Eternal Graffiti: Using Poetry to Develop Social Justice Educators

Introduction

Scholars have examined the discourse patterns employed by White people participating in discussions about race and racism (e.g., Bonilla-Silva, 2010; Haviland, 2008; Kendi, 2019). White people are frequently socialized to withdraw from discussions about race and, therefore, use a variety of discursive actions to disengage (DiAngelo, 2012). Silence can be employed by White people in their withdrawal from these discussions. The effects of White silence are to preserve White innocence and White ignorance (Applebaum, 2016; DiAngelo, 2012). That is, when White people do not participate meaningfully in discussions about race and racism, their own ideas are left unchallenged and they limit their opportunities to learn (Applebaum, 2016; DiAngelo, 2012). Ultimately, White silence operates to reinscribe White supremacy as it prevents White people from engaging in the necessary actions to dismantle racism (Applebaum, 2016; Bonilla-Silva, 2010; DiAngelo, 2012).

Although White silence has been defined through the investigation and analysis of people discussing race and racism explicitly, this type of silence is also used by White people in larger discussions of privilege and oppression. Prospective and practicing teachers are no exception. Scholars have investigated the discourse patterns in the contexts of teacher education (e.g., Haviland, 2008; Solomon, Portelli, Daniel, & Campbell, 2005). These discussions might focus on race, racism, equity, diversity, and social justice and the intersection of any of these ideas with teaching and learning. White silence can permeate these discussions and, therefore, inhibit the learning of all participants.

I am a White woman who is a mathematics teacher educator. For reasons I elaborate on elsewhere (see Johnson (2013) and Johnson (2016c)), I am committed to being a social justice educator. I strive regularly to disrupt the powerful pull of the socialization into White silence in my own life. Yet, White silence can dominate the lives of the students I work with who are overwhelmingly White. Approximately 82% of the students at this university are White, although I found this number to be low when compared with students I have in my own classes. Quick calculations revealed the percentage of White people in my courses over seven years exceeds 93%. I face tensions, then, on a regular basis as I try to disrupt White silence and engage in productive conversations about different facets of social justice education. Thus, I have explored a variety of pedagogical practices. I have come to better understand that there are more kinds of silence than I once imagined. For example, sometimes, I am asking prospective teachers to be silent and, other times, they are choosing silence. Each of these silences could have a different purpose. A variety of questions are raised, distilled, and captured in my poem: