Mixed Race Studies

Colluding, Colliding, and Contending with Norms of Whiteness

Information Age Publising
2016
210 pages
Paperback ISBN: 9781681236919
Hardcover ISBN: 9781681236926
eBook ISBN: 9781681236933

Jennifer L. S. Chandler, Lecturer in Leadership and Interdisciplinary Studies
Arizona State University

Analyzing experiences of White mothers of daughters and sons of color across the U. S., Chandler provides an insider’s view of the complex ways in which Whiteness norms appear and operate. Through uncovering and analyzing Whiteness norms occurring across motherhood stages, Chandler has developed a model of three common ways of interacting with the norms of Whiteness: colluding, colliding, and contending. Chandler’s results suggest that collisions with Whiteness norms are a necessary step to increasing one’s racial literacy which is essential for effective contentions with norms of Whiteness. She proposes steps for applying her model in education settings, which can also be applied in other organizational contexts.

CONTENTS

• Introduction
• CHAPTER I: Model and Supporting Theories
• CHAPTER II: Becoming a Mother
• CHAPTER III: Mothers and Schools
• CHAPTER IV: As Sons and Daughters Mature
• CHAPTER V: Conclusions
• CHAPTER VI: Recommendations
• Appendix A – The Study
• Appendix B – Virginia 1691, ACT XVI
• Appendix C – Notes Regarding Trans racial Adoption
• References

From the Foreword:

In Colluding, Colliding, Contending with Norms of Whiteness, Jennifer Chandler takes on the difficult task of unpacking Whiteness within interracial family structures. Although it is more indirectly related to urban education, she translates her findings into a thoughtful argument about the ways in which White teachers embrace and resist race and racism. Chandler reaches past an analysis of identity tropes and personality dispositions to address the structural and societal factors that make it easier for White women to ignore race, and disobedient for White women to address issues of race. Chandler also problematizes White homogenous communities where race is never perceived as an “their” problem. Members of these communities do not welcome disruptions to the common sense rhetoric that keep these spaces disaffected by racism.

The balance, and often imbalances of how people relate to race become painfully apparent as Chandler carefully constructs her narratives about a diverse set of women. She is both empathetic and critical, generous and harsh, and insider and outsider in her task to portray the myriad experiences of White women who knowingly or ignorantly enter into hostile racial contexts in their families, neighborhoods, and schools. Chandler’s book opens the door for further conversations about how educators can support White female teachers to address their complicity with racism as a step toward becoming better teachers and advocates for students of color in their classrooms.

Owning white privilege and then what?

Transracial Parenting: A Race Together
2013-04-09

Rachel Dangermond

My own brand of narrow vision at work here: I’m not a big coffee shop person; I go rarely and usually when I have a deadline that I have put off until I can’t bear it anymore and I need a change of venue to focus. I’ve always thought this pastime was a European and Middle Eastern activity. So the other day when I was in CC’s on Esplanade working through a deadline, I was surprised I was the only white person in the whole place. Who knew?

I sat down at a window table and a woman I know came in, but I couldn’t recall her name, so I just smiled in greeting. She sat behind me and soon two older gentlemen joined her and they began talking about their organization that is helping to economically empower black owned businesses. I know this because I am a consummate eavesdropper. I actually was going to approach the woman and ask what they are doing to see if it in any way aligned with my efforts, but I never found my in and my friend had come to meet me.

It’s an odd phenomenon that once you become aware of something, you start seeing the signposts of that awareness everywhere and certainly that is the hope of anyone who is working in this country to end racism…

…But this morning, I had a truly wonderful Skype session with a similarly like-minded woman, Jennifer Chandler. She is a PhD candidate at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwauke and her thesis is to study white mothers of biracial daughters or sons and cull descriptions of their interactions with the teachers and principals at the children’s school. She is pursuing her Doctorate degree in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service…

Read the entire article here.