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Racial discourse in the Black Lives Matter era: Black youth’s academic and digital experiences

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Racial discourse in the Black Lives Matter era: Black youth’s academic and digital experiences

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Racial Discourse in the Black Lives Matter Era:

Black Youth’s Academic and Digital Experiences

by Ashley Marie Stewart

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Urban Education Policy

December 2021

Copyright 2021 Ashley Marie Stewart

ii
Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to my grandparents, Willie & Katie Mitchell and William & Ethel
Stewart. Their love, guidance, and commitment to education are present throughout this work.

iii
Acknowledgements
As someone who makes a concerted effort to express gratitude for my community of
support every day, sitting down to write these acknowledgements is especially rewarding. This
dissertation, as well as, the academic, personal, and spiritual knowledge I have attained is a result
of the love, teaching, mentorship, and encouragement of so many people. Furthermore, this study
would not have been possible without the help of my family, peers, and mentors, along with so
many others. I could never have imagined that I would be journeying through this process during
a global pandemic. Given this fact, I want to take the time here to explicitly thank those who
have contributed to this dissertation’s completion, my development as a scholar, and my growth
as a woman.
First, I would like to name that this study would not be possible without the Black,
brilliant, young people who shared their time, experience, and insights with me. I could never
fully put into words the depths of my gratitude. These high school students were navigating
distance learning during a pandemic that was disproportionately affecting Black communities
while also navigating a sociopolitical context in which racial injustice and antiblack violence
persists. Yet, they took the time out of their days to share space with me and talk about their
experiences in profound ways and discuss the ways in which they activate and show up for
themselves and others in their own environments. It would be very easy for them to not want to
engage in these dialogues or shy away from some of these topics, but they leaned into them
instead, offering their own critical analysis of their immediate environments and the broader
national context. I cannot repay them for what they have given me, but I hope that I have
captured their voices and amplified them in ways here that can make a difference for the
educational experiences of Black high school students.

iv
Second, I would like to acknowledge my family who has supported every dream and goal
I have ever had. Specifically, I want to shout out my parents, Alan and Marie Stewart, who have
sacrificed so much to support me throughout my life and created a loving and supportive home
environment in which I was able to thrive, learn, and explore who I wanted to be. In the words of
the great Blue Ivy Carter, “I have never seen a ceiling in my whole life”. By this, I mean that I
have never felt limited in my capacity to do anything that I set my sights on, and that is because
of everything you have done to make sure I know that I am deeply loved and supported in
everything. From moving to New York to California to coming back home to live, you both have
allowed me to do what feels best for me with the knowing that you both have my back. I also
want to highlight my younger siblings, Amber and Antoine, who’s love, support, and lively
personalities have kept me laughing and loving during this process. Amber, you are my best
friend. Your encouragement, phone calls, reminders that I am “lit”, and visits to Los Angeles
have sustained me and helped me to feel closer to home more than you know. To my baby
brother, Antoine, who I call my “firstborn”, we have grown so close over this last year that we
both have been home because of the pandemic. We hadn’t lived in the same house since you
were in middle school, and I was just graduating from college. Being home with you during this
last year, I have gotten to know you better as young man, and I am so incredibly proud of the
loving, thoughtful, resourceful young man you have become. I also appreciate all the laughs and
errand running you do for me. I know I annoy you, but I greatly appreciate all the times when I
asked you to “do me a quick favor”. The four of you are my heart and soul, and God could not
have given me a better family.
I’d also like to thank my aunts, uncles, and cousins whose prayers, texts, calls, and
cashapps have been truly instrumental in my success. There are too many of you all to name.

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However, having such a large family who prays on my behalf and has shown me what it means
to take care of each other and be a kind human being is something that I have extended to the
families I have made away from home. The love you all have shown me is the same love that I
extend to my friends turned family in the cities I have lived. My love for you all runs deep, and I
am so proud of all of my cousins who are coming behind me that will change the world with
their gifts and talents.
To my extended, California family, Slaughterhouse, you all have truly been my saving
grace. From my first campus visit, I felt the warmth, care, and commitment to community from
our senior members, Drs. Antar Tichavakunda, Marissiko Wheaton, and Joshua Schuschke.
Antar, my friend, brother, mentor, and DC family (I know I’m not from DC lol), your friendship
has meant the world to me since my first year in this program. You were one of my first and
closest friends and modeled what it meant to connect with and extend my hand to other Black
scholars coming behind me. Additionally, our Saturdays at LMU Library will forever hold a
special place in my heart. Some of my best writing over the last five years took place during
those times, and the enjoyment I felt working with you is one that I mentally returned to when I
questioned whether I belong in the academy. Your voice messages are highlights of my day, and
I cannot wait until we can share space and write together again. Next, my sweet, Koko, you are
my sister, my gym partner, my spiritual mentor, and one of the kindest people I know. I can’t put
into words what your sisterhood means to me. You shared your life with me in ways that truly
helped me to feel at home in Los Angeles. From sharing your gym, trainer and therapist to
inviting me to church with you, you helped me to create a full life outside of the program in ways
that stretched me and helped me to grow into the woman and scholar I am today. To the last of
our senior bunch, but certainly not the least, my brother Josh. You have been by my side since

vi
day one as a co-advisee. Your listening ear, critical eye on my work, and open door policy at
your home, means more to me than you will ever know. From a co-advisee and mentor to
someone I consider a brother and one of my closest friends, I just want to thank you for all the
ways you have shown love and care to me over the last five years. All of the fried chicken
dinners, sending me your work to reference, and pulling me on your papers to co-author, you are
truly one of a kind, and we are locked in for life.
To one of Slaughterhouse’s finest, future Dr. Aireale Rodgers, my sissy and my partner-
in-everything, you are a brilliant and thoughtful scholar, thinker, and my safe space. We always
say we don’t know exactly when or how it happened, but somehow we connected and the rest
was history. You have pushed me to think bigger about what is possible in the academy and to
think more deeply about how I want to exist within it. The HOURS we have spent writing
together, thinking together, crying together, and visioning together have expanded me in ways I
could have never imagined. I cannot wait to continue growing and learning with you. In the
words of Electra Abundance, “YOU ARE F****** EVERTHING”. P.S. Just give Aireale the
PhD already!
As a community, Slaughterhouse has surely provided comfort, affirmation, care, and
support during my time in this program. I want to give a special shout out to a few people: Future
Drs. Akua Nkansah-Amankra, Taylor Enoch-Stevens, and James Bridgeforth, who’s
commitment to virtual writing groups has gotten me through dissertation writing and job
applications. I know that you will continue to lead and create community for Black students at
Rossier in ways that will continue to sustain and retain them.
As a Black woman, I can say with certainty, that I would not have made it to this point
without Black women. First and foremost, I have to acknowledge my advisor and forever

vii
mentor, Dr. Brendesha Tynes, who’s care, support, and commitment to innovation has guided me
for the last six years. The love and care she shows to her students is what I hope to emulate as an
advisor and mentor to my own students. Her vision and brilliance has been an honor to witness
and learn from. Drs. Jasmine Abrams, Diane Hughes, and Riana Anderson, I am so grateful for
the ways that you all have pushed me, mentored me, and modeled what grace, compassion, and
humanity can look like in this work. I would also like to name that these women are
ROCKSTARS in their respective fields. They are true to themselves, and they DO THE WORK!
I would also like to thank so many others who have supported my work and mentored me
along the way. First, I’d like to thank the rest of my committee Drs. Stanley Huey and Erika
Patall, who have been supportive, flexible, and compassionate as I embarked on the dissertation
process during a pandemic. Their insights and the questions they asked truly pushed my thinking
and informed the way I approached the work. I would also like to thank Dr. Dave Quinn who has
been in my corner since my first year of the program and continues to support and write letters
on my behalf. I truly appreciate those early conversations about being intentional in shaping my
career and being thoughtful about where and how I want to exist in the academy. I have to thank
my mentor/ bestie Dr. Juan Del Toro, who took me under his wing while I was a master’s student
at NYU and trained and supported me in developing my skills in statistics. He is also the one
who introduced me to my current phenomenal advisor, and has supported me in every way
imaginable during my time as a doctoral student. This is a forever thing, friend. I love you with
my whole heart. There are no bounds for my gratitude for all of these amazingly brilliant humans
Last, but never least, I have to thank my friends! (well, my non-academic friends). To my
best friend, Chantel, who has been there for every move to a new city and supported everything
I’ve ever wanted to do, I love you deep, my sister. Your compassion and understanding

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whenever I was distant and could not show up as my best self is what I have leaned on as we
have grown together and apart over the last five years. You have always shown up for me and
made space for me in your life, and I could never take your friendship and sisterhood for granted.
It’s Pam and Gina for life! Shante, my sister, has truly been a cheerleader and always expressed
an unwavering faith in my abilities to achieve any goal. You have been overly generous and
always gone out of your way to include me in your special moments, even when I didn’t always
see how it would be possible. You work so incredibly hard, and you are so loyal to those you
love. I’m so proud of everything you have done and will do to create the life you envision for
yourself. My sweet, Maya, who always holds space for me to unravel and is an affirming safe
haven for me, always, my love for you is limitless. I want to give a special shout-out to my LA
community Morgan, Richy, Ashlee, Liane, Tonji, Petty, Norris and Danika. You all really held
me down while I was living in LA, and I am forever grateful for all of you, individually, and
collectively. You all are now stuck with me forever.
Finally, as I conclude, I want to thank the rest of my community, too many people to
name in this document, but whose presence is felt as I write in this moment. My Sorority sisters,
friends, cohort-mates, peers, and former teachers who have played any role in who I am in this
moment, I thank you with everything in me. To my ancestors who protect and guide me and
Spirit who dwells within me, my prayer is always that I am in deep alignment with your plan.
With that, I close here. This moment is for my VILLAGE!

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Table of Contents
Dedication…………………………………………………………………….…….. ii
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………….…...... iii
Abstract………………………………………………………………………...…… xi
Chapter I: Integrative Introduction…………………………………………………. 1
Chapter II: Paper 1………………………………………………………………….. 8
Chapter III: Paper 2 ………………………………………………………………... 29
Chapter IV: Paper 3………………….……………………………...……………… 57
Chapter V: Integrative Conclusion…………………………………………………. 84
References…………………………………………………………………………... 87

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Abstract
Previous research has established the deleterious effects of negative racial experiences
and messages on Black youth’s development across domains (Benner, 2018) For academic
outcomes, in particular, online racial discrimination, defined by Tynes and colleagues (2008) as
experiences that threaten, exclude, or target individuals based on race and ethnicity through
online tools such as video, text, images etc was found to be negatively associated with students
desire to persist and do well in school (Tynes, Del Toro, Lozada, 2015). Relatedly, while online
racial traumatic events such as seeing a video of police shooting a Black person has not yet been
examined in relation to academic outcomes, it has been linked to symptoms of PTSD and
depression for Black adolescents (Tynes, Willis, Stewart, & Hamilton, 2019). These important
findings underscore the need for further exploration of how Black youth make sense of these
experiences and what they might need to thrive academically in spite of these experiences. The
current dissertation uses mixed-methods to examine how Black youth make sense of the negative
racial online experiences and online racial trauma and the role that teachers play in helping them
to cope and evaluate these experience. Implications for academic outcomes are also explores and
discussed.

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Chapter I: Introduction
Racial violence toward Black communities in the US is more visible than ever before via
online mediums and media outlets. This highlights the critical need for more research examining
the implications of constant exposure to negative racial messages and experiences for Black
young people. This, coupled with the novel coronavirus pandemic that is disproportionately
affecting Black communities (Center for Disease Control, 2020) and the lack of a federal
response also reiterates the message that Black lives do not matter. Furthermore, Black youth are
being asked to engage academically via virtual schooling when sufficient technology and
broadband is not always accessible. Though academic motivation and engagement decrease in
adolescents of all races and ethnicities (Gnambs & Hanfstingl, 2016; Ryan & Patrick, 2001;
Symonds, Schoon, Eccles, & Salmela-Aro, 2019), Black youth have historically faced, and
continue to face unique barriers to educational experiences that recognize their humanity and
facilitate perceived active engagement and optimal learning. However, the inundation of
messaging around racial violence and the #Blacklivesmatter movement makes this historical
moment impossible for everyone, and specifically educators, to ignore. Thus, a critical question
becomes: How can educators, families, and scholars best support Black young people as they
navigate online and offline worlds that perpetuate and circulate anti-blackness?
Definitions of Online Race-related Experiences
For almost the last two decades, scholars have examined the ways that digital social
settings facilitate and reproduce racialized social environments similar to those in offline
settings. For Black youth, in particular, experiences in these settings are also racialized in unique
ways. These online experiences can include both subtle and overt forms of racism (Tynes,
Lozada, Smith & Stewart, 2018). Scholars have used a variety of terminology when it comes to

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describing such experiences. Terms include cyber racism (Daniels, 2009), online racial
discrimination (Tynes et al., 2008), online microgressions (Tynes, Lozada, Smith & Stewart,
2018), and racialized aggressions (Gin, Martinez-Aleman, Rowan-Kenyon, and Hottell, 2017)
among others. While each of these terms describe experiences that are racialized and occurring
in digital spaces, these experiences are not all created equally. There are nuances, as well as,
differential impacts on the lives of those who are targeted. To begin to tease out some of these
nuance, Tynes and colleagues (2018) propose the Taxonomy of Online Racism, a
comprehensive model that attempts to highlight the various types of manifestations of online
racism, ranging from those subtle forms of racism authors termed online racial microaggressions,
to those most violent and egregious acts authors categorized as online hate crimes.
Online racial microagressions, as a term, encompasses a range of experiences. Building
on the work of Sue and colleagues (2007), Tynes et al., define online racial microagressions as
“subtle, intentional, or unintentional visual nonverbal and verbal, representations of racist ideas
about people of color in online settings” (Tynes et al., 2018). These respresentations can be
present in online media, games, or images and can be designed with the goal of educating but
simultaneously denigrating or excluding people of color. Online racial discrimination involves a
more interpersonal victimization that can be experiences directly or vicariously. This type of
victimization can include threatening, intentionally excluding or targeting individuals or
communities based on their racial group membership (Tynes et al., 2008). The last categorization
in the Taxonomy of Online Racism is online hate crimes. Online hate crimes involve actions that
can be punishable by law including, but not limited to, harassment, stalking or cyberbullying.
While the Taxonomy of Online Racism captures a myriad of racist digital experiences, it
does not claim to identify every racist online experience one can have. For example, exposure to

3
race-related traumatic events online has seemingly heightened over the last decade with citizens
taking public accountability of police violence into their own hands by recording and sharing
these instances. Movements that raise awareness of antiblack police violence and killings using
digital plaforms have many positive impacts, namely putting pressure on judicial systems and
policymakers to take action in holding police and vigilantes accountable for the deaths of people
of color and Black people, in particular. At the same time, the constant sharing and resharing of
Black trauma and death, I argue, can be categorized as race-related online experience for Black
people and has been found to have negative mental health impacts (Tynes, Willis, Stewart, &
Hamilton, 2019). As research examining effective methods of supporting youth as they
experience negative race-related events or discrimination continues to develop, understanding
the role that teachers and those in academic settings play in facilitating or inhibiting youth of
color from effectively interpreting or evaluating the messages from these experiences.
The Current Dissertation Study
Previous research has established the deleterious effects of negative racial experiences
and messages on Black youth’s development across domains (Benner, 2018). For academic
outcomes, in particular, online racial discrimination, defined by Tynes and colleagues (2008) as
experiences that threaten, exclude, or target individuals based on race and ethnicity through
online tools such as video, text, images etc was found to be negatively associated with students
desire to persist and do well in school (Tynes, Del Toro, Lozada, 2015). Relatedly, while online
racial traumatic events such as seeing a video of police shooting a Black person has not yet been
examined in relation to academic outcomes, it has been linked to symptoms of PTSD and
depression for Black adolescents (Tynes, Willis, Stewart, & Hamilton, 2019). These important
findings underscore the need for further exploration of how Black youth make sense of these

4
experiences and what they might need to thrive academically in spite of these experiences. As
such my dissertation will address the following questions:
Paper 1: How do Black youth make sense of negative racial online experiences and
online racial trauma to which they are exposed?
Paper 2: What is the association between teacher conversations about race-related topics
and academic engagement in Black youth. What are the developmental differences, if any?
Paper 3: What is the nature of conversations around race in high school classrooms?
What is the role of tech? How do Black high school students perceive the utility of these
conversations?
Theory: The proposed study is guided by developmental theories of engagement and
race-related experiences. Specifically, for paper 2, I will be using Wang and colleagues (2019)
Integrative Model of Development-in Sociocultural-Context Model of Engagement which
examines the process by which engagement is promoted or inhibited by individual and setting-
level factors, as well as its overall role in contributing to the development of resiliency and
optimal life outcomes. Additionally, I am leaning on foundational scholarship in the areas critical
race pedagogy and school racial-ethnic socialization.
Methods
Papers 1& 3: Sample
Data is 16 self-identified Black students in grades 9-12, mixed in gender.
Recruitment: Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants for the study. In these hour-
long semistructured interviews, participants were asked to describe a time where they have seen
negative depictions or violence toward Black people online. Probes encouraged students to give
details about their perceptions and responses to it. The interviews moved on to ask about

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experiences in classrooms discussing topics around race and racism, particularly, the issue most
present in online media and outlets.
Paper 2 Sample
Data comes from a larger national study of examining the online learning experiences of 1,586
11-19 year-old adolescents. The analytic sample includes 456 Black youth ages 11-
19. Participants were recruited from the Qualtrics panel service. The sample was 65% female-
identified, 25% male-identified, 8% identified as transgender or gender non-conforming, and 2%
declined to answer. The average age was 16.7 years (SD = 1.92). To avoid self-selection bias, the
survey invitation did not include specific details about the contents of the survey.
Measures Paper 2
Participants self-reported their age, gender, grade, and race.
Teacher Discussions of Race-related Topics. Teacher discussions of race-related topics were
assessed using four-items developed for this study. Participants were asked to respond on a 5-
point likert scale ranging from 1-Never to 5-often. Sample items included “I have had a teacher
discuss the online viral videos of police brutality” and “I have had teachers help me to think
critically about social justice issues” (4 items, a=.87)
Academic Engagement. Academic engagement was assessed using two scales examining
cognitive and behavioral engagement. Cognitive engagement was evaluated using 3-items from
the Engagement versus Disaffection with Learning Student Report (Furrer & Skinner, 2003;
Skinner & Belmont, 1993; Skinner et al., 2009) (a = .84). Behavioral engagement was evaluated
using 3-items from the Engagement versus Disaffection with Learning Student Report (a = .83).

