Race…racism; a noun, action, and topic which feels like it has been controversial, and almost taboo, within society since the beginning of time, with no result or solution. It’s amongst the numerous grave matters – e.g. global warming, famine, world poverty etc – within society (past and present) that is recycled every decade and generation.

Before I delve further into this blog topic, a very delicate topic at that, I must admit one thing. As an African man myself whom was birthed in Nigeria and migrated to the United Kingdom as a young child, I wasn’t aware of racism nor knew or understood what ‘race’ was until my journey into the “western world.” It is quite something, the possibility of going through life and not fully experiencing racism or the identity from your intersectionality being largely based around race. Whereas across an ocean, as a black individual, you are literally defined by your race and your life’s journey revolves around the colour of your skin. Quite mind-blowing, frankly. Alas, this is the case in the west and ‘global north’ (see Orgad, 2012; Ekedegwa, 2010) and it forms a lot of discourse in society, and within this context, pedagogy. 

On that note, let’s get stuck into it. 

Race and pedagogy

As an educator, particularly one at UAL – an institution that prides itself as being diverse and “believes diversity of its staff and student community is fundamental to creative thinking…” (UAL, 2021), it is critical to ensure one creates a space that is inclusive to all types of race that occupy and experience the University’s sphere and environment. However, in theory this should be the case, but in reality much of this is not. 

Question: if everything was inclusive and equal at UAL, essentially, would there be a need for Shades of Noir? I’ll leave you to ponder on this.

In the meantime, this brings the ideal segue to highlight Shades of Noir (SoN) and the incredibly pivotal work the organisation does around social justice, particularly within pedagogy. In a nutshell, SoN’s mission is to “enhance [the] practice, process and experiences of students and Higher Education staff…whilst aiming to provide space, knowledge and a visible intersectional presence for students, graduates, HE staff…” (Shades of Noir, 2021). I first came across SoN in 2020 (torrid year), through its introduction from a dear friend, and I was rather overwhelmed by the wealth of resources available in combating racial and social injustice within the pedagogical space. The website platform is categorised into different sections (all useful resources), however, it is their Artefacts section which I find to be a massive resource, and for any educator (no matter the race) it is key to enhancing one’s teaching/professional practice and methods.
In order to apply the SoN resource to my practice, I think it’s important that the students I teach/share space with, are also aware and onboarded (to an extent) on the works of Shades of Noir, but most importantly, I’m of the belief that they must create the thinking space within their creative and collaborative work on how the project/work they are currently doing can be of impact within society and from a race perspective. There’s only so much I can impart on the students, as an educator, the key thing is for me to ensure I create a space and opportunity for the students to explore different avenues surround racial and social injustice, and the best place to start is Shades of Noir. 

Question: how can an educator integrate the research/work their students do on the topic of race into their own teaching/professional practice? 

Firstly, I can only answer this based on what I think is possible and I’m capable of doing, as an educator – which in itself might not actually be an answer. On that note, I think it’s important to familiarise with particular theories that deal with the subject of race. 1st, ’Critical Race Theory’ (CRT) a concept/theory conceptualised and created by Derrick Albert Bell, Jr. which includes work by various scholars such as Kimberlé Crenshaw, Richard Delgado, Cheryl Harris and more. So, what exactly is critical race theory? According to Cornell West (1995), CRT is essentially a “comprehensive movement in though and life….[which] compels us to confront critically the most explosive issue in civilization” (West, 1995: xi; Crenshaw et al., 1995). 
The work done through CRT by the aforesaid scholars, in recent years, has created discourse opportunities and spaces within HE to combat and challenge the many issues behind racial injustice, and as Intersectionality theorist Kimberly Crenshaw stated in an interview, CRT has created an “approach to grappling with a history of white supremacy that rejects the belief that what’s in the past is in the past, and that the laws and systems that grow from that past are detached from it” (Time Magazine, 2020). By comprehending and absorbing the works done within CRT, as an educator, I can prompt and encourage students to ensure they understand the basis of the work being done, which mutually works for both parties, student and teacher. By familiarising yourself (the teacher) with aforesaid theory and other theories and resources such as conflict theory (Marx, 1848), and intersection theory (Collins, 2019) will enable you to understand the problems that are evident within race and pedagogy, particularly in the context of HE at UAL. 

