Speaking truth to power: Black educators’ perspectives on challenging racial injustice through the lens of systemic racism theory

Abstract

The author utilizes Joe R. Feagin’s ideologies pertaining to systemic racism to understand and explain the various experiences and consequences of black educators, in public and higher education, who defy and/or attempt to rectify policies, procedures, and systems deemed racially unjust. The author draws not only on theory, but also on testimony from a diverse pool of black male and black female faculty, and on his own academic experiences. Findings highlight the professional and psychological effects on blacks of pursuing racialized social justice within an historic oppressive institution.