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Developmental Consideration and Significance
The current set of studies examines the digital and academic experiences of adolescents
across this developmental stage. Research suggests that as early as 10 years old, Black children
are regarded as less innocent than their white counterparts (Goff, Eberhardt, Williams, &
Jackson, 2008). This finding has implications for the level of care and protection that are
ascribed to Black children and youth. Moreover, as Black youth experiences of discrimination
becomes more prevalent during adolescence (Umana-Taylor, 2016), examining how they make
sense of these experiences in the digital contexts they so often engage is of necessity.
Additionally, adolescence is a formative period in which racial identity is becoming more
salient (Erikson, 1968).

As such, adolescents are becoming more equipped to perceive their
experiences and those of others as racialized. Youth coming across denigrating messages and
images about their race are also potentially self-identifying with the individuals directly affected
by the experience and perceiving a potential threat based on membership in a particular ethnic
racial group. It may also make adolescents keenly aware that individuals encountering the
experience could easily have been them, and this may decrease participants’ sense of control over
what happens to them.
Psychologists, and specifically developmentalists, have engaged in rigorous and
important scholarship examining the impacts of negative race-related experiences for Black
children and youth. Notably, research on discrimination increased substantially beginning in the
mid-nineties, and has been examined in youth samples across racial ethnic groups. However, I
argue that an explicit focus on antiblackness as a sociohistorical backdrop for the experiences of
Black youth is critical for understanding the lasting effects of discrimination and developing
effective interventions.

7
This dissertation project is situated at the intersection of the racialized academic and
digital lives of Black youth and contributes to the literature in both of these areas. Findings from
this study will provide an understanding of how Black youth understand and make sense of their
online race-related experiences and the role that teachers can play to create a supportive and
understanding environment in which the lived experiences of Black youth are valued and
considered in the classroom.

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Chapter II

“It Could Be Me”: A Qualitative Exploration of Black Youth’s Sense-making around Online
Racism and Trauma

Ashley M. Stewart, M.A.

9

Abstract

As the internet and technology have become integrated into daily life, youth are
constantly being exposed to and accumulating information regarding the ways that social
hierarchies function to produce differential experiences for communities of color. Specifically,
online racism, a small but growing area of study over the last two decades, has been identified as
a common experience for Black adolescents with implications for mental health and academic
outcomes. Additionally, Black youth’s access to online media and technology also exposes them
content and video of antiblack violence and racial trauma. Little is known about how Black
youth are making sense of these experiences and managing the emotions that accompany these
experiences. Thus, the current dissertation study uses semistructured interviews to get an in-
depth understanding of youth’s online race-related experiences and how they perceive these
experiences. Using thematic analysis several themes emerged from the data. Notably, Black high
school students named TikTok as a platform where they consume race-related content. Youth
also named various emotions including sadness, anger, and fear when describing moments when
they were exposed to racist content or online race-related traumatic events. In describing these
experiences, youth also made connections between targets/victims in these videos of racial
violence and themselves or members of their families. Relatedly, they also described how their
parents and family members discussed and unpacked these issues after watching viral videos of
antiblack violence. Implications for future research and technology use are discussed.

10
Introduction

Forty-five percent of adolescents in the United States report being online “almost
constantly”, and there is approximately another 45% that report going online multiple times per
day (Anderson & Jiang, 2018; Pew Research Center, 2018). As the internet and technology have
become integrated into daily life, youth are constantly being exposed to and accumulating
information regarding the ways that social hierarchies function to produce differential
experiences for communities of color. More recently, scholars have studied and theorized the
ways in which racialized experiences such as prejudice, racism and discrimination, specifically,
manifest online. While evidence suggests that youth of color are experiencing and witnessing
online racism (Tynes, Giang, Williams, & Thompson, 2008; Tynes, Seaton, & Zuckerman,
2015), less is known about how Black youth make sense of these encounters, the emotions that
follow, and their strategies for managing these emotions. Thus, the current dissertation study
uses a qualitative approach to explore how Black adolescents make sense of the negative race-
related messages and content they encounter online.
Online Race-related Experiences and Adjustment
Scholars have studied and theorized online racism using a variety of terms including
cyber racism (Daniels, 2009) and online racial discrimination. It has been defined as a system of
anti-people of color practices that privilege and maintain political, cultural, and economic power
for Whites in digital spaces (Tynes, Lozada, Smith & Stewart, 2018). This system can be
ideological or structural in nature, perpetuating and maintaining hierarchies of privilege and
oppression based on membership in a particular racial-ethnic group. Online racism may be built
and expressed in the infrastructure or interface of programs and websites or through
interpersonal interactions vis-à-vis games or social media. Examples of online racism can

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include witnessing or experiencing online racial discrimination, microaggressions, race-related
traumatic events online, as well as, hate crimes. (Tynes, Lozado, Smith & Stewart, 2018).
Online racism has become more common in recent years for Black and Latinx
populations in particular. The Teen Life Online and in Schools (TLOS) Project, a mixed-method
longitudinal study, specifically, examined the online habits and race-related experiences of a
diverse sample of 6
th
- 12
th
grade students (Tynes, Del Toro, & Lozada, 2015). Using a subsample
of 340 African-American, Latino, Asian and biracial adolescents, findings indicate that 42% of
minority youth reported that they had experienced at least one direct (individual) discriminatory
incident in the first year, with 55% in the second year and 58% in the third year reporting such an
incident. Sixty-four percent of minority youth indicated that they had experienced at least one
vicarious discriminatory incident in the first year, with 69% the second year and 68% the third
year. The most common direct discriminatory experience reported across waves was, “People
have shown me a racist image online” (Tynes, Seaton & Zuckerman, 2015)
Scholars have noted that youth’s race-related online experiences have implications for
their adjustment and well-being offline. For instance, online racial discrimination (ORD) and
viewing traumatic race-related content online, such as police brutality and/or child detainment,
have both been linked to negative mental health outcomes for Black and Latinx youth, with
viewing traumatic-events online being uniquely associated with symptoms of post-traumatic
stress (Tynes, et al., 2008; Umana-Taylor, et al., 2015; Tynes et al., 2019), while activities
related to exploring racial-ethnic identity online were positively related to developing social
skills (Lozada & Tynes, 2017) and serve as potential protective factors against ORD (Stewart, et
al., forthcoming). However, less is known about how these negative experiences are perceived
and managed by Black youth.

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Research has shown that adolescents of color experience both individual and vicarious
online racial discrimination at high rates. This affects youth from marginalized backgrounds at
various developmental stages, as college students report that online racial discrimination mirrors
their campus environment (Gin et al. 2015). When it comes to academic outcomes in particular,
Tynes and colleagues (2015) found that online racial discrimination negatively impacted
students’ utility value and focus on achieve in school. Specifically, findings from this study
revealed that increases in online racial discrimination were associated with similar decreases in
academic motivation. These negative race-related experiences in online contexts have
implications for outcomes and experiences in offline contexts. Thus research examining how
youth make sense of them and subsequently engage in school is of critical importance. The
current dissertation study aims to explore this phenomenon qualitatively to better understand
how Black youth are perceiving these experiences and subsequently managing their emotions.
While racial discrimination affects the lives of adolescents in a myriad of ways,
numerous studies highlight factors that might potentially buffer the effects of these race-related
experiences. Research highlighting protective factors and youth coping strategies against online
discrimination is limited. Tynes and colleagues (2012) examined the protective function of self-
esteem and ethnic identity on the association between online racial discrimination and
psychological adjustment in a sample of Black youth. Their findings supported earlier work
examining these associations in offline contexts. Specifically, they found that the negative effects
of online racial discrimination on African American adolescents’ anxiety were minimized for
those reporting higher self-esteem and a more positive ethnic identity. While this quantitative
study provides information about qualities and traits that buffer against the effects of negative

13
online race-related experiences, little is known about how these youths think about and make
sense of their experiences, or what informs how they make sense of them.
One factor that likely informs how they make sense of these experiences and messages
are their parents and families. To protect youth from the impacts of discrimination and racism,
Black and Latinx parents have provided strategies and culturally-relevant parenting behaviors.
For example, racial socialization, the verbal or non-verbal communication between caregivers
and youth (Hughes, et al.,2006) has been identified as a protective factor in a number of
academic and psychosocial outcomes depending on how caregivers use each of the four tenets.
Cultural socialization defined as messages and behaviors that highlight pride for one’s culture
and ancestry has been linked to academic achievement (Neblett, Phillip, Cogburn & Sellers,
2006), racial identity development (Murry, Berkel, Brody & Miller, 2009), and fewer depressive
symptoms (Liu & Lau, 2013). Preparation for bias or messages that raise awareness of
discrimination are often used where parents might perceive greater discrimination or after a
racial incident, such as the death of Michael Brown or other police shootings (Thomas &
Blackmon, 2015). Specifically, in the online context, adolescents might also be exposed to more
online commentary surrounding major racial incidences such as these. This commentary can at
times illuminate explicitly or implicitly racist messages. However, preparation for bias has also
been linked negative outcomes including depressive symptoms and anxiety when used at high
levels. Scholars argue that preparation for bias messages are most effective when used with
affirming cultural socialization messages (Anderson & Stevenson, 2019). Less commonly used
in Black families, egalitarianism or color blind attitudes that suggest that race has no bearing on
one’s success (Hughes et al., 2006).

14
However, when used with cultural socialization, egalitarianism has been linked to a more
positive self–concept for adolescents (Neblett, Rivas-Drake, Umaña-Taylor, 2012).
As racially minoritized youth experience increasing rates of racism online, it becomes important
to know what factors or people in their immediate environments provide strategies for coping
and understanding these experiences. Additionally, Stevenson (2014) posits that racial
socialization provides youth access to the politics and societal rules around race relations and
conflict. Moreover, once exposed to these rules, youth might learn that while these online
experiences are negative, they don’t have to be detrimental to success.
Differences between Online and Offline Racial Experiences
Online discrimination. According to Tynes et al. (2012), online racial discrimination
occurs when symbols, voices, video, images, and/or text are used to disparage an individual
based on their race. The racialized landscape of social media and the internet has led to an
environment whereby youth may encounter racist messages in a variety of forms. Early research
argued that perceived anonymity online may heighten the likelihood of individual expression of
intergroup biases (Glaser & Kahn, 2005). Recent work suggests that social media is more
“anonymous,” and revealing one’s identity can make individuals more susceptible to
discrimination (Kahn, Spencer, & Glaser, 2013). Given the perception of privacy online,
perpetrators can feel as though they are in a large crowd of others with a low likelihood of
identification, which arguably leads to less self-monitoring when expressing beliefs (Kahn et al.,
2013).
The more permanent nature of internet interaction also distinguishes offline from online
experiences (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008). Face-to-face experiences potentially fade from memory,
but online targets have a lasting record and may experience the same incident repeatedly; if

15
unreported and not removed, the text or image can remain on a given site in perpetuity. Targets
and witnesses may revisit the site, save it to their devices, retweet (resend messages on the
microblogging site Twitter), or repost. Repeated viewing of the text, image, and video can be
common in online settings (Malamuth, Linz, & Yao, 2005) and may increase opportunities for
rumination.
All Online Experiences are not Created Equally
As described in chapter 1 of this dissertation, there are number of ways that online racism
can manifest. While online racism, broadly, is generally negative, it is important to understand
the nuances and differential impacts of its various manifestations in effort to effectively address
it or design interventions. For example, addressing online racial microaggressions in the form of
misinformation in online media will potentially look differently from addressing online racial
discrimination in the form of being called a racial slur by another individual in an online setting.
Additionally, the ways that youth respond to and make sense of these manifestations may also be
different. Similarities have been found in the relation between some negative online race-related
experiences and outcomes such as mental health in quantitative studies. Namely, both online
racial discrimination and exposure to online race-related traumatic events online have been
linked to negative mental health outcome (Tynes et al, 2012; Tynes, Willis, Stewart, &
Hamilton, 2019). However, we know little about the qualitative differences in the way youth
interpret and make sense of these distinct experiences or others.
The Present Study
The current study takes a qualitative approach to better understand Black youth’s online
experiences and how they interpret these experiences. Specifically, the current dissertation aims
to address the guiding question: How do Black youth make sense of negative racial online

16
experiences and online racial trauma to which they are exposed? Additionally, I aim to learn
more about how Black youth talk about and manage their emotions when seeing racist content or
videos depicting antiblack violence in online spaces. Given that racial injustice and antiblack
violence is persistent, understanding how Black adolescents are perceiving and making sense of
these modern manifestations of it is critical. Furthermore, adolescence is a period in which Black
youth are exploring their own racial identities and the social positions tied to their identities
(Brittian, 2012). Encountering and witnessing antiblack commentary and violence via online
media, while a common experience, is deeply consequential for Black youth’s well-being.
Method
Participants and Recruitment
The sample was 16 self-identified Black students in grades 9-12, mixed in gender.
Recruitment was done using snowball sampling. I initially advertised the study using my social
networks online, as well as, offline networks that circulated the recruitment flyer to their
networks. Interested parties reached out to the author via email. Once an interested party
contacted the author, they received and completed a google form that would determine if they
met criteria for the survey, indicated whether they are 18 or 17 and under, and provided their
own contact information and contact information for parents if they were minors. For those who
met criteria parents were emailed a consent form to be signed electronically by them and the
student. Only once consent and assent was received were participants scheduled for zoom
interviews. Participants who were already 18 were sent consent forms to be signed electronically
and returned before scheduling an interview.