Furthermore, having read Tapper’s (2013) piece on pedagogy of social justice education, my  two main outtakes are:

1. Pedagogy is not an instrument of transaction; what i mean by this is, as students and teachers, the dynamic has and always feels like a transaction; a merchant and customer relationship – i.e. the student is purchasing knowledge and the teacher/educator is providing/selling the ‘product’ being information and education. Herein lies the issue. As Tapper highlights through the knowledge and words of Paulo Freire, institutions and educators largely provide a learning environment via a linear and archaic “banking system of teaching, where educators…”deposit” a set amount of information into students’ minds” (Freire 2006, 109; Tapper, 2013 :414).
   
2. You cannot simply eradicate social identity conflicts solely through experiments and theories such as contact hypothesis (Allport 1954). It is not enough to place individuals of different social backgrounds and identities in a space and instruct or task them to cooperating and collaborating to reach a common goal without addressing and giving voice to the resounding matter, the varying identities and social positionalities and intersectionalities. Amir (1969) critiques this aptly, stating that if the setting and conditions “of an intergroup encounter are not ideal….relations between groups can actually worsen as a result of contact” (Tapper, 2013: 416). Simply put it this way, you cannot put a group of white supremacists and black individuals together in a room and expect a resolution, purely because contact will be made.

Witness: unconscious bias – Joshephine Kwhali

Ultimately, I concur with Josephine Kwhali’s statement about unconscious bias being a “get out clause” (see ‘Witness: unconscious bias‘). It is and has been very easy and convenient for white people to take cover under the facade of unconscious bias; the classic case of “oh, I didn’t know that was offensive” or “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t aware I was doing anything bad”, or simply not even apologising or being aware – an element of Wilful Ignorance (Sullivan and Tuana, 2007; 2012). Numerous of times black people and other people of colour have experienced such and heard the aforesaid. However, one might argue that unconscious bias is an action done in the most convenient manner. Take for example, acting on stereotypes. Even if you encounter an individual, whom in hindsight fitted a stereotype, the biased thought and perception of said individual had already clogged and clouded your judgement/view of said person before actual interaction (see Burdick, 2021). Additionally, I think it’s also key to highlight that unconscious bias is not only evident when it comes to race/racism and we, including people of colour are capable and culprits of it.
In relation to unconscious bias within pedagogy and Higher Education, aspects of Shirley Anne Tate’s talk (2018) are similar to Kwhali’s points, and give a great account to the consciously unconscious bias that occurs in HE. I would argue that unconscious bias is very well structured and drilled into institutions and organisations, using their bias, whether “unconscious” or not, to continue the control of narrative of white supremacy or rather ‘whiteness’ as the norm – though I’m sure this would be highly contested, especially by those who encompass ‘white fragility’ (DiAngelo, 2018).

Lastly, I think of a very key point made by Kwhali:

“If [unconscious bias] is still unconscious, then there’s something very worrying about what it’ll take for the unconscious to become conscious.”

Frankly, there’s only so long you can keep doing something conscious and yet claiming it as unconscious. To conclude with Albert Einstein’s parable of Quantum Insanity:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein

Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design
– Finnigan and Richards (2016)

Finnigan and Richards (2016) research and findings highlight an alarming point in relation to retention and attainment of students with varying and diverse backgrounds within Art and Design. The key thing I took from the text is actually not something new, but rather something that still appears to be the same, albeit this text was published half a decade ago. I think this piece of text is rather fascinating to digest and interpret in the current pandemic times. Within the context of the text it talks of the expectation of all students achieving “to the best of their ability” (2016, 3), yet if you look at the shift and transition to digital learning that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, you’ll see that a number of students negatively affected by said transition are primarily students whose backgrounds share a common theme, poverty (see OECD policy responses to Coronavirus). In relation to UAL, an institution one might argue has long focused on its monetary wealth, catering for students whom might not be able to afford digital learning doesn’t convince that it’s a focus of the institution. All that being said, my single question to Finnigan and Richards is, “if you were to do this study again 5 years later, what would you do differently?”

*…and breathe* 

This has been quite an extensive and perhaps overwhelming blog piece to write. As stated in the beginning, my encounter with ‘race’ was due to migration, if not for this, it’s possible I might not see race as a thing, and understanding my context, that is somewhat understandable. However, having resided and acclimatised within the West and its activities, a lot of the resources I’ve digested in writing this blog post has been insightful and painful. Painful? Because there is so much literature and material on this topic, yet change is practically impossible. 

As always, I hope you’ve taken something from this and thank you for being on this journey with me.

Speak soon, 

T. 

NB. All references are hyperlinked for reference/referencing purposes.