Racial literacy in a second-grade classroom: Critical race theory, whiteness studies, and literacy research

Abstract

There is a pervasive silence in literacy research around matters of race, especially with both young people and white people. In this article we illustrate that young white children can and do talk about race, racism, and anti-racism within the context of the literacy curriculum. Using a reconstructed framework for analyzing “white talk,” one that relies on literature in whiteness studies and critical race theory and draws on critical discourse analytic frameworks, we illustrate what talk around race sounds like for white, second grade students and their teachers. This research makes several contributions to the literature. We provide a detailed method for coding interactional data using Critical Discourse Analysis and a lens from Critical Race Theory and Whiteness studies. We also illustrate the instability of racial identity formation and the implications for teachers and students when race is addressed in primary classrooms. Ultimately, we argue that racial literacy, like other literate processes in the classroom, must be guided.