17
Study Procedure
Once consent/assent forms were returned and an interview was scheduled, participants
received a zoom invitation via email that included date and time of the interview, as well as a
link to the zoom room. Once we were both in the room, I reviewed the purpose of the study once
more. I also asked the participant for permission to record the interview. If the participant
granted permission to record, I then asked them to choose a pseudonym and provided them with
instructions to change their display name on zoom to that synonym. I then started the recording.
In these 45-minute long semi-structured interviews, participants were asked to describe the types
of race-related content they see online, how and what they feel when seeing such content, and
where or with whom they talk about these topics. Probes encouraged students to give details
about the conversation, their perceptions and responses to it. The interview moved on to ask
about how they make decisions about how or when to respond when encountering racist content
online. Each interview was transcribed and uploaded with no personal identifying information.
Participants received a $15 gift card for their participation in the study. Given the sensitive
nature of race-related topics, participants were also given a list of mental health resources at the
conclusion of the interview.
Analysis
Given that quantitative studies on race-related online experiences provide some insight
into the types of experiences youth are having (Tynes, Willis, Stewart, & Hamilton, 2019), we
took a deductive and inductive analytic approach. Thematic analysis was used to systematically
analyze the data (Braun & Clark, 2006). First transcripts were uploaded and stored in Nvivo. I,
along with my research assistant, who also identifies as a Black woman, read interview
transcripts, and developed a coding scheme that included any topics that were related classroom

18
conversations around race, social justice issues, and the role of technology. I then re-read all 16
transcripts, coded the interviews in NVivo, and wrote memos noting trends while coding. I then
read through my memos and excerpts in NVivo to indicate observable patterns in the data and
reviewed these with the research assistant to share, discuss, and interpret the memos and excerpts
coded. The final agreed-upon themes were chosen based on their relevance to the research
questions. Themes are presented below.
Results
Participants in this study describe their exposure to negative race-related content and
racial trauma in online spaces. In discussing how they make sense of it, five themes emerged: 1)
the role of emotion 2) personally identifying with the victim or target 3) coping strategies 4)
parent conversations and 5) digital actions and reactions. In this section I, first, describe the
nature of the content and experiences participants shared. Then I describe, in depth, each of the
five themes.
Tik Toks and Trauma: Racialized Online Content and Experiences
Youth in the study describe various types of negative race-related online content,
comments, and media. For example, Kelly describes the type of content she would see online
during the period of time around the presidential election. She says:
On TikTok, even my friends would send me things and be like, "Look at this." It would be a
bunch of Trump supporters doing just terrible things, saying how they could never accept a black
person of color vice president, how they think Joe Biden's going to do a terrible job because he
put her in charge, and all that stuff. It kind of just depended on what source of social media I
went to.

Anne highlights the role of mainstream media and social media in spreading awareness of
the violence toward Black people. She says “At least on my Google News, I read a lot about the
Black people being killed. That's where I get a lot of my information, as well as I follow a lot of

19
Black Lives Matter accounts on Instagram. I get some of my news from there as well.”
Conversely, Megan, 15, shares a story in which she was personally targeted. She says:

This other girl made a fake TikTok page, with my name on it and my face on it...Because, we
were having a heated conversation. One of her friends recorded it, and then like screenshotted
my face and put it all over it. And, it made me look really angry. But, it was like I wouldn't call
that racially targeted, because she didn't specifically say angry black woman or something like
that. But, she's had other confrontations with white people and she's never done that. So, it made
me think twice about it.

Megan describes her experience, but she hesitates to name it as one that is racialized.
Interestingly, she does name the racist and stereotypical nature of the TikTok, but is less
comfortable speaking to the other student’s intention behind the video. Participants also
mention the race-related traumatic events that they have witnessed in online settings speaking
directly to videos of police violence towards Black people. Chloe says:
I remember I saw the video of the man who got killed when he was running. Yeah. I saw that
video and that again really made me sad because he kind of was targeted. Then also the other
video of I'm pretty sure it was the man who was outside of the Wendy's and he was sitting in his
car.

Chloe is speaking of the recorded deaths of South Carolina’s Walter Scott in 2015 and the recent
death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, Georgia. These young people not only mentioned the
videos themselves, but they also referenced the discourse and commentary around this targeted
violence. When asked about what type of racist messages and content she is exposed to, Kelly
shares:
Mainly just the posting of videos from the Black Lives Matter movement, a lot of those and
people saying that black people deserved it because we were violent, that we were having a
violent protest. I have seen clips of those.

Kelly names the fact that people often make justifications for police violence toward
Black people, as well as the fact that these justifications are recorded and widely circulated

20
online. Kelly also uses the term “we” when referring to the notion that Black people “deserved
it”. While Kelly and I did not discuss whether or not she has taken part in in-person protests
herself, she takes on this group identity reference and takes personally the messages that justify
Black people being deserving of violence or loss of life, which is also aligned with the theme
“personally identifying with targets and victims” described more in-depth below.
“Sickening to Watch”: Emotions
As shown above with the previous quote from Megan, youth in this study often named
how they felt when seeing racist messages and videos online. When asked explicitly about how it
felt seeing racist messages, content, or violence online, participants in this study named a variety
of emotions ranging from sadness to fear to anger. Anne, 15, names confusion as a feeling or
emotion she felt when seeing the video of George Floyd’s killing. She shares:
I watched that video with my mom, and it was just so confusing as to why people have such a
problem with race and skin color. We live in a predominantly white area, so I've been
surrounded by white people my entire life. I don't necessarily feel threatened by them, but as of
June, especially when George Floyd was killed, it was just a complete 180. I didn't know people
could just be so evil, if you will, towards someone who's just a little bit darker than they are. It
was just surreal.
While Anne says she has not personally experienced violent treatment or felt threatened by white
people in her community, seeing the video of the George Floyd being killed by police and the
aftermath of his death raised an awareness of the antiblack racial violence Black people face at
the hands of white supremacy, in some cases, state-sanctioned white supremacy. Jay, 17,
provides a thoughtful description of his sense-making when seeing the video of George Floyd’s
murder. He says:
When I saw the George Floyd video, that really of course made me upset because you kind of
see him losing his life on video, which is kind of sickening to watch. Especially since no one
really helped him and they were kind of just lying on his body. It definitely made me very upset
and just the fact that you see someone die and like needing help, but you can't really do anything
cause like you're seeing it through a screen. That definitely made me like upset, also angry
because like he could have still been alive if he just got the help he needed.

21

Jay uses terms like “sickening”, “upset”, and “angry” to describe how he felt watching that
video. He also describes a feeling of helplessness and a sense of responsibility at being able to
watch this killing take place but not being able to do anything about it. Participants across
interviews expressed similar sentiments as it relates to the viral videos of police brutality and
racial violence. Participants also expressed these same emotions when it relates to more
interpersonal level incidents such as directly experiencing or witnessing online racial
discrimination. Mia expressed:
They kind of make me feel angry and upset because it's like why would you spend your time
kind of bashing another religion, sexuality, or race? I don't really agree with why people would
put certain hateful things on the internet just because they either don't feel comfortable or don't
like another group of people, even if they are a little different. That does make me really angry
that people can't just keep their negative opinions to themselves. I think that it just really does
annoy me when people just spread hateful things on the internet.

Mia references these “hateful” comments and “negative opinions” and shares that they are
upsetting to her and elicit feelings of anger. These youth clearly name the negative emotions
these experiences elicit in them and the reasons why they feel these emotions. Finally, in
describing how it felt to watch videos and commentary from the capitol insurrection, Lima, 14,
said that she was “scared” because it made her “start to think that America was in danger”. While
the capitol insurrection has not explicitly been named as a “racist event”, much of the
commentary and discourse around the event has been racialized often comparing the capitol
rioters to Black Lives Matter protesters (Brantley-Jones, 2021). That she felt a sense of fear as a
young Black girl is an indicator that, in her mind, those riots could potentially lead to events that
have implications for her or community.
“It could be me”: Identifying with victims
In naming the emotional responses they had to being exposed to this content, young
people in this study often made connections between themselves or their families and the victims

22
in the videos of racial violence and police brutality. When asked about early experiences seeing
these videos, Megan references the 2014 video of 12-year old Tamir Rice. She says,
The video came out later of the surveillance. It was kind of a far away shot. All I could think
was that it could be me. That's all I could think of. That Title could be me. And, it was just sick.
Because, him and the Trayvon Martin story came out around the same time, in my brain at least,
that I remember. So, Trayvon was the same way. I was like, it could be me. Because, I was
walking from the library to my babysitter's house. And that's like a half hour walk. And, I'll just
casually put my hood on because it's cold outside, hands in my pockets. At any point, that could
be me.
Megan identifies with these young victims, even as a Black girl. She references the “title”
or story headline and says that it could have been her own name in that title as a young, Black
person who walks while wearing a hood. Only nine years old at the time of Tamir and Trayvon’s
death, Megan now 15 recalls what she felt even at such a young age. Kelly makes a connection
between George Floyd and her father and names the emotions that seeing his death elicits in her.
Seeing it just... It made me upset and kind of scared because my father is black and I really,
really love him. At one point, I was scared for me and him to go out just because I didn't want
him to be there one minute and gone the next minute because of something as silly as the way he
looked.

Kelly speaks about the fear she holds for her father as a Black man after seeing George Floyd
killed. She also names fear for herself as someone who loves her father and does not want to lose
him because of “something as silly as the way he looked.” Mykia makes a similar connection
between George Floyd and the men and boys in her family. She says:
So, it was a lot of tears from me. Because, I have a brother, and my dad. And when I saw George
Floyd, I saw my dad. He was the same height as my dad, same build as my dad. It was very hard
to watch, but I knew I had to watch it. Because, I'm in spaces where people talk about it, and I
need to know what I was talking about. So, I had to watch it.
Megan describes a sadness at seeing someone who phenotypically is similar to her own dad
treated or mistreated in the way that George Floyd was. However, Megan also describes a sense
of responsibility and obligation to staying informed about these racial justice issues and being

23
able to contribute conversationally in meaningful ways when discussions about these issues
arise.
Unplug and Breathe: Youth Coping

In talking about the emotions that arise for them, youth in the study also talked about the
ways they cope with what is happening around them. Brooke, 17, expressed:
What happened with Breonna Taylor, I was off social media for a while... They made me very
upset. Sometimes I do cry because of what has happened and it does concern me so I try to limit
being on social media during times like those, so that way, I'm not really having it in the back of
my mind and I'm worrying about it too much.

Brooke describes an urge to unplug from social media and the inundation of videos and
commentary about the deaths of so many Black people at the hands of police. Given the viral
nature of such content, fully unplugging from social media is one of the only ways to fully
escape from these traumatic events. Kelly shares her strategies for lifting her mood in the face of
these unfortunate events. She says:
I try to take my mind off it because, like I said, I do listen to K-pop so I try to listen to that type
of music, try to watch some of their reality TV shows that I probably want to catch up on
because I know those make me very happy. I do like to watch Netflix. Normally it's something
that will make me laugh, something that will bring my mood up, so that way I'm not thinking
about it in the back of my head.

Kelly describes light-hearted activities that take her mind away from the heaviness of being
exposed to racial trauma, while Lima describes the physiological strategies she uses to keep
herself calm. She says, “I just breathe in and breathe out. Hope that this world gets better and
don't let it interfere with any of my schoolwork.” Interestingly, Lima brings up her schoolwork
as being potentially affected by these events and the ways that they are repeatedly reminded of
them. She names hope and describes what could be seen as resilience when highlighting how she
does not let it interfere with her schoolwork. Relatedly, Chanee, names wanting to talk about it in

24
school. Specifically, she wants to talk “about how to stay strong, despite all the violence...like
how to cope with it, how to not let it get to you.” These are just a few of the ways that Black
youth are being agentic in managing their emotions and responses when being exposed to racist
content and violence.
“Don’t talk back”: Parent Conversation/ Socialization
In addition to describing how they cope with their emotions themselves, Black youth also
described the ways that their parents sought to support them and engage in conversations about
highly publicized racial justice issues. When asked what this looks like, Chloe responds:
It's kind of like whoever hears the news first will bring it up and so we'd definitely, we'll talk
about it. We definitely have discussions about what to do if either of us were in that situation or
just talking about how it's sad, that that was the outcome of most of the situations we've seen.

In this quote, Chloe is speaking specifically about what to do in an encounter with the police.
Her parents are engaging in what scholars and others call “the talk”. She continues by saying;
Yeah, they definitely have touched on. They kind of just say, "keep your hands on the steering
wheel and be polite. Don't talk back, but like also know your rights as well". That's basically
what they have told us when we have talked about what to do in that situation.

Many of the youth in this study shared similar stories about their parents having these types of
conversations with them in an effort to keep them safe. Black parents are also exhausted by the
racial violence that has been endured by Black people in the U.S. Donte shares a comment from
his mom, “She was just saying that it's time for us to leave America, and she can't stand black
people getting killed”. Black parents are also having to cope and make sense of their own
racialized experiences online, as well as the racial violence and trauma to which they are exposed
by mainstream and social media.

25
Digital Actions and Reactions

As described above, Black youth in this study describe the types of content and
comments they see online, what they think and feel about it, and how they manage their
emotions. Lastly, I will highlight if and how they respond in online or digital spaces. Chloe
shares:
I respond, not a lot, but I will repost if it helps spread the message. So I will usually repost an
Instagram post and just to spread the message, just to get more people, to see the negative
connotations of what's going on in the Black community or towards Black people.

Chloe highlights a need to spread awareness as a reason for posting or reposting information
about racial justice issues online. Kelly talks more about her thought process in the moment of
seeing a negative or racist post online. She says:
If I do see it, I try to click away from it before I read too deep into it and look at all the
comments, because by then, I'm already too far in…normally the comment section is the biggest
part of it. A lot of times I will look into the comment section and I just kind of continue to scroll
and see what other people are saying about it and just people replying to others.
Kelly identifies the comments section of online posts as a driver of much of the discourse as it
relates to racialized content and the viral videos of antiblack violence. Similarly, Megan speaks
to the use and misuse of hashtags around content related to Black people and her reactions to it
she shares:
So, sometimes I'll go in the comments and I'll be like, "This is wrong. Don't use this hashtag for
this." Because, there's people like me who want to see ... I want to see my people interact with
each other in a friendly way. I want to see the part of my people that other people don't see and
that the media doesn't depict. So, stuff like that. And then, normally they'll reply with something,
and then I'm like, "Look, you didn't have to reply. I just wanted to let you know don't use this
hashtag for it."
Here, Kelly is referring to the misuse of hashtags that were specifically created to highlight
positive information or posts about Blackness such as #Blackgirlmagic or #Blackboyjoy where
users will post negative or unrelated content intentionally using a hashtag meant to promote

26
positivity. Overall, participants are highlighting the role of technology and the ways people use it
to engage in racial discourse.
Discussion
The present study is a qualitative exploration of Black adolescents’ sensemaking about
their online racialized experiences and exposure to race-related traumatic events online. Black
youth in the study describe the content and types of videos, messages, and posts they have
encountered in digital spaces. Additionally, participants describe the emotions tied to viewing
racist content and the ways they manage their emotions and subsequently make choices to
respond or not respond when encountering racist content online. Finally, youth highlight the role
their parents play in how they think and feel about the racial justice issues to which they are
being exposed.
This study offers critical insights into the perspectives and processes by which Black
youth make sense of and respond to direct experiences of racism online , as well as, vicarious
instances or witnessing antiblack violence through online media. First, youth name fear, anger,
confusion, and sadness as just some of the emotions they feel when viewing these race-related
traumatic events online, as well as interpersonal instances of online racism. This finding supports
research that has examined the association between negative race-related online experiences and
mental health outcomes and found links between these experiences and symptoms of anxiety,
depression and post-traumatic stress (Tynes, Willis. Stewart & Hamilton, 2019; Tynes, Giang,
Williams, & Thompson, 2008). Youth also identify the cognitive connections they make between
victims and targets of racial violence and themselves or members of their families. They talk
about this personal connection and the fear and stress that is induced when seeing someone that
looks like them or their family as targets of racial violence, even digitally. Participants describe

27
the conversations they have with their families about these topics, particularly issues of police
violence, and how they might engage police, should they encounter them. These types of
conversations have been described in the research as a type of racial socialization, sometimes
referred to as preparation for bias (Anderson & Stevenson, 2019; Gonzalez, 2019; Hughes et al.,
2006).
Ensuring that Black adolescents have the resources and supports to make sense of their
experiences and the witnessed experiences of other Black people is critical, particularly when
those experiences are traumatic. Interventions across systems i.e. school, family, community,
policy are important for protecting Black youth and cultivating a sense of agency and self-
efficacy in addressing racial injustice. Educators and adults that engage Black adolescents should
be equipped with the skills and resources to have conversation about these topics and create safe
spaces for Black youth to engage in critical dialogue around these issues and maintain optimal
mental health in the face of witnessing racial violence and denigration. Additionally, technology
companies should be held accountable for allowing the constant sharing and re-sharing of Black
death on digital platforms. While some platforms have taken action to better warn users about
“sensitive content”, more limitations should be placed on the continuous video sharing of such
brutal violence. Furthermore, companies should also provide resources and require links for
mental health supports or direction to users of their platform that produce content around mental
health when users are also using the “sensitive content” warning.
Limitations and Future Directions
While this study makes a notable contribution to the research on Black youth’s online
experiences, it is not without limitations. Of note, this sample was made up primarily of Black
girls. Future studies should make intentional efforts to examine this phenomenon further in the

28
Black boys, particularly as Black boys have unique experiences around talking about their
emotions. Additionally, many of the most highly publicized and recorded victims of police
brutality have been Black men, and better understanding the processes by which Black boys, in
particular, are making sense of these videos and commentary is critical. Next, the current study
used a snowball sample, in which the networks of the participants were potentially connected
yielding background similarities across participants. Additionally, participants and/or their
families had access to social media, email, and Zoom, among other technologies in order to
participate. Future studies should make attempts at expanding accessibility by also conducting
in-person interviews, when it is safe to do so. Future studies should also expand their sources of
information around these topics to include parents of Black children and youth, and the
connections between how they make sense of racist online content and trauma, and the ways that
their children make sense of it. Research on parental socialization suggests that parents'
experiences are linked to the racial messages they communicate to their youth (Hugh & Chen,
1997; Hughes et al., 2006).
Findings from the current study provide early insights into the sensemaking process for
Black youth who are being inundated with denigrating messages and videos of antiblack
violence, directly and vicariously. Scholars should build on these findings by developing
frameworks or process models for Black adolescents to better understand the mechanisms by
which their exposure to negative race-related experiences online is linked to mental health
outcomes, identity, and, potentially, critical consciousness.

