiteness, our White privilege” (p. 3).
Chapter 2 begins with the stark reminder that “Antiracist literature instruction does not happen by accident” (p. 15). This statement sets the tone for the discussion of how to create deliberate, intentional race-based assessments and instructional objectives when teaching antiracist literature. This chapter offers a description of an attempt at an antiracist lesson and transcript of a class discussion taught by Ms. Kinney. The author uses this lesson as a platform to discuss the importance of backwards design in antiracist instruction. Furthermore, the authors recognized concerns that come with teaching about racism, and articulate principles that will help English teachers create clear and strategic racial literacy instruction.
Since literature curriculum is saturated by Whiteness, it is important that antiracist literature celebrates characters and authors of color. Over the past 10 years, studies have shown that none of the texts taught most often are written by authors of color or feature characters of color (Table 3.1, p. 35). Chapter 3 introduces how to begin to consider race across the curriculum. Highlighted in this chapter is the idea that misinterpretations of racial perspectives occur when White readers are confronted with perspectives different from their own. To remedy this common misunderstanding of text by White readers, the authors suggest racialized reader response. This method engages White readers to reflect upon and understand the manner in which their Whiteness affects their interpretation of texts. This concept is expanded upon through the telling of an experience Borsheim-Black had with a predominantly White group of students in which many individuals were unaware that the novel being studied in class featured almost all Black characters. “Whiteness as default” (p. 34), the phenomena of White students failing to consider that characters could be any race but White, results in an avoidance of conversation about characters’ blackness or the readers’ whiteness. The authors round out the chapter by laying out principles that help an instructor select appropriate texts that allow to racialize students’ responses to literature. A very helpful table (p. 47) provides the reader with examples of questions that prompt students to consider their own race when responding to text, propelling the movement toward the first step to an antiracist classroom.
Two of the most provocative chapters, 4 and 5, challenge the reader to consider why certain texts by White authors about racism are canonical, and also how to use the CRT lens to effectively analyze the texts from an antiracist lens. These chapters provide the reader with important language that names themes that often appear in canonical literature about race. Through a study of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird, the authors reveal that sometimes “the racism English teachers want to interrupt is circulated in the racist ideologies of literary texts themselves” (p. 11). Looking at these texts differently allows students to consider racial implications of White characters in the book, and brings attention to the White Savior complex.
When discussing antiracist literature instruction, difficult conversations will be had. The authors address and acknowledge the fears that many teachers experience when attempting to facilitate a discussion about racism and its implications. The fear of stereotyping, saying something biased, not knowing how to control a conversation about race, and the fear of making a mistake in such a vital conversation are just some of the fears that teachers experience. For this reason, Chapter 6 outlines a wide range of strategies that support how to plan for and respond to “race talk”—conversations that address racism and Whiteness (p. 88). Being able to engage in race talk, especially when it is difficult and awkward, is a central goal of racial literacy. Since White students are often not conscious of how Whiteness shapes their perspective on the world, race talk can be so uncomfortable because it forces White people to examine that which has yet to be examined. The provision of proactive and reactive strategies to be implemented in the classroom support the teacher whose anxieties about race talk may hinder conducting the initial, necessary talk.
In the seventh and final chapter, the authors discuss effective ways to assess racial literacy progress. An important point made in this chapter is that starting off pedagogy by addressing White privilege is potentially damaging. It is instead suggested that “building a foundational understanding of complex race concepts can be a useful place to start” (p. 109), especially because there is less for White people to defend when learning about race concepts. The authors prescribe a method for assignment design that helps to scaffold racial literacy for the reader. This design includes formative assessments that allow students to develop “understanding of complex race concepts . . . and . . . work through the shame, guilt, and confusion that often go along with racial identity work” (p. 110). The authors then suggest resources that they have read, listened to, and watched that have helped deepen their own racial literacy including books, podcasts, documentaries, films, and antiracist teaching sources. In the conclusion, the authors most importantly recognize that even if teachers attempt to practice the principles and concepts laid out in this book, it is possible that “Whiteness will shift practices in response requiring teachers to change the ways that we work toward antiracist goals” (p. 122), meaning antiracist practices will have to be adjusted with time.
This “how-to” book is easily read and practical in nature. It provides the teacher delving into antiracist instruction with language that allows articulation of important concepts in racism. It also gives the reader information about how to effectively write antiracist objectives, how to teach the reader to analyze text through an antiracist lens, how to read classic texts about racism with a critical eye, managing difficult conversations about racism, and designing effective assignments that help to build racial literacy. Borsheim-Black and Sarigianides have thoughtfully and punctually given teachers of predominantly White classrooms tools needed to potentially change the level of acknowledgment and discussions around racism in secondary and post-secondary English classrooms of the present and future. When employed, the strategies and tools in this book have the potential to keep the conscience of White America awake.
