Policing and Silencing of Critical Teaching: Ethnic Studies Teacher Candidates of Color and the Need for Homeplace Amid Racial Repression

Abstract

California Assembly Bill 101 (2021) mandated a semester of Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement for high school students across the state. This step forward for culturally sustaining curricula also created new demands, including the development of future Ethnic Studies teachers. This article uses critical race theory and bell hooks’ concept of homeplace to understand the experiences of a cohort of teacher candidates of Color enrolled in an Ethnic Studies concentration within a teacher education program in a region marked by vocal opposition to critical race theory. Policed and silenced by cooperating teachers and peers, candidates found refuge among their ethnic studies cohort and instructors. We build on these findings to offer recommendations to improve the climate for Ethnic Studies teacher candidates.