29
Chapter III
An Examination of the Association between Teacher Discussions of Racial Justice Issues and
School Engagement in Black Youth

Ashley M. Stewart, M.A.

30
Abstract
Research has noted that exposure to race-related trauma, specifically online, can be
detrimental to the mental health of Black adolescents. By helping students unpack and critique
racism, teachers can create safe and supportive learning environments in which Black students
feel valued and a sense of belonging which can ultimately promote engagement and other
achievement outcomes. Thus, the current study examines the role of teacher discussions of
contemporary race-related issues on school engagement. I also examined differences between
school level (i.e. middle school vs. high school vs. college). The analytic sample included 415
Black students ages 11-19. Sixty-five percent of the sample was girl-identifying. Results from
path analyses indicated that classroom conversations of race were positively, significantly
associated with indicators of school engagement in the overall sample. Results from multigroup
analysis indicated that the paths from teacher discussions of contemporary racial justice issues
and both cognitive and behavioral engagement were not significant for middle school students.
However, these key paths were significant for high school students and college students.
Findings from the current study provide a glimpse into the ways that Black students’ exposure to
racial issues and injustice outside of academic spaces, and online specifically, can be discussed
and acknowledged in the classroom in ways that promote engagement.

Keywords: Classroom conversations of race, school engagement, Black students

31
Introduction
The current political climate and social unrest in response to police killings of Black
people in the United States has allowed for the once hidden institutional anti-Black racism to be
exposed on a global platform. Many students are learning about these incidents, and more
importantly, the underlying ideologies that lead to such incidents, while they are online or
surfing the web, recreationally. Developmental scholars have established that individuals learn
about race in a variety of ways. Most commonly, scholars have examined the implicit and
explicit racial messaging transmitted from parents to their children, also known as racial-ethnic
socialization (Hughes et al., 2006). However, burgeoning research has also identified schools and
academic settings as sites for socialization (Aldana & Byrd, 2015; Byrd, 2015). This is important
because as youth approach and mature through adolescence, peers, teachers, and mentors outside
of the home become the primary actors with which youth engage as they spend a
disproportionate amount of time at school. For Black youth, whose experiences in school are
often racialized, examining the role of racial messaging and discourse in their academic
adjustment is necessary. Moreover, schools and classrooms serve as sites for socialization around
race for Black children as socialization occurs through both direct instruction, as well as, more
subtle norms and values (Banks, 2007; Priest et al., 2014).
Given the trauma that ensues as a result of witnessing racial violence and injustice on a
grand digital stage, academic spaces and teachers have the potential to facilitate collective
healing or coping for young people of color by discussing these incidents as they occur, and help
students to make sense of them. For Black students, in particular, this can be especially
beneficial given that many of the victims or targets of violence in these videos, as well as the
social discourse around these incidents more broadly, are also Black. By helping students unpack

32
and critique racism, teachers can create safe and supportive learning environments in which
Black students feel valued and a sense of belonging which can ultimately promote engagement
and other achievement outcomes. Thus, the current study examines the role of teacher
discussions of contemporary race-related issues on school engagement for Black students in the
P-20 context.
Guiding Frameworks
The current study is guided by two frameworks. First, I use Wang and colleagues’ (2019)
Integrative Model of Development-in Sociocultural-Context Model of Engagement. Scholarship
on school engagement highlights the malleability and contexts-dependence of the construct such
that one’s level of engagement can vary based on the time and setting in which it is being
assessed (Skinner & Pitzer, 2012; Wang & Degol, 2014; Wang, Degol & Henry, 2019). Wang
and colleagues’ integrative model of engagement (2019) situates engagement in a bidirectional
process with external factors and settings and individual characteristics of the child. The authors
purport that engagement and disengagement, distinct concepts, are directly related to children’s
developmental competencies and appraisals. For instance, a child’s social skills may contribute
to how they engage in learning tasks that involve interacting with peers or teachers. Relatedly,
the integrative model also links children’s developmental competencies to the socialization
experiences in their immediate environments such as home and school. I extend this framing to
include online contexts as well. The quality of these experiences, as well as the affective
memories attached to these experiences, have implications for how children see themselves as
learners and subsequently engage. Not only is engagement situated as a product of these social
components, it also serves as a dynamic “pathway” through which learning outcomes are shaped
by sociocultural and personal attributes (Skinner & Pitzer, 2012; Wang, Degol, & Henry, 2019).

33
Skinner (2016) argues that engagement is a driver of students’ learning immersion and critical
for successful learning, as well as, a valuable outcome in its own right. Thus, the integrative
model of engagement provides insight into the ways that environmental factors, social factors, as
well as personal competencies contribute to the development of engagement. Though the
integrative model highlights settings and systems that are critical to a child’s development, they
make no mention of the way this model applies similarly or differently based on racial ethnic
identities. Given the fact that racially minoritized youth are often perceived as being less
engaged than their white counterparts, an analysis of race and racism, in particular, is critical
when examining the factors that contribute to the ways that Black youth (dis) engage in school
settings. To that end, the current study also uses Critical Race Pedagogy (CRP) to situate the
intentional focus on race in the classroom.
Critical Race Pedagogy was born out of the discontentment that many scholars held
toward the lack of analysis of race in the field of critical pedagogy and in education, more
broadly. Specifically, critical pedagogy was positioned as a tool with which to analyze inequities
in education through an analysis of class and classism without acknowledging the ways that race
and identity often shape the ways that class and classism manifests in education, particularly in
the United States (Gordon, 1995; Jennings & Lynn, 2005). Grounded in Critical Race Theory
(CRT) scholarship (Bell, 1980; Matsuda et al., 1993), CRP extends the theoretical foundation of
CRT to the educational practices and strategies with an interest in educating students toward
liberation (Solorzano & Yosso, 1998). Similar to CRT, CRP 1) Recognizes and understands the
endemic nature of racism 2) Recognizes the importance of understanding the power dynamics
inherent in schooling 3) Emphasizes the importance of self-reflection or “reflexivity” 4) Must be
intimately cognizant of the necessary intersection of other oppressive constructs including class,

34
gender, and sexual orientation and 5) Advocates for justice and equity in education and
schooling as a necessity if there is to be justice and equity in the broader society (Jennings &
Lynn, 2005, p-25-28). Scholars have applied CRP to an analysis of historical racial justice issues
in ways that would allow students to question and interrogate the inherent racism in schooling.
For example, Hughes (2011) argues that an example of CRP can be to critically examine the
potential of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling as a symbol of equity and social
justice in urban education using socratic questioning, a demonstrated commitment to justice in
urban education, and “tragicomic hope”, which is the engaging of hope for the purpose of
sustained action toward liberation and justice.
Hughes’ (2011) framing is useful for situating the current study because it emphasizes the
importance of co-constructing learning environments with students in which they are able to
interrogate and critique the status quo, and recognize the ways that the historical racism
embedded in US education is reflected in all US institutions. More importantly, Hughes
highlights hope as a critical factor for promoting students’ orientation toward action. Using
Hughes (2011) framing of CRP, in tandem with Wang's integrative model of engagement,
provides an analytic lens with which to understand how discussions of race and racism in class
can promote academic engagement for Black students when students are encouraged and
empowered to critique systems and take action. For young people, “action” can be positioned as
active engagement in school and educational settings as a mode of resisting the historical
exclusion and subjugation of Black people in that space. While Hughes uses this framing for
examining Brown v. Board as a historical event, the current study will focus on contemporary
race-related events and its virality in online contexts. In what follows, I provide an overview of
research highlighting the ways in which Black youth’s racialized experiences in school shape

35
their academic outcomes. I then focus specifically on how race and racism are discussed in class
and implications for school engagement.
Literature Review
Race-related experiences and academic outcomes
Developmental psychologists and education researchers have highlighted the role of race-
related experiences in the academic success of Black students. Factors such as school racial
climate, lowered teacher expectations, biased disciplinary practices, and experiences of
discrimination from peers and adults in school have all been cited as detrimental to Black
students’ wellbeing and overall engagement and performance in school (Byrd, 2017; Neblett,
Phillip, Cogburn, & Sellers, 2006; Schuschke, Stewart, and Tynes, in press; Wong, Eccles, &
Sameroff, 2003). Additionally, race related experiences outside of school have also been found
to have implications for academic outcomes. More specifically, racial discrimination across
settings has been linked to lower academic motivation and school bonding (Chavous,
Richardson, Webb, Fonseca, Leath, 2018; Unnever, Cullen, Barnes, 2016).
Conversely, research also indicates that in classrooms where students’ racial identities are
leveraged and seen as central to their experiences, youth of color are able to thrive academically.
For instance, Byrd (2016) examines the relation between culturally relevant teaching,
operationalized as cultural engagement and a constructivist teaching practice, and racial identity
and academic outcomes in a diverse sample of adolescents. Evidence suggests that culturally
relevant teaching was positively associated with more interest in school and a greater sense of
belonging (Byrd, 2016).

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The role of Race in Black Student’s School Engagement
In this study, school engagement, also known as academic engagement or student
engagement, is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that refers to students’ feelings,
behaviors and thoughts about their school experiences and has been a highly studied area over
the last three decades due to its links to academic achievement (Dotterer & Lowe, 2011).
Scholars most often examine school engagement as a construct encompassing three main
components including behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and affective engagement
(Wang et al., 2017). Behavioral engagement refers to the level of active participation in school
activities and was one of the earliest types of engagement to be examined, along with cognitive
engagement which refers to the level of mental effort and investment exerted in school-related
activities (Connel, 1990). Lastly, affective or emotional engagement encompasses an
individual’s feelings and disposition toward school and school-related activities (Voekl, 1997).
For students from racially minoritized backgrounds, it has been argued that promoting racial-
ethnic pride and solidarity in academic settings can promote school engagement (Ladson-
Billings, 1995).
Both psychologists and education scholars have examined the ways that educators, and
schooling generally, can serve as agents of racial socialization and intergroup dynamics for
students. Explicit and implicit messages about one’s academic standing and perceptions of
intelligence are often racialized and rooted in societal stereotypes. For Black students, in
particular, these messages can have implications for how they choose to engage as well as,
influence teacher perceptions and expectations of their engagement. Examining the various ways
that teachers can promote or inhibit Black students’ engagement is necessary for creating optimal
learning environments. One of the ways that teachers have the potential to shape students’

37
engagement is through their discussions of race-related incidents that youth are exposed to in and
beyond the classroom.
Classroom discussions of Race and Race-related Incidents
Scholars and educators have argued that racial dialogues are critical for promoting
understanding across racial groups, reducing prejudice, and increasing compassion (Willow,
2008). From this perspective, classrooms are a likely place for these conversations to occur.
However, some researchers have suggested that teachers and students in the United States rarely
explicitly discuss or confront issues of race in their P-20 classrooms or curricular discussions
(Pollock, 2004; Schultz, Buck, & Niesz, 2000). In a foundational study of classroom
conversations of race, Beverly Tatum, describes her experience teaching a psychology of racism
course and the racial identity development processes of her students in a college classroom
(1992). Tatum offers guidelines for discussing race and racism in class. These guidelines
include: 1) establishing clear guidelines for discussion in order to create a safe space 2)
facilitating opportunities for students to create knowledge themselves 3) providing a
developmentally appropriate model for students to explore and understand their process of
learning and 4) empowering students as change agents. Tatum (1992) also offers insights into
how students make sense of classroom content and conversations dedicated to understanding
race and race-relations in the US, while also situating their own lived experiences in this context.
While scholars have examined this phenomenon and offered strategies for facilitating
conversations of race in class since the early nineties, research continues to find that explicit
conversations related to race in the classroom are generally uncomfortable for teachers (Brown,
Bloome, Morris, Power-Carter, & Willis, 2017; Pollock, 2004). This is important to name as the
promise of critical conversations about race can, at times, be overshadowed by the potential harm

38
that can be caused when these conversations are not facilitated in ways that are productive and
effective. Research in this area suggests that teachers often do not know how to respond when
students ask questions about race (Chang & Conrad, 2008). Sue and colleagues argue that
conversations around race can be especially difficult or threatening when 1) power dynamics are
at play in which the status of some are privileged over others 2) polarizing worldviews are
represented 3) members of different racial groups are being challenged publicly, or 4) being
perceived as offensive and 5) prejudices and biases are revealed (Sue & Constantine, 2007; Sue
et al., 2009). Given these concerns, teachers are inclined to either avoid having these
conversations altogether, or situate the conversations in relation to specific classroom subject
matter. For example, in a case study of elementary school teacher exploration of race, the teacher
created a multicultural unit to engage social issues, but solely focused on historical frames of
inequality to avoid any discomfort with contemporary issues (Hollingsworth, 2009). Fear of
appearing prejudiced or of disclosing racially biased beliefs can affect a white educator’s ability
to engage in dialogues around race in the classroom with detrimental effects for students of color
(Sue, Lin, et al., 2009; Sue, Torino, et al., 2009). Teachers’ lack of comfort discussing racial
issues can stem from the extent to which their racial attitudes differ from those of their
minoritized students and students’ families (Priest et al., 2016).
Much of the research examining classroom conversations of race examines how
educators have included lessons of race and racism in curriculum material. For instance, scholars
have examined the role of language and integrating text and literature that include African
American Language (AAL) in language arts classes (Bloome, Power Carter, Morton Christian,
Otto & Shuart-Faris, 2005). In this study, Bloome and colleagues explore the use of language in
a middle school classroom in which the teacher, who is a Black woman, uses a poem using AAL

39
to facilitate learning around the relationship between language, identity, and race. Students
offered their own narratives of their experiences with race and language, and the ways that
society responds to them. This study highlights the ways that teachers can create learning
experiences in language arts courses that acknowledge how language is racialized in unique
ways that perpetuate inequities.
In addition to language arts courses, history and social studies have been highlighted as
courses in which conversations around race typically occur. In a study of a fifth grade classroom,
Bolgatz (2006) examines a teacher’s strategy for discussing issues of race in a lesson on the
revolutionary war. In a lesson that is typically presented in ways that foreground notions of
democracy and freedom, the teacher in this study uses this lesson to critically examine race and
racism through the lens of enslaved people and the fear of white people in the US south. The
author highlights the ways that students were able to grapple with these historical ideas through
reading the materials and classroom dialogues that allowed students to share openly and make
connections between US ideologies and historical events.
Classroom Conversations of Race and School Engagement
With regard to school engagement, research indicates that culturally relevant teaching
promotes academic achievement and engagement for students of color (Christianakis, 2011;
Ensign, 2003). Additionally, a recent study examining the longitudinal association between
cultural socialization in school (ie. the promotion of positive messages of one’s ethnicity or race
in school) and school engagement in Black and white students found that Black students who
perceived more cultural socialization in school reported higher levels of behavioral and affective
school engagement over time (Del Toro & Wang, 2020). Earlier research by Oyserman and
colleagues (2006) shows that making connections between youth’s ethnic-racial and school

