"I Quit!": White Privilege, White Fragility, and White-Hot Rage: A Poetic Response in Five Acts. (January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Persky, Julia
• Other Names: Bhattacharya Kakali guest-editor.; Atay Ahmet guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Qualitative inquiry. Volume 28:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 108
• Page End: 115
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Subjects: poetic inquiry -- Black Lives Matter -- White privilege -- White fragility; Social sciences -- Methodology -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 300.72
• DOI: 10.1177/10778004211006694
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1077-8004

Abstract

This work consists of five narrative poems that correspond to five moments, Acts, related to a lesson about institutional racism and White privilege, presented to preservice teachers, via Zoom. That White privilege, White fragility, and institutional racism exist is well established, as is the necessity of commitment to preparing preservice teachers for cultural competence and responsiveness. Therefore, the poetry is presented without a literature review, in an effort to highlight the layered tensions of the author's lived experience, the precarious positionality of tenure-track faculty, and the potential consequences of choices made, to teach (or not) controversial content.