What’s With All This Race Talk Anyway? A Literature Review on Antiracist Education

Abstract

This article reviews the developing literature on antiracist education and the emerging frameworks for recognizing racism in educational spaces. Much of the literature draws on Critical Race Theory as the underlying framework to conceptualize race and racism. Many scholars emphasize the need for antiracist practices in K-12 education. There was, however significant research evidence that suggested a gap between antiracist pedagogy and knowledge and the actual implementation into everyday teaching practices. The review also found evidence of suggested strategies and frameworks teacher education programs and school division professional development should do to help aid the implementation of antiracist education in schools and classrooms. Evidently, the review points to the importance for faculty to self-reflect on their experiences with race. I conclude with an invitation to recognize and understand how to can show up as an antiracist educator, today, tomorrow and for the future. Keywords: race, racism, antiracist education, critical race theory, racialized students