40
identities can promote behavioral engagement activities including taking initiative in school and
reduce the frequency of unexcused absences. In a similar study, Oyserman and colleagues (2008)
also found that youth reported higher levels of school engagement, specifically behavioral and
affective engagement, when they perceive that their ethnicity or race is valued in the setting and
were perceived to make valuable contributions to society. For Black students, in particular, this
could be especially important given historical devaluing and subjugation of Black Americans in
the United States, broadly, and in schools, more specifically. For example, Black students often
face more punitive disciplinary treatment and perceive more racial discimination from educators
(Benner & Graham, 2013). As such, scholars have argued that teachers should make intentional
efforts to make their students of color, particularly Black students, feel valued and included in
the curriculum and school setting (Del Toro & Wang, 2020).
Developmental Considerations
Adolescence is a developmental period in which young people are exploring their social
identities and developing an understanding of how these identities are perceived by others. With
regard to race, Black youth are able to perceive racial bias and discrimination as early as ten
years old (Brown & Bigler, 2005), with foundations for this understanding emerging as early as
five and six (Brown and Bigler, 2004). Given Black youth’s sophisticated understandings of
racial dynamics at an early age, more research is necessary for understanding how teachings and
discussions related to race and racism differentially impact their academic outcomes across
school levels. Although research indicates that middle-school aged youth already have an
understanding of how they may be perceived by others or discriminated against based on their
racial group membership (Quintana, 2008), we still know very little about how authority figures
outside of the home explicitly communicate with them about these topics. Furthermore, youth in

41
late adolescence are in a period of transition to emerging adulthood and, in this case,
transitioning into college settings that may look different from previous home and school
contests. This period, known for feelings of instability and change, is even more unstable given
the current socio-historical moment of the novel coronavirus and political unrest of the last year.
This context has the potential to exacerbate any feelings of anxiety or disengagement from
academic spaces that one may feel during this transition. Having teachers who acknowledge and
affirm Black student’s experiences and feelings about the societal racism they and others face
could be promotive of their engagement in class in ways that may be similar or different from
youth in early or middle adolescence. The current study aims to examine how these similarities
or differences may manifest.
Limitations of Existing Research
As previously highlighted, studies have shown that considering race in pedagogy and
teaching practices has positive implications for students of color ( Byrd, 2015; Byrd & Ahn,
2020; Del Toro & Wang, 2020; Leath et al., 2019. However, whereas prior studies have
examined messages and lessons around cultural pride or more general messages that promote an
awareness of broader inequities, few studies have examined classroom discussions of
contemporary racial injustice issues such as police brutality and racial violence toward Black
people. Given the current political context and the racial unrest that occurred in 2020 and
continues today, there is an urgent need for research examining the implications of teacher
discussions of these racial justice issues to which Black students are currently being exposed.
Specifically, understanding the role these conversations may play in the engagement of Black
students in school and with school-related content is of importance. Additionally, little is known
about the developmental differences in how these conversations and discussions may be

42
affecting Black students. The current study focuses specifically on discussions about racism and
its virality online in a sample of Black adolescents.
The Current Study
The overarching goal of the present study was to explore the prevalence of teacher
discussions of police brutality and other contemporary social justice issues and its association
with school engagement. Additionally, I wanted to examine differences across school levels. In
doing so, the research questions I aim to address are: 1) What is the prevalence of messages of
teacher discussions of contemporary racial justice issues? 2) What is the association between
teacher conversations about contemporary racial justice issues and school engagement in Black
youth? and 3) Are there any differences across school level?
Based on the conceptual and extant literature establishing culturally relevant/responsive
pedagogy as a contributor to improved academic outcomes (Ladson-Billings, 1995), I
hypothesized that Black adolescents reporting having teachers who discuss racism and race-
related issues would report higher levels of both cognitive and behavioral engagement. In order
to argue that observed effects were attributed to these discussions, analyses controlled for a
series of covariates that would otherwise bias the link between teacher discussions of racism and
school engagement such as gender, income, and school level. I also hypothesized that there
would be differences across school level with middle school students reporting fewer teacher
discussions than high school and college students.
Methods
Participants
Data comes from a larger national study of examining the remote learning experiences of
1,586 11-19 year-old adolescents that included 457 Black youth. After excluding participants

43
who indicated they were not enrolled in school in the prior semester and those who had
significant missing data from in the variables of interest, the analytic sample included 416 Black
youth ages 11-19. The sample was 65% girl-identified, 25% boy-identified, 8% identified as
transgender or gender non-conforming, and 2% declined to answer. The average age was 16.7
years (SD = 1.92).
Procedures
Procedures were approved by the university Institutional Review Board. Participants
were recruited from a national panel by Qualtrics, an online survey company. Participants were
screened such that only those identifying as members of racial groups including Black, Latinx,
East Asian, South Asian, white, and biracial, and were between the ages of 11-19, were able to
continue with taking the survey after receiving parental consent. To avoid self-selection bias, the
survey invitation did not include specific details about the contents of the survey.
Measures
Participants self-reported their age, gender, grade, and household income and race (Table 1).
Teacher Discussions of Race-related Topics. Teacher discussions of race-related topics
were assessed using four-items developed for this study. Participants were asked to respond on a
5-point likert scale ranging from 1 - never to 5 - often. Items included “I have had a teacher
discuss the online viral videos of police brutality”, “I have had a teacher(s) help me to think
critically about social justice issues”, I have had a teacher teach me to critique racism online”,
and “I have had a teacher talk about race” (4 items, a = .87).
School Engagement. School engagement was assessed using two scales examining
cognitive and behavioral engagement. Cognitive Engagement was evaluated using 4 items from
the Metacognitive Strategies Questionnaire (Wolters, 2004). Items asked were “I tried to connect

44
what I was learning in class with my own experiences”, “I tried to make different ideas fit
together and make sense in class”, “When doing work for class, I tried to relate what I’m
learning to what I already know”, and “I made up my own examples to help me understand the
important concepts in class” (a = .84).
Behavioral engagement was evaluated using 3-items from the Engagement versus
Disaffection with Learning Student Report (Furrer & Skinner, 2003; Skinner & Belmont, 1993;
Skinner et al., 2009). These items evaluated students’ effort, attention, and persistence while
initiating and participating in learning activities. Items asked were “I worked as hard as I can in
class”, “I participated in class discussions”, and “I paid attention in class” (a = .83).
School Level. Participants were asked to indicate their last grade level completed. Those
indicating 6th-8th grade were categorized as middle school. Those indicating 9th-12 grade were
categorized as high school, and those indicating freshman, sophomore, or junior were
categorized as college.
Analytic Plan
All analyses were conducted in Stata Package 14 IC. Initially for each construct, mean
level trends were described for the analytic sample, and an ANOVA was used to explore mean-
level school level differences. To answer the first research question, I observed frequencies for
each of the teacher discussion items. Second, I estimated a 2-path model in a single and multi-
group framework, where I estimated all path coefficients simultaneously controlling for the
covariates for the total sample and subgroups respectively. Path models were fitted using
maximum likelihood estimator (MLE). To address research question 3, I estimated a multi-group
path model with school level as the grouping variable to examine and test whether differences in
the structural parameters across groups were statistically significant. Testing for cross-group

45
invariance involved comparing two nested models: 1) a baseline model in which no constraints
were specified and 2) a second model where key paths were constrained to be invariant across
groups. Comparison of nested models employed nested chi-square test in Microsoft Excel.
Results
Descriptive Results
Means and standard deviations for adolescents’ cognitive engagement, behavioral
engagement, and experiences of teacher discussions of race-related topics are included in Table
1. Table 2 presents zero-order bivariate correlations among key constructs. On average,
adolescents reported a little over the scale’s midpoint on cognitive engagement (m = 3.08, SD =
1.14) and behavioral engagement (m = 3.28, SD = 1.14). Participants reported below the scales
midpoint for teacher discussions of race-related topics (m = 2.52, SD = 1.06), on average.
Main Results
To address question 1, I observed the frequencies of each teacher discussion items to
assess the prevalence of these discussions. For item 1) “I have had a teacher(s) talk about race in
class”. In the overall sample, 23.5% responded “never”. In the middle school group, 47%
responded never. In the high school group, 23% indicated never, and 16% of college students
indicated never. For item 2) I have had a teacher(s) help me to think critically about social justice
issues”, 25% of the overall sample responded never. In the subgroups, 40% of middle school
students, 25% of high school students, and 19% of college students responded “never”. For item
3, “I have had a teacher(s) teach me to critique racism online”, 43% of the overall sample
indicated “never”. In the subgroups 52% of middle school students, 47% of high school students,
and 28% of college students responded “never”. Lastly, in response to item 4 “I have had a
teacher discuss the online viral videos of police brutality”, 39% of the overall sample responded

46
“never”. Across groups, 61% of middle school students, 41% of high school students, and 24%
of college students responded “never”.
To determine mean level differences across groups, I conducted an ANOVA with school
level as the grouping variable and each key variable as the dependent variable. Significant results
of the ANOVA tests for engagement outcomes did not emerge. However, significant differences
did emerge with regard to reports of teacher discussions of race-related topics, indicating that
participants did differ in their frequency of experiences of having teachers who discussed these
topics [F(2, 397)=6.04, p=.003]. Specifically, high school and college students significantly
differed from middle school students in their responses with middle school students reporting
fewer teacher discussion of contemporary racial justice issues.
To address question 2, I estimated a path model with teacher discussions predicting both
cognitive and behavioral engagement in the overall sample, controlling for income and gender
and allowing covariance between cognitive and behavioral engagement as literature indicates
they are related. Fit indices suggested that our model fit the data well (Chi square=2.45
RMSEA=.01; CFI=.96; TLI=.97). I retained this model for subsequent analyses. First, teacher
discussions significantly predicted cognitive engagement (B = .34, p <.001) such that students
reporting teacher discussions more frequently also reported higher level of cognitive
engagement. Second, teacher discussions also significantly predicted behavioral engagement
(B=.32, p<.001). With regard to covariates income significantly predicted both cognitive
engagement (B=.04, p<.01) and behavioral engagement (B=.04, p<.05), respectively. No
significant paths emerged for gender.
To address research question 3, I estimated a multi-group path model with the same paths
as the first model in which all parameters were free. Results indicated that the paths from teacher

47
discussions of contemporary racial justice issues and both indicators of school engagement were
not significant for middle school students. However, these key paths were significant for high
school students. Teacher discussions significantly predicted both cognitive engagement (B=.35,
p<.001) and behavioral engagement (B=.31, p<.001), respectively. For college students, teacher
discussions significantly predicted cognitive engagement (B=.37, p<.001) and behavioral
engagement (B=.37, p<.003). After estimating the fully unconstrained model, I estimated a
model in which the key paths between both teacher discussions of cognitive engagement and
behavioral engagement were constrained to be equal. Chi-square test of difference indicated that
there was no significant difference in model fit suggesting that paths across the groups are not
meaningfully different (Chi-square= 5.15, df= 5.6, p=.40).
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between teacher discussions
of race-related topics and school engagement in Black students. This study was unique in that we
ask students specifically about how they are discussing contemporary issues around race and
learning to think critically about their racialized experiences. Studies exploring messages and
discussions around race in relation to engagement have generally examined messages that could
be typically categorized as cultural socialization and usually involve affirmation and celebration
of one’s culture via historical narratives or curriculum that speaks to the experiences of racially
minoritized youth in abstract ways (Byrd, 2016; Del Toro and Wang, 2021). Results supported
our hypotheses. Teacher discussions of race-related issues were related to school engagement in
this sample of Black adolescents. Specifically, teacher discussions of race were positively and
significantly associated with both cognitive and behavioral engagement.

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The findings that teacher practices centering the lived experiences of youth are linked to
better academic outcomes supports literature on culturally relevant pedagogy, as well as, the
literature on student-centered, authentic instruction (Newman et al., 1996). Scholarship that
argues for such practices indicates that when teachers appeal to students’ real-life experiences or
use examples that reflect them, students are more motivated and have a stronger sense of
connection to the school environment which allows for better learning (Byrd, 2016; Bridgeman,
1979; Pettigrew, 1998). Similarly, in addition to supporting literature suggesting teachers use
strategies for connecting with students in meaningful ways, the current study’s findings
specifically align with the research indicating that direct focus on race and culture in classroom
settings is not only useful, but beneficial for Black students (Byrd, 2016).
Research that specifically examines school ethnic-racial socialization has established that
Black students are more likely to stay engaged in school when they receive racial socialization
messages from their school environments with aims of promoting self-esteem, ethnic-racial
belonging, and competence (Del Toro & Wang 2021). These messages are also important for
ethnic-racial identity development. Specifically, cultural socialization and critical consciousness
socialization messages have been linked to identity exploration and commitment which are
important tasks for adolescent identity development, specifically for Black adolescents (Byrd,
2016). As such, teacher discussions of race as conceptualized in this study likely have
implications for ethnic-racial identity development, as well.
While findings from the current study are consistent with much of the literature on school
racial socialization and culturally relevant pedagogy, they diverge in some ways. For instance,
the current study asks specifically about messages of critiquing racism and racial injustice, as
well as, online viral videos of police brutality, which some scholars might argue overlap with

49
critical consciousness socialization as termed by Byrd (2017) to refer to messages that promote
awareness of prejudice and discrimination in society. In the current study, having a teacher
engage in these types of discussions is positively associated with academic outcomes which is
inconsistent with studies examining this relation with some academic outcomes. Specifically,
Byrd (2020) found that critical consciousness messaging was linked to lower feelings of school
belonging for Black students. However, this could be due to the fact that the types of messages
being captured in studies examining critical consciousness socialization are those that relate to an
awareness of inequity which can potentially lead to feelings of hopelessness if there is no
emphasis on critical action to address such inequities. One of the items in the current study
specifically asks students if they have had a teacher teach them to critique racism online. This
type of action oriented discussion implies that there is something that students can do to begin
combating some of the racial injustice to which they are being exposed.
Findings from the current study provide a glimpse into the ways that Black students’
exposure to racial issues and injustice outside of academic spaces, and online specifically, can be
discussed and acknowledged in the classroom in ways that promote engagement. This is an
important contribution to the literature on culturally relevant pedagogy, school ethnic-racial
socialization, and multicultural education. This study asks very specific questions about how
teachers are talking about ongoing issues such as police brutality that has led to the deaths of
Black people, the viral videos of these deaths, and whether or not they are teaching them to
critique racism in online spaces where so much of social movement building around Black Lives
Matter is taking place. Asking these questions of Black students specifically is necessary because
Black people are often the victims in viral videos of racial violence and are also most often the
targets of racist online commentary related to these videos. Not only that, Black adolescents are

50
also in the developmental stage in which they are learning and exploring their racial identities.
How they make sense of the racial injustice themselves and how authority figures in their lives
address or don’t address them sends messages about the value placed on their own Black life, as
well as, the lives of their families and those in their communities. As shown in this study, these
discussions have implications for their learning and engagement with academic content.
Understanding teacher decisions to address issues of race and racism in classrooms
provides insights for intervention development for both teachers and students. First, given that
there is evidence that these discussions are associated with engagement for Black students,
teacher training programs and professional development trainers should take seriously their roles
in training teachers to be able to facilitate these discussions in a safe and developmentally
appropriate way. This is especially important for educators in more racially and politically
diverse learning environments. For example, the recent insurrection at the U.S. capitol building
elicited a myriad of emotions and responses from teachers, students, and their families.
Education leaders such as administrators, as well as, those at the district level across
the country had varying opinions of whether or not to talk about it in class the following day.
Some leaders allowing schools and teachers to dedicate the full day to holding space for students
to process the events, and others deciding that it was inappropriate and divisive to discuss in
class (Jones, 2021). This observation is consistent with literature suggesting that many teachers
will avoid talking about such issues due to discomfort and fear of being perceived as racist (Sue
& Constantine, 2007). However, students are bringing their knowledge, emotions, and
experiences around these racial issues with them into the classroom whether teachers like it or
not. As such, intervention and programming dedicated to teaching students how to have
productive dialogues with each other and their teachers is of importance. Interventions that

