International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: McCarthy-Brown, N. (2022). Navigating anti-racism in an anti-black landscape: A dance educator’s reflection. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 23(1). Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea23n1

In 2022, many are coming to understand that racism is a proverbial pollutant in the water people in the U.S drink. Moreover, it is a toxin all members of a race-based society consume, and all must address. In this paper, I share my reflexive journey facing and dismantling racism in my own teaching praxis—examining ways I have upheld structures of whiteness. I reflect on previous teaching experiences and consider operations of race in the dance classroom from the perspectives of a parent, teacher, and student. I hold space for resistance and consider the real-world motivations around these acts. I support teachers moving forward in the work of dismantling oppressive practices with reflective prompts and an evaluative syllabus tool, offered as resources for those working to reform their teaching.