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promote healthy coping strategies for any distress associated with having these necessary
conversations are also critical for creating supportive environments that are conducive to
ongoing discussions.
While the current study offers important insights, it is not without limitations. First, the
cross-sectional nature of the study precludes me from making any claims about how the relation
between having teachers discuss contemporary racial issues and school engagement over time.
Assessments of engagement were also self-reported. Having multiple sources of engagement
such as teacher reports or observations would have added to the strength of the study. Lastly, the
current study only assessed behavioral and cognitive engagement. Given the often emotional
nature of discussions around race, including emotional engagement would be appropriate.
Despite these limitations, the current study was unique in that it was one of only a few
studies exploring this topic that uses a national sample of Black students compared to existing
studies that usually focus on students in selected classrooms and schools. Furthermore, the
sample in this study includes Black students across middle school, high school, and college, and
is one of the only studies that examines their experiences across these developmental stages.
Future research should examine the long-term effects of these conversations with
longitudinal studies, as well as, a broader range of academic and other developmental outcomes.
For example, given the literature on school messages of race, it would be worthwhile to examine
the association between discussions of race-related topics and ethnic-racial identity outcomes.
Additionally, the sensitive nature of these discussions can also be distressing for those involved,
and thus understanding students’ emotional responses and/or coping skills is critical. In order to
determine how to best support teachers and educators in facilitating these discussions, a deeper
understanding of the characteristics of what Black students would perceive as a productive or

52
beneficial conversation is necessary. This requires a qualitative inquiry into the ways students
and teachers are interacting in these conversations, and specifically, what are the characteristics
of a discussion of racial justice issues that allows for Black students to feel seen, heard, and safe
in the discussion, as well as, the learning environment, more broadly. Lastly, future studies can
use a multi-informant approach to determine how these discussions are being perceived similarly
or different by students from different ethnic-racial backgrounds, as well as, teachers and
educators of different backgrounds.
Conclusion
In her recently published book entitled We Want to Do More than Survive. We want to
Thrive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom (2020), Bettina Love
writes “Children of color attending schools that do not help them interpret the racist, sexist,
Islamophobic, patriarchal, homophobic transphobic, and xenophobic world in which they live is
not only maintaining the status quo but also ensuring that whiteness, patriarchy, and hate are
never disrupted and challenged. Thus, white supremacy stays on track” (p.86). Love articulates
the obligation of education to teach students of color how to interpret and resist oppressive
systems in order to disrupt them. In addition, to interpret these systems for young people of color
can mean acknowledging their daily lived experiences. In the present study, Black students who
had teachers discuss online viral videos of police brutality and other social justice issues reported
higher levels of cognitive and behavioral school engagement. These findings underscore the
importance of understanding students’ lived experiences and leveraging the knowledge they
bring from their home and online environments to curate learning spaces where they feel valued
and can engage productively. Black youth receive messages implicitly and explicitly about the
value systems of teachers and academic institutions with regard to race and Blackness. Being

53
intentional and explicit about facilitating open dialogues about racial justice issues as early as
middle school can prove to be a great service not only for Black students, but all students, as they
learn and develop an understanding of each other’s individual experiences and broader
institutional racism and violence. Moreover, acknowledging these issues and identifying ways to
critique systems of racism and oppression potentially has implications for the academic
trajectories of Black students.

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Appendix 1

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Analytic Sample (n=415).
Demographic Statistics %

Gender
% Girl-identified 65%
% Boy-identified 24%
% Non-binary/ GNC 9
Other 2%

Age
Mean (SD) 16.67 (1.94)

School Level
% Middle School 11%
% High School 64%
% College 25%

Income
% $13,000 or less 27%
% $13,001-20000 11%
% $20,001-30,000 10%
% $30,001-40,000 8%
% $40,001-50,000 10%
% $50,001-70,000 7%
% $70,001-100,000 9%
% $100,001-125,000 7%
% $125,001-150,000 4%
% $150,000+ 7%

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Table 2: Means (Standard deviations) across all key study variables in the present study by full sample and by
school level.
Constructs Full Sample
(n=415)
Middle School
(n=51)
High School
(n=253)
College
(n=111)
Behavioral
Engagement
3.28(1.14) 3.03(1.36) 3.31(1.14) 3.30(.99)
Cognitive
Engagement
3.08(1.05) 2.74(1.15) 3.10(1.09) 3.15 (.89)
Teacher Discussions 2.52(1.06) 2.05(.99) 2.52(1.08) 2.71(1.00)

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Table 3: Zero-order Bivariate Correlations among key study variables.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1.Income 1

2. School level -0.011 1

3. Teacher Discusses Race 0.092 0.113* 1

4. Teacher Teach Social
Justice
0.01 0.078 0.526* 1

5. Teacher Teach to Critique
Racism Online
-0.049 0.111 0.421* 0.48* 1

6. Teacher Discuss Police
Brutality
-0.09 0.201 0.432 0.415 0.601 1

7. Cognitive Engagement 0.12* 0.089 0.231* 0.326* 0.246* 0.265* 1

8. Behavioral Engagement 0.108* 0.051 0.196* 0.292* 0.196* 0.24* 0.724* 1

57

Chapter IV

Classroom Discussions of Race: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Black High
School Students

Ashley Stewart, M.A.

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Chapter IV: Paper 3
Abstract
In this study, I examined how Black students describe the nature of race-related
conversations in their classrooms. Through semi-structured interviews, sixteen students recount
their experiences of talking about contemporary racial justice issues in the context of distance
learning. Further, students described the role of technology in these conversations taking place in
virtual classrooms. Through thematic analysis, findings reveal that Black students take on much
of the labor of educating their classmates and teachers about racial justice issues in class. They
also highlight the importance of safety when having these conversations and the ways that
technology promotes an environment in which Black students feel safer having these dialogues.
Implications for teachers’ capacity building in facilitating these dialogues are discussed.

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Introduction
The strategies and practices used by teachers to highlight and discuss race in the
classroom have been examined and conceptualized in a myriad of ways. Terms such as culturally
relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), multicultural education (Banks, 1992; Sleeter
& McLaren, 1995), and most recently, antiracist education (Kailin, 2002; Blakeney, 2005) have
all been used to describe educational approaches that aim to increase equity and demonstrate a
commitment to diversity and inclusion through the curriculum, classroom activities and
dialogues, and overall classroom culture. While each of these approaches have their own bodies
of literature and have been examined as distinct constructs, they each have a common outcome in
that they explicitly or implicitly communicate race-related messages to students. Aldana and
Byrd (2015) identify this interactive transmission of race-related messages as school racial-
ethnic socialization (RES). Similar to the literature on parent RES, school RES literature
indicates that messages vary in terms of content. Byrd and Hope (2020) argue that taking a
psychological approach to school RES considers how students understand their school
environment as a result of their beliefs and previous experiences, with less focus on the
intentions of the teacher and curriculum. The current study builds on this argument by using a
qualitative approach to understand how Black high school students perceive conversations about
racial justice issues in their classrooms, particularly in the context of distance learning.
Examining Black students' experiences is particularly critical in this historical moment as
they navigate distance learning in a global pandemic that is affecting Black families and
communities physically, financially and emotionally. Additionally, Black students are navigating
their social environments at the height of social unrest as racial injustice and antiblack violence
continue on a national level. A qualitative approach allows for an in-depth understanding of the

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experiences of Black students in academic spaces discussing historical and contemporary racial
justice issues. Moreover, adolescence is a developmental period in which young people begin to
think more critically and expand their social and political identities (Finlay, Wray-Lake, &
Flanagan, 2010). For Black adolescents, in particular, their experiences are racialized in ways
that make their race a salient social identity to explore. As such, school becomes a socializing
agent in which Black students can make sense of their own experiences and apply them to those
of Black people in their communities and the broader national context.
School Racial-Ethnic Socialization
School racial-ethnic socialization, a growing area of research, refers to the explicit and
implicit ways that schools communicate messages about race and culture (Byrd & Hope, 2020).
These messages are conveyed by pre-established curriculum, as well as, through norms,
structure, and policies (Byrd & Hope, 2020; Willis et al., 2004). Early school RES scholars used
research on parent RES combined with research on multicultural education to analyze school
racial climate in five dimensions. These five dimensions include: promotion of cultural
competence, cultural socialization, mainstream socialization, colorblind socialization, and critical
consciousness socialization. Promotion of cultural competence refers to the teaching and learning
of various cultures and histories of different racial-ethnic groups. Cultural socialization refers to
the content of messages that students learn about their own racial background. Conversely,
mainstream socialization refers to learning about mainstream U.S. norms, values, and traditions,
which is comparable to egalitarianism in parental socialization research. Colorblind socialization
promotes messages that decenter race in students’ lives and experiences. Lastly, critical
consciousness socialization cultivates youth’s capacities to recognize and interrogate social
inequality and understand structural forms of racism and oppression. (Aldana & Byrd, 2015;

61
Byrd & Hope, 2020). These dimensions of school racial climate have been linked to academic
outcomes (Atwater, 2008) and can be perceived by Black students in complex ways. One of the
ways that school RES can be transmitted is explicit conversations about racial justice issues in
class.
Talking Race in Class
In a review of research on classroom conversations of race, Brown and colleagues
(2017) situate race-related conversations in classrooms as being 1) curricular, 2) discursive or 3)
disruptive with implications for how students and educators understand a racialized society.
Curricular refers to the pedagogical strategies used to plan for these conversations including
texts, tasks, and concepts to highlight. Relatedly, discursive refers to the role of language and the
linguistic tools used in these conversations. Disruptive strategies for talking about race use
critical approaches to interrogate and use counternarratives to move away from narratives and
ideologies that uphold white supremacy. This category aims to leverage the complexity of racial
justice discourse and allows for open discussion and unresolved dialogue. Additionally,
disruptive strategies recognize silence and students and teachers’ strategies for using discourse to
protect themselves and build community. This review explicitly highlights the ways that teachers
can or should be facilitating discussions using these logics with the intention of disrupting
inequalities. However, less is known about how students, particularly Black students, are
contributing to and experiencing these conversations as they become more common in U.S.
classrooms. While discussions of race have been more visible in the mainstream and social
media over the last decade (Walters, 2007), recent events such as the killings of George Floyd
and Breonna Taylor by police have led to global protests and a national conversation about the
racial injustice in the U.S. As a result, schools and educators have had to make decisions about

62
whether or not they will have conversations that address these events (Jones, 2021). Teachers
have historically avoided these conversations as they are not always equipped with the tools to
tackle these difficult, and sometimes controversial, topics with students.
Difficulty in Talking Race in Class
Teacher educators have proposed and advocated that teachers be adequately trained and
competent to teach and help students understand racial differences in ways that reduce prejudice
(Banks, 1996). Given that the public school system in the U.S. serves majority students from
racially minoritized backgrounds, the current historical moment makes this more critical than
ever before. However, discussing issues of race and racism remains a challenge as this is often
seen as an added burden on teachers to include in an already packed curriculum, as opposed to,
being viewed as a central tenet of student experiences (Bolgatz, 2005). Additionally, there is
often a sentiment that discussing race and racism could potentially perpetuate racism (Bolgatz,
2005; Hooks, 1994; Ladson-Billings, 1995). Research has shown that white teachers often are
uncomfortable talking about whiteness (McIntyre, 2003), avoid explicitly discussing race in the
teaching of U.S. History (Almarza & Fehn, 1998), and will even avoid the topic of race when
they are using texts with explicitly racial content (Ladson-Billings, 2003).
As a result of this discomfort, students of color have been shown to recognize this
“silence” as it relates to issues of race and racism. In a recent study examining Black students
perceptions of school racial climate, Byrd and Hope (2020) conceptualize silence “a noticeable
lack of content about race from their teachers and school and ambiguity “acknowledge they have
heard messages about race while at school but cannot describe what they are or recount a more
specific example. Students in the study expressed disappointment in the absence of meaningful
and consequential discussions and curriculum addressing race and Blackness.

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Current Study
As stated above, the goal of the present study is to explore the nature of conversations
about race and contemporary racial justice issues in high school classrooms as perceived by
Black students. More specifically, this study aims to examine what this phenomenon looks like
in the context of distance learning. Through semistructured interviews with Black high school
students, I aim to think critically about the role of technology in these classroom conversations.
While I acknowledge that these discussions can be sources of socialization for Black adolescents,
I also acknowledge that these discussions do not fit neatly within current conceptualizations of
school ethnic-racial socialization in the literature. In fact, it is likely that these discussions have
the potential to encompass multiple dimensions of ERS depending on how productive or helpful
students perceive them to be. Research on multicultural education and related constructs suggests
that teachers are often most comfortable with conversations that promote cultural competence
and cultural socialization in schools. Teachers are less likely to feel comfortable having
conversations specifically related to racism and oppression. Thus, it is likely that such discomfort
has implications for how these discussions are facilitated and their potential to be helpful or
harmful for Black students, specifically.
The current study is guided by the following questions: What is the nature of
conversations around race in high school classrooms? What is the utility of these
conversations for Black students? What is the role of technology in these conversations in
the context of distance learning?

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Method
Participants and Recruitment
The sample was 16 self-identified Black students in grades 9-12, mixed in gender. Table
1 summarizes the gender, grade, age, and type of school participants attend. Recruitment was
done using snowball sampling. I initially advertised the study using my social networks online,
as well as, offline networks that circulated the recruitment flyer to their networks. Interested
parties reached out to the author via email. Once an interested party contacted the author, they
received and completed a google form that would determine if they met criteria for the survey,
indicated whether they are 18 or 17 and under, and provided their own contact information and
contact information for parents if they were minors. For those who met criteria parents were
emailed a consent form to be signed electronically by them and the student. Only once consent
and assent was received were participants scheduled for zoom interviews. Participants who were
already 18 were sent consent forms to be signed electronically and returned before scheduling an
interview.
Study Procedure
Consent/assent forms were returned and an interview was scheduled. Participants
received a zoom invitation via email that included date and time of the interview. Once we were
both in the Zoom room, I reviewed the purpose of the study once more. I also asked the
participant for permission to record the interview. If the participant granted permission to record,
I then asked them to choose a pseudonym and provided them with instructions to change their
display name on zoom to that synonym. I then started the recording.
In these 45-minute long semi-structured interviews, participants were asked to describe a
time where they discussed race-related issues that were publicized in the news at school. Probes

65
encouraged students to give details about the conversation, their perceptions and responses to it.
The interview moved on to ask about what they would like to see from teachers and in
classrooms as it related to learning how to discuss and address these issues. Each interview was
transcribed and uploaded with no personal identifying information. Participants received a $15
gift card for their participation in the study. Given the sensitive nature of race-related topics,
participants were also given a list of mental health resources at the conclusion of the interview.
Analysis
Given that quantitative studies on race-related online experiences provide some insight
into the types of experiences youth are having (Tynes, Willis, Stewart, & Hamilton, 2019), we
took a deductive and inductive analytic approach. Thematic analysis was used to systematically
analyze the data (Braun & Clark, 2006). First transcripts were uploaded and stored in Nvivo
(edition number). I, along with a research assistant who also identifies as a Black woman, read
interview transcripts, and developed a coding scheme that included any topics that were related
classroom conversations around race, social justice issues, and the role of technology. I then re-
read all 16 transcripts, coded the interviews in NVivo, and wrote memos noting trends while
coding. I then read through her memos and excerpts in NVivo to indicate observable patterns in
the data and reviewed these with the research assistant to share, discuss, and interpret the memos
and excerpts coded. The final agreed-upon themes were chosen based on their relevance to the
research questions. Themes are presented below.
Positionality and Ensuring Trustworthiness
All interviews were conducted by the author, a Black woman. As a Black woman and
graduate student researcher, I was empowered by my positionality in conducting this study. As is
the case for all researchers, my identities and life experiences inspired this inquiry of research

66
and the manner in which I collected, coded, analyzed, and understood the data. Given the salient
similarities and nuanced differences across my identity and the identities of my participants,
there are many approaches that I employed to strengthen the trustworthiness of this work. For
example, in preparing the protocol for this study, I commissioned an advisory board of three
Black high school students, two girls and one boy, who reviewed interview questions and
consulted on phrasing and wording of protocol questions to ensure questions were understood in
the ways they were intended to be.
Results
In what follows, I present the themes that emerged from participant interviews based on our
analyses.
RQ 1: What is the nature of conversations around race in high school classrooms?
Where and When are conversations about race taking place?
When it came to discussing where and when conversations about broad racial topics often
occurred, students often mentioned History and English courses. Donte, who is 15, said “Last
time I can remember we talked about black history would be like eighth grade, and that's because
we were reading To Kill a Mockingbird, or no. Ninth grade, and it was in my English class. It
wasn't positive history. It was slavery, so …”. Here Donte, who is now in 10th grade, reflects on
the last time he remembers there being a conversation related to race, and specifically, Black
history in his courses. He references his English course from the previous year and notes that it
was not being discussed in a positive manner. Chloe, on the other hand, has had a different
experience attending a Catholic school and shares her experiences talking about race related
topics in her classes. She shares:
I would say because since most of what happened with the Black Lives Matter movement was in
the summer, they did hold prayer services where again, they did pray about the situation, but it
wasn't really like an open discussion kind of thing. But I would say that we do dwell on it in

67
history class. So definitely in my history class, we do talk about race and how that plays a part in
America and how some people have to work harder than others. We did talk about that in
history, not so much in my other classes, not because I don't care about it, but it doesn't really go
with their own curriculum. So I think that's why. Usually they do in English because it's kind of
like you're writing, you can be creative and write about your struggles, but I would say definitely
in the English and even religion, since I do take that, we do talk about it in, I would say History,
Religion and English more so just because you can kind of write about it and reflect on it and it
kind of ties in with their curriculum.

Similar to Donte’, Chloe identifies English as a course where conversations about race-related
topics occur. Additionally, she names history and religion as courses where her teachers talk
about issues related to inequality and oppression in the curriculum. Brooke, who is a senior,
shares that her history teacher has not only discussed historical issues of race and racism, but
they have also discussed more contemporary racial issues. She says, “I would say they did talk
about racism prior to the Capitol and what has happened there. We did talk about the race issue
in the sixties and even before that, but then also in history class, we'll talk about the race issue
today. So you kind of talk about it in this class.” In these examples of teachers making the effort
to incorporate discussions of race or culturally relevant pedagogy into the curriculum, history
and english courses are most commonly named. When asked to describe the nature of her
experiences in these classes related to race, Megan goes on to describe an instance that occurred
and left an impression prior to the beginning of the school year. Megan shares:
But, when my English teacher put out the syllabus for this year, I kid you not, the first picture
that was on there was of the Freedom Riders getting beat up. So, I was confused. I was like,
"Wait a minute. This is the first time, this is your syllabus and your welcome letter. This is how I
get to know who you are as a person and the first picture you want to show me is this? Okay."

In her description, Megan expresses confusion by the teacher’s choice to use a violent image that
is a representation of historical racialized violence toward Black people on the syllabus. In her
statement, she expressed concern around the lack of contextual introduction to the image as it is
the students’ first introduction to the teacher and the course content.

68
Teacher Missed opportunities for intervention:
In discussing their experiences engaging in conversations or discussions related to race,
Black students often indirectly described “missed opportunities for teacher intervention”. For
example, 15 year-old Megan describes an instance where a white student in her virtual
classroom, who she identified as a “proud Trump supporter” was making derogatory and
inflammatory comments about the Black Lives Matter organization. Megan shares that she
responded to the student and was visibly upset in the moment. When asked if or how her teacher
responded, Megan shared:
I mean, they did agree with me and say, "Yes, Black Lives Matter. It's true what they're saying,"
and they kind of just wanted to move on. My teacher actually called myself and another student
after class who had been the one speaking up to these people, and he told us that he does fully
agree with us and he just doesn't want us to get attacked, because he said based on a lot of the
assignments that some of those students had turned in, he knows their points of view and he knows
that it wouldn't go well if we were to argue over distance learning, so he wants to protect us by
just, everyone gets their say and then we move on.

In this excerpt, Megan shares that the teacher does verbally agree with her in the moment.
However, there is not a discussion about why the student made those comments or why they may
be harmful to students in the classroom because “they kind of just wanted to move on”. Megan
also names the fact that the teacher called her and another student after the class to check-in and
provide affirmation to their comments and feelings. The teacher also justifies their actions or lack
thereof in class by suggesting that engaging in further dialogue around the topic would potentially
lead to an argument. Thus, suggesting that allowing everyone to “get their say” and move on was
the best solution for everyone.
In another example, Alexis, 16, describes an instance where a white student in her class
would make comments about her hair and often self-identify as Black because her white
grandmother lived in Egypt, but was not from there. Alexis often found those comments

69
offensive given the historical racialization and subjugation of Black people in America. One
can’t simply “take up” being Black. Additionally, when Alexis wore braids in her hair, the
student would pat her own head mocking the gesture Alexis would do if her braids were itching.
When asked if or how her teachers responded when the student would make those derogatory
comments, Alexis replied “Most teachers didn't do anything”. Alexis goes on to say of her
history teacher: “I don't think he really understood what was happening, to be very honest. And,
that's something I rarely ever say about somebody. But, I think he genuinely did not know that
she was mocking me, at times. But then, I think sometimes he did know, because then he would
mock her right back and do like jabs at her. So I'm like, ‘Okay, maybe he does know,’ but,
yeah.” Here, Alexis expresses that she cannot determine whether or not the teacher understands
that the student is inflicting harm. However, she also notes that the teacher may understand to an
extent based on his mocking behavior toward the student. Here is another missed opportunity for
the teacher to intervene in a thoughtful and meaningful way to address the racialized nature of
the comments and mockery toward Alexis.
Lastly, Chloe who is a 17-year old senior in high school describes a recent incident
following the Capitol insurrection which took place on January 6, 2021. Chloe shares that her
school community talked about the insurrection in most of her classes the following day and
describes a moment during the discussion in which she says:
When we were talking about the Capitol, someone in my class brought up how some of the
protesters are Antifa and no one said anything. And then one of my friends behind me texted me
and was like... This was when we were actually virtual. So we were online, she brought up how
she heard that some of the protesters were Antifa, then my friend texted me and was like, "what?
do you hear what's going on?" And I texted her back and I was like, "yeah I know because Antifa
had nothing to do with that and they said that". I guess there's sometimes where it's not racist, but
it's kind of I would say dumb because some people like don't really do their research. I would say
it's a dumb comment where they just kind of don't really pay attention to what's going on. Then
they say a comment that's not true.

70
In this example, Chloe articulates that her classmate made a comment alluding to the fact
that another organization, commonly associated with Black Americans, was involved in storming
the Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. Chloe says “no one said anything”. Here is
just one more example of a missed opportunity for impactful dialogue in which students could
have potentially learned more about how and from where these false narratives originate and the
ways they are often racialized with deep roots in antiblackness. While this section has
highlighted missed opportunities for teacher intervention, the following section highlights
instances in which Black students took it upon themselves to speak up or “teach” their peers, and
in some cases their teachers during race-related conversation.
Black Students Teachable Moments
Across interviews, Black students often highlighted instances during classroom
discussions where they felt they needed to “educate” their classmates, and in some cases, the
teachers on race-related issues. They also discuss moments where they were the only ones who
spoke up in defense of themselves as Black students, as well as, the Black Lives Matter
Movement when students were misinformed or making racist comments. For instance, Justin 15
describes conversations about George Floyd and police brutality that took place in his history
class. He says:
I don't really bring it up. I don't bring it up out of the blue, but there are a lot of people who have
misconceptions in my grade and in my classes, and so when they say something false, I'm the first
one to shut it down because I know for a fact it's wrong and I'm not going to let them tell other
people something they don't even know anything about. So I'll unmute immediately and shut it
down, and typically my teachers are on my side, so it's not too difficult.

In another case, Anne, who is a sophomore, explains that she is often the only person to
acknowledge and speak out against issues of racism in her classes. However, she acknowledges

71
that some non-Black students posted on social media in solidarity, particularly around the time of
the racial unrest amid the killing of George Floyd last summer. Anne shares:
I know that some post on their [Instagram] stories, especially, as I mentioned, closer to June of
last year, but I don't know if there's actively someone who's not black who does that. I don't have
any other black person in my class. All the other black people in my school are either a grade
above or a grade below me. Actually, that's not true. Maybe there's one black person in my grade
who still goes to this school, but if it's not me, then I don't really know who else it is. Typically,
it's a person of color.

Anne names the fact that she is one of few Black students in her school, yet takes on most of the
labor required to address and educate students on race-related topics in her classes. Her
experiences mirror those of other participants. Megan describes a time when she was assigned a
group project in which students were assigned to propose a solution to a social issue. While
Megan wanted to propose a solution to police brutality, she explained that students in her group
did not think that police brutality was an issue and instead wanted to do a project related to gun
control. Megan shared that New Jersey already had some of the strictest gun laws in the country,
but had a pervasive issue with police brutality. Megan pushed the group to reconsider and
ultimately was able to convince her team to research and present on police brutality. Below is an
excerpt of Megan’s interview in which she describes her presentation to the class.
Soo then, what I did was, which it was petty, but it also did scar some children, which I feel
really bad about, was I played the censored version of the Rodney King video, in class, part of
my presentation. I played it. I made them watch it, for 42 minutes. We talked about it. And, my
teacher let me…..Which I was like, "Wait, you're going to let me do this?" So, she did it. And,
that's when the offensive comments for that project stopped, because I made them watch it. I was
like, "Look, we have this project, and if we have a chance to talk to the people that run this state
and possibly that run the country, then we're going to take it.".

Throughout her interview, Megan describes moments like this one in which she is acting as an
advocate and educator of social justice related issues in her classes and school, writ large. She
even talks about starting a Black Student Union at her school and encountering pushback from
parents of non-Black students for their programming designed to celebrate African American

72
culture and raise awareness of social justice issues in their community and in the broader United
States.
As described in each of these excerpts, Black students often feel like they are, in some
cases, the only ones in their classes that educate students on these topics and work hard to make
people understand the harm that is done to Black people in this country, even in the face of
pushback from students, and sometimes authority figures. Shante, a senior describes how she has
to analogize Black people’s experience with those from other groups in order to help students
empathize and understand. Shante explains:
One of the kids in my history class. So then, what I did was, he was Jewish, so I related it to the
Holocaust. I said, "So, back then, the Holocaust was okay? It was okay to judge people because
they were Jewish?" He said, "Well, no." I said, "It's the same thing."
And people said, "Well, why didn't the slaves just leave?" I said, "Well, why didn't the Jews just
leave? Why didn't they just walk out the concentration camps, put on their shoes and go home?
And they're like, "Well, what do you mean just go home?" I said, "No, I'm serious. They were
still in Germany. Their homes were right there. Why didn't they just go home?" They said,
"Well, their soldiers had their homes." I said, "Well, my ancestors' homes were in Africa, so ..."
And they're like, "Well, why didn't they just rebel?" My argument was always, because in this
town they're mainly Jewish. My argument is always, "Well, why didn't the Jews just rebel?"

In each of these examples, Black high school students are able to identify and describe moments
in which they have to make a choice to educate their peers or allow misinformation or harmful
rhetoric to persist in the classroom. While they may not always be the person to initiate these
conversations, Black students are playing important roles in shaping these classroom dialogues
with little to no external incentives. In the following section, I describe students; perceptions of
these conversations’ utility in (virtual) classrooms.
RQ 2: What is the utility of these conversations for Black students?

When asked how useful these dialogues are, students often communicated mixed
responses. They recognized and expressed that these conversations were necessary, but also

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identified potentially negative implications when they aren’t adequately guided and provided
with accurate information. Jamal, a junior, speaks directly to the ways that these conversations
can potentially lead to uncomfortable interactions for him, personally. He says:
I would say that sometimes it's a hurt because if I were to be asked to work with that student
maybe in a breakout room, it would be much harder for me to be nice and participate with them,
especially knowing that I can do it on my own. So I would probably leave them in the dark, but it
could help also, just knowing who supports me, I guess, or is just not against me. They don't
even have to like me. Just knowing that you're fine with my race is good enough for me.

Conversely, Mykia, speaks in more pronounced ways about how these dialogues can be
beneficial for students, particularly, white students. She also speaks about how, similar to Jamal,
in some cases these conversations can potentially lead to her feeling more supported by her white
classmates and friends, Mykia shares:
I would say it's helped me kind of just open my eyes to certain things that have been happening
in there, especially it's opened my friend's eyes to other things that happen in America. I know
some of my friends are white, so I know some things they can't really relate to, but now it's kind
of like, they all have been learning about it and reading about it and doing their own research to
see what goes on and what has been happening and how it affects them. I do know over the
summer I was flooded with text messages from my friends who were white, just asking me if I
was okay, if I needed anything, if I ever needed to talk to, they were there just because they saw
what was happening. I think it does, whenever we do have those discussions, it does help me see
people in a different light and it does help me kind of grow as a person and kind of understand
situations more on a deeper level.

Mykia and Jamal speak to how these classroom conversations around race have been useful and
the implications for students, socially. Another student, India, discussed how these conversations
can be beneficial for learning academic content, as well. India shares:
I think it does. It kind of makes the class more interesting when we have discussions rather than
kind of just listening to a teacher talk to you about... I mean I'm in a politics class, so it's kind of
more interesting talking about things that have happened over the summer and that have been
happening now instead of kind of just talking about politics. It does make it more interesting.

74
Here, India is speaking to the ways that bringing in relevant real world examples can make the
curricular content more interesting for students and foster deeper connections to academic
material. Megan, similar to Jamal, has mixed feelings about having the conversations. She
articulates the complexities of these conversations and the necessity of adequate support and
education for them to be productive.
I think they're very useful and helpful. Because, you're going to come in contact with people who
are different than you. You're not always going to know what they're going through. Even with
their race, you're not going to know. Because a white person's not going to understand the pain
that I feel. So, I think it's helpful, but only if the right education is given...
But, I think there's the wrong information. Then that's when it becomes more harmful than
helpful. Because, then, they're not getting the issue.

Megan explicitly states that these conversations can be “harmful” when inaccurate information is
being communicated or allowed in the space. However, she also expressed a belief in the
promise of these conversations to be helpful in promoting understanding and compassion across
racial ethnic groups. In a time where racial and social unrest is at its peak and a pandemic that is
ravaging racially minoritized communities and families, creating spaces that promote empathy
and understanding are critical.
RQ 3: What is the role of technology in these conversations in the context of distance
learning?
Throughout these interviews, the role of technology came up both directly and indirectly. Across
the described themes, students refer to the virtual classrooms and the roles they play in engaging
in some of these difficult conversations regarding race and social justice issues as compared to in
person conversations.
Potential Barriers to Engagement
Students talked about the difficulty in determining students’ engagement and interests in
conversations related to racial justice. Chanee shares:

75
Distance learning and people not turning on their cameras, not turning on their mics, not typing in
the chat, I really don't know how a lot of my other classmates feel. I know how my Black
classmates feel; there's like five of us at school. I follow them on Instagram and I know how they
feel, but otherwise I have no idea if it's really a helpful conversation or if they're even listening.

Chanee describes what she perceives as a lack of engagement during some of these conversations
as a result of the virtual platform they are using to interact. She expressed how some of the
platform’s features make it more difficult to determine how students are feeling about the
conversations or whether or not they care to have them. Chanee also communicates that she knows
where her Black schoolmates stand on these issues based on their social media presence, which is
another way that the internet and virtual communities have shown up in these interviews. Megan
shares a similar perspective related to not being able to have these conversations in person.
So, whereas, when we were in school, it was a lot easier to argue. I was able to get my point
across, and you can't mute yourself. You can't turn off your video. You have to look at me talk to
you. Whereas now, people can just turn off their video and not look at me. When it comes to
those conversations, I hate that we have to have them on Zoom. But, safety's first, of course. But,
I'd rather have those in-person, so I can make the person look at me.

Chanee and Megan, who are both outgoing and highly engaged students in their classes, find the
virtual facilitation to be limiting in some ways as it relates to having meaningful and engaging
dialogue.
Virtual Classrooms as a Safe Space
Megan introduces this idea of “safety” which is further established and supported across
interviews. Anne, speaks to the ways that technology has been helpful to her in really critical ways.
She says:
I feel like having these conversations through distance learning is easier for me. If we had to do
it in school, I would in a heartbeat, but it's just easier knowing that if anyone attacks me, I can
mute them, but also if we were in school, I don't know what would happen to me because there
are a lot of Trump supporters who are proud, and they make their intentions clear. So I don't
know if they would just do something crazy like those people at the Capital. I really don't.

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In this quote, Anne is speaking directly about the ways that technology can promote safety for
Black students engaging in these conversations with students from other racial ethnic groups.
She explicitly references the recent insurrection at the capitol building in Washington DC on
January 6, 2021 and compares the insurrectionists to Trump-supporting students in her classes.
However, she says that having these conversations virtually allows for a level of distance and
protection from being “attacked”. She also mentions that when someone says something harmful,
the mute feature on Zoom is helpful for minimizing the potential severity of the harm. Kelly
speaks, similarly, to the ways that virtual classrooms have allowed students to feel safe to
express themselves in these conversations. She references the benefits of the private direct
messaging function for communicating points anonymously to the class through the teacher and
having the autonomy to be able to choose whether or not they want their identities attached to
their comments. Kelly says:
Normally when we have conversations like these if we don't want to have our name attached to
it, we could send a private chat to a teacher and they can just read. They could just read what we
typed and not say our names to it. If people don't want to know what other people said, they don't
really have to know, but if we do feel confident enough to share with everyone, we are allowed
to do that too.

In this instance, Kelly recognizes the vulnerability that these conversations require, as well as,
the importance of feeling safe to express your opinions and concerns related to race and social
justice issues. In her interview, Lima describes a moment where her teacher, a white woman,
read “the N-word” aloud while reading an assigned text. She expresses that students were
visibly upset and addressed her. Lima says, “Because, in other classes when she said the N word
from the book, they had gone off on her in the Zoom, and then they left.”(Lima says that students
“left”, meaning they left the zoom room). This is important because the virtual context,
undoubtedly, shaped the way students were able to react to this teacher. In person, students may

77
not have felt as empowered to stand up for themselves or leave the physical classroom and been
made to sit with their discomfort and triggers.
Another student, Chloe, talks about another approach to responding (or not responding)
to harm during these conversations. In this case, technology continues to provide opportunities
for students to deal with their emotions in these moments. Unlike Lima who described how
students reacted in a zoom classroom in the moment, Chloe references how she and her
classmates have used groupchats to validate one another and share their concern or disagreement
with how a teacher addressed a Black student who did not have their zoom camera on during
class. Chloe shared that the teacher made a comment about the student not having money to
afford broader bandwidth for her family’s wifi. Students took offense to this comment and took
the conversation to their groupchat.
Chloe: We didn't really respond to her, but we do have a group chat. In the group chat, a lot of
people were saying, "Why did she have to say it like that?" We did actually tell my friend about
what had happened and what she had said.

In this scenario. technology is again being used to create safe spaces for students outside of the
“classroom” to discuss what is taking place in the “classroom”, particularly when the harm is
being done by a teacher or another authority figure. Students take it upon themselves to create
these spaces\
Discussion
The current study used qualitative methods to explore what classroom conversations
around race and social justice look like for Black high school students and the role of technology
in these conversations at a time where most students are engaging in hybrid or distance learning.
Overall, students expressed that these conversations typically took place in English and history
courses, which is consistent with literature exploring classroom conversations of race (Bloome,

78
Power Carter, Morton Christian, Otto & Shuart-Faris, 2005; Bolgatz , 2006). However, some
participants also mentioned that teachers in other courses outside of English and history made
attempts at facilitating dialogues when there were highly publicized race-related incidents, such
as the capital insurrection or a police shooting. While generally it seemed that Black students
perceived their teachers as well-intentioned, they also described moments where teachers missed
opportunities for intervention when they, as students, have had to act as experts on these issues in
the classroom. These findings reflect literature that suggests that teachers in the US often shy
away from conversations about race due to feelings of discomfort or fear of being perceived as
racist (Sue et al., 2009), as well as, the fact that schools rarely take a critical approach to racial
justice issues (Byrd & Hope, 2020; Ladson-Billings, 2004).
The teachers described in this study seemed to have a desire to introduce some of these
topics of race and diversity, but did not necessarily have the skill or training to manage these
conversations in ways that make Black students feel safe and seen. Black students described
moments where tensions would arise between perspectives or students in class, and the response
from teachers would be to end the conversation. In these moments, students were asked to move
on to another topic. However, for many of them, it is then very difficult to continue with course
content as usual after experiencing harm from the comments of a classmate and no direct
response from the teacher at that moment. Students' acknowledgment and naming of these
moments in this study supports research that shows that high school students understand when
teachers are not equipped or supported in discussing racial injustice and oppression in school
(Hope et al., 2015). Findings indicated that teachers and other non-Black students would reach
out to Black students after class to check-in or express their agreement with their perspectives,

79
but in those moments of the incident, Black students felt they were alone in their perspectives
and in their support of racial justice and Black Lives.
Analysis also revealed safety was a concern for Black students engaging in some of these
dialogues. Notably, students were vocal about the recent insurrection that took place in
Washington and often made comments about not knowing what [white] people might do after
witnessing that incident. However, students rarely made mention about shying away from these
conversations. In fact, they advocated for having them and spoke in depth about the importance
and utility of having these conversations in class as a means of demonstrating a commitment and
valuation of Black people and the urgency of finding a solution to racial violence and injustice.
Students often took up this work themselves by speaking out in class and creating groups and
clubs, in person and virtually, that provided learning experiences for their classmates and entire
school communities around issues of racial justice and antiblackness. Additionally, these groups
allowed for Black students to celebrate their Blackness and culture by, in one case, providing
Black History Month programming for the entire school, to which they experienced pushback
and negative responses from adults in the community. These findings are consistent with early
education research on classroom dialogues around race in higher education classrooms that show
students of color, and Black students in particular, often take leadership and guide conversations
around race and racial justice issues (Tatum, 1992). This research also explicitly names the
creation of a safe classroom atmosphere for all students in preparation for these discussions
(Tatum, 1992). Findings in this study are also consistent with the work of developmental
scholars whose work indicates that Black youth and children have more advance conceptions of
race and discrimination (Brown & Bigler, 2005; Dulin-Keita, Hannon, Fernandez, & Cockerham,
2012).

80
In addition to the themes described above, it is important to note the context in which
these conversations are occurring. Students in this study are navigating high school in the midst
of a global pandemic that is disproportionately impacting Black communities (Center for Disease
Control, 2020). That said, school as they know it has drastically changed. Students are attending
school virtually using digital technologies that they, as well as, their teachers are learning while
also learning course content. Students often directly and indirectly mentioned the role of
technology in these classroom conversations of race. Specifically, students mentioned that they
felt safer from attacks when engaging in these conversations in virtual classrooms and said that
teachers and students can be muted, use anonymous chats, or leave the virtual classroom
altogether. Conversely, students also indicated that lack of video and audio can, at times, be
perceived as a lack of engagement or care for these issues directly affecting Black people, which
has left students feeling unsupported or feeling as if their classmates or teachers may hold racist
beliefs about them and Black people, more broadly.
Black Youth Perspective: Experiences and Implications of Classroom-Conversations of
Race in Virtual Settings and Beyond

There are several key findings of this work that emphasize the complex roles that Black
students play in cultivating learning environments that raise the critical racial consciousness of
everyone in the classroom, including teachers. While Black students took the initiative of often
speaking out against racist or harmful comments or treatment, they did so in the face of teachers
and administration either not responding or inadvertently inflicting even more harm. Black
students in this study were acutely aware of the possibilities that students in their classes or even
their teachers could potentially hold similar racial attitudes to those who “stormed the capitol”,
and what that might mean for them as Black students in the space. Students referred to the virtual
classroom as being a “safer” way of having these conversations. However, as students begin to

81
enter in-person schooling and issues of racial violence and injustice persist, it is critical that
educational leaders and scholars find ways to make these classrooms safe spaces for Black
children to advocate for themselves and others. Additionally, although teachers are making
attempts at facilitating these conversations, their discomfort with the tensions that arise during
these dialogues limit their possibilities for helping students to think critically about the topics
they are discussing. Furthermore, continuing to not intervene in the moment that a student is
making harmful, racist or inaccurate comments might create an environment in which Black
students feel uncomfortable or unsafe, and non-Black students think those types of comments are
appropriate.
Another area of concern is the curricular content around race and racism. Some of the
students in this study voiced concern around the pedagogical strategies being used when it came
to curricular content that engaged issues of historical racism. This finding is consistent with
previous studies that highlight the voices of Black high school students and found they were
discontent with the ways that race, culture, and class were engaged in core courses (Hope,
Skoog, & Jagers, 2014). Students described moments when teachers would blatantly use the “N-
word” when reading assigned texts and students were visibly uncomfortable and upset. These
moments do little to build students’ confidence and trust in their teachers and the learning
environment.
Limitations and Future Directions
Through this exploration, Black high school students describe the nature of classroom
conversations as it relates to race and contemporary racial justice issues in the context of distance
learning. While this study offers critical insights to the perceptions and experiences of Black
high school students engaging in these discussions, it is not without limitations. One such

82
consideration is that most of the students in this study attended schools in which they were one
of few Black students in the school. Only three of the students in this study attended schools that
primarily served Black students. Scholars should continue to examine what these conversations
look like in classrooms where the majority of students are Black or their teachers are Black to
determine whether Black students are having similar experiences as those in this study. We also
had limited representation of boys and no representation of students who identified as nonbinary
or gender non-conforming. Black girls in this study took on leadership positions both formally
and informally when it came to educating classmates, and even teachers, on topics related to
racial justice. They also intervened, often, when harm was being done to another one of their
Black classmates or when something problematic was said. Future work should also consider,
more explicitly, the experiences of Black boys also engaging in these conversations in academic
settings as it has been established that girls have unique academic experiences compared to boys
(Chavous & Cogburn, 2007).
Taken together, findings from the current study suggests that Black adolescents have an
advanced critical analysis of the racial history of this country and its application to contemporary
racial injustice. They are also able to make connections to their own experiences in their schools
and communities. Black adolescents in this study also take lead roles in facilitating these
conversations and teaching their peers in class and, in some cases, teachers by addressing
misinformation and harmful or racist rhetoric in the moment. This study also highlights the role
of technology as a tool that allows for students to feel safer while having these conversations.
Future research should explore what safety might look like for in-person classrooms where these
conversations are taking place. Lastly, district leaders and administrators should prioritize
supporting and training teachers to be able to effectively have these conversations in ways that

83
cultivate safety for Black students and foster students’ critical thinking skills as it relates to
issues of racial justice in virtual and physical educational spaces.

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CHAPTER V: Integrative Conclusion
The overarching goal of my dissertation was to contribute empirically to scholars'
understandings of Black youth’s race-related digital and academic experiences. In this regard,
my dissertation contributes to the literature in the following ways. Consistent with research on
youth’s race-related experiences online, Chapter II deepens into Black youth’s emotional
sensemaking about their exposure to racist content and violence online. In thinking about how to
best support Black students' sensemaking around racial justice issues, Chapter III examines the
role of teacher discussions of race in school engagement across middle school, high school, and
college-aged groups. Findings indicated on average, the majority of youth in the study reported
having a teacher mention the viral videos of police brutality or other social justice issues at least
one time. Findings also indicated that having a teacher discuss contemporary racial justice in
class was linked to higher scores for cognitive and behavioral engagement. Chapter IV aimed to
deeply explore the nature and utility of these conversations for Black students. Through
semistructured interviews with Black high school students, I gained important insight about how
Black students’ experience classroom conversations about race and how they take up much of
the labor of educating their peers and teachers in these discussions. Although each of these three
chapters provide their own distinct contributions and limitations, collectively they identify
important factors that allow us to better understand the processes by which Black youth make
sense of their own racialized experiences online and in academic spaces, as well as, the
experiences of others in their community.
Implications for Policy and Practice
The current political climate makes these set of dissertation studies particularly important
as conservative state legislatures aim to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT)in K-12 classrooms

85
(Sawchuk, 2021). A framework for understanding how race and racism shape U.S. policy and
institutions, CRT is being framed in popular media and policy discussions as teachings that
"exacerbate and inflame divisions on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national
origin, or other criteria in ways contrary to the unity of the nation and the well-being of the state
of Idaho and its citizens” according to a proposed bill in Idaho (Asmalash, 2021).The current
dissertation studies directly counter this notion by evidencing the ways that facilitating critical
dialogues around racial justice is beneficial, particularly for Black students. Of importance to
note, educators need resources and capacity-building support to be able to facilitate these
conversations in safe and productive ways. Chapter III highlights the promise of teaching
students to critique racism and acknowledging their lived experiences navigating an antiblack
society. Education systems should also leverage the expertise of Black students by including
them in curriculum building efforts and compensating them for their time and labor. Chapter IV,
in particular, highlights the knowledge and commitment of Black students to advocate for
themselves and others when it comes to issues of racial justice even in the face of potential harm.
Chapters II and IV capture the varied experiences of Black students when engaging
technology. Specifically, Chapter II captures and describes Black youth’s negative race-related
experiences in online spaces and how they make sense of these experiences, while Chapter IV
identifies the ways in which technology serves as a mechanism for safety when engaging in
some of these difficult conversations. To that end, technology companies should be held
accountable for perpetuating and circulating antiblack racism vis-à-vis the viral sharing of Black
death. Additionally, racist content production and sharing should also be addressed in ways that
minimize harm for those groups that are targeted, beyond the “report this post” option.

86
Future Directions for Research
The current dissertation provides preliminary insights into the sense-making process and
responses of Black youth encountering and witnessing racial trauma or discriminatory messages
in digital spaces. Future research should build on this line of inquiry by theorizing further on the
distinct steps or stages of sensemaking processes to better understand students’ emotional and
political responses. For instance, understanding the intention behind and what informs a
students’ response to a racist comment, post, or video online is critically important when
determining how to support them for best possible outcomes. Scholars should also take into
account students other salient identities when considering how they are making sense of the
racist content or engaging in conversations about racial justice in classrooms. While the current
dissertation focuses on race, Black students’, and adults’, discriminatory experiences are also
gendered with Black people of all genders having unique experiences as a result of intersecting
axes of oppression that have implications for their material conditions and overall life outcomes
(Crenshaw, 1989). Relatedly, Black students’ academic experiences are also gendered. Evidence
suggests differences in negative race-related classroom experiences and in the impact of earlier
and later discrimination experiences on academic outcomes (Chavous, Rivas-Drake, Smalls,
Griffin & Cogburn, 2008). Thus, future research should be intentional about applying an
intersectional lens to examining the digital and academic experiences of Black young people.
As the educational and research implications highlight, the current dissertation offers a
myriad of next steps that have the potential to push educational and psychological scholarship in
exciting, new directions. Specifically, by using a multi-method approach to better understand the
experiences of black youth and the ways that they and the adults in their lives respond to them,
the current findings can both advance our understanding of African American psychology and

87
reduce disparities in educational and other developmental outcomes for Black young people.

88
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract Previous research has established the deleterious effects of negative racial experiences and messages on Black youth’s development across domains (Benner, 2018). For academic outcomes, in particular, online racial discrimination, defined by Tynes and colleagues (2008) as experiences that threaten, exclude, or target individuals based on race and ethnicity through online tools such as video, text, images etc was found to be negatively associated with students desire to persist and do well in school (Tynes, Del Toro, Lozada, 2015). Relatedly, while online racial traumatic events such as seeing a video of police shooting a Black person has not yet been examined in relation to academic outcomes, it has been linked to symptoms of PTSD and depression for Black adolescents (Tynes, Willis, Stewart, & Hamilton, 2019). These important findings underscore the need for further exploration of how Black youth make sense of these experiences and what they might need to thrive academically in spite of these experiences. The current dissertation uses mixed-methods to examine how Black youth make sense of the negative racial online experiences and online racial trauma and the role that teachers play in helping them to cope and evaluate these experience. Implications for academic outcomes are also explores and discussed.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Stewart, Ashley Marie (author)

Core Title Racial discourse in the Black Lives Matter era: Black youth’s academic and digital experiences

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Urban Education Policy

Degree Conferral Date 2021-12

Publication Date 10/15/2021

Defense Date 06/03/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academic engagement,anti-racism,black students,OAI-PMH Harvest,racial justice,teacher conversations

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tynes, Brendesha (committee chair), Huey, Stanley (committee member), Patall, Erika (committee member)

Creator Email stewaram@usc.edu,stewartam3@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC16208269

Unique identifier UC16208269

Legacy Identifier etd-StewartAsh-10167

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Stewart, Ashley Marie

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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