Abstract
Being a teacher of Color 1 in America today is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining—such frustrations and anguish trace back to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling. In other words, by the early 1960s, Black educators from across the country had lost their employment unjustly because of pure hatred and racism (Fultz, 2004). As a result, 79% of today's teaching workforce is white (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2020). The lack of diversity in America's teaching profession is a national crisis. In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers, scholars, and activists began rebelling against racist hiring practices and advocating for more teachers of Color (Kohli, 2021).
Nonetheless, as does Dr. Rita Kohli, in her book Teachers of Color: Resisting Racism and Reclaiming Education, I believe that we can transform society for the better by acknowledging and learning from the lived experiences of those who were and are currently historically marginalized and oppressed by unjust and inequitable laws and policies. Through our lived experiences, we come together, and most importantly heal. In her book, Kohli (2021) invites us “into the lives of thirty justice-oriented teachers of Color to understand the impact of racism in schools on their well-being and their professional retention, growth, and success” (p. 4). Kohli synthesized and reanalyzed data from three previous research studies with justice-oriented teachers of Color for this book. She collected data from qualitative questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and digital narratives—triangulation. Kohli used the lens of critical race theory (CRT) to analyze these narratives. Through these narratives, Kohli also calls us to reimagine and reclaim education for both teachers and students of Color. In doing so, we provide ourselves hope that one day, American schools will no longer be hostile and racist institutions for teachers and students of Color. In this book review, fellow readers, I invite you to join me and explore Kohli's timely text with the following question in mind: What must America and I do to combat the racist and hostile school climates that push teachers of Color out of the teaching profession? After exploring this question, I shift your attention toward how this book shows that America may be the land of opportunity and home of the brave and free; however, America is also home to the oppressed and its oppressors.
The book includes six chapters. In chapter 1, Kohli shares the history and current context of teachers of Color, specifically the history of racism in K–12 schools and the historical presence of teachers of Color in America's schools. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on the theme of racialization—these chapters explore and critically examine racism's impact on the lives of teachers of Color. In chapter 4, Kohli shifts our focus toward the theme of resistance—this chapter describes the tools teachers of Color use to navigate and survive hostile racial climates. Using the theme of reimagination in chapter 5, Kohli wants readers to acknowledge that teachers of Color are vital educators who have the power to positively transform America's education system. In this chapter, Kohli (2021) shares stories of teachers, specifically their “efforts to reclaim classrooms, schools, and districts as engaged, culturally and community sustaining sites of learning” (p. 22). Finally, in chapter 6, titled “A Path Forward,” Kohli provides us with additional hope. She guides us to explore and critically consider what teacher education programs and K–12 schools can do to embrace the existence and acknowledge the need for more teachers of Color in today's schools.
Throughout the text, Kohli reminds us that American schools were not designed for children and youth of Color to thrive. In fact, racism is very much alive and active. Society ignores minority cultures, lived experiences, and racial and ethnic identities. Consequently, America's true beauty—its diversity—remains unembraced and unacknowledged in all facets of society. While reminding us that American schools were designed for Eurocentric believers and their ideologies, Kohli (2021) encourages us to recognize that “racism is entrenched in the structures, culture, and climate of our educational system—K–12 and teacher education” (p. 57). As a gay male Latino urban educator, I wholeheartedly agree with Kohli. Racism is present in every classroom, particularly in urban America; however, we have become numb to racism as a nation. As people of Color, we have realized and accepted that racism will forever exist, simply because our beloved America was conceived in racism. Many may disagree with me, yet if we take time to sit and reflect, we realize that the very words in our Constitution, “We the People,” were never meant to be inclusive; it is simply a white man's birthright.
Scholars (see Hart, 2020; Ingersoll & May, 2011; Villegas & Irvine, 2010) argue the need for diversifying America's teaching workforce. These scholars are correct; we must diversify our schools, especially in urban America. However, simply focusing on diversifying schools so that students of Color can have teachers of Color to help them navigate our racist and inequitable educational system (see Bristol & Martin-Fernandez, 2019) overlooks the deeper problem and impact of racism in the lives of teachers of Color. Through Kohli's use of thirty authentic narratives, she probes our thinking by inviting us to consider and acknowledge that teachers of Colors are human beings with emotions and dreams. In fact, before the publication of this book, Kohli (2021) “was able to solicit feedback on the narratives from twenty-eight of the thirty teacher participants to ensure the counterstories are reflective of their experiences and understandings” (p. 165). Before publishing her book, Kohli wanted to ensure that the narratives expressed the racialized experiences of her participants as K-12 students and teachers authentically and accurately. In other words, the experiences and voices shared are solely the participants and hers. This makes Kohli's text a meaningful contribution to research in education, specifically regarding the validity of her findings. That is, Kohli is showing and reminding us, those who conduct and engage with qualitative research in education, the importance of allowing the voices of those we interview to be depicted authentically in one's scholarship.
Furthermore, tracing back to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, today, more than ever before, we must acknowledge that racism has negatively impacted the lives of teachers of Color during their K–12 education, teacher education programs, and beyond. Thus, as a society, we cannot convince ourselves that we will better serve our children and youth of Color by diversifying our education system's teaching workforce. That is, recruiting, hiring, and retaining teachers of Color in urban America “…will not alter racism or the racial climates of schools” (Kohli, 2021, p. 58). In other words, simply hiring teachers of Color will not transform schools into racism-free social institutions. For America to become a racially just nation, lawmakers and policymakers must revisit their laws and policies with the following question in mind: Do my proposed laws and policies allow all Americans to thrive and become active members of society?
Kohli's emphasis on the impact of racism in the lives of teachers of Color during their K–12 education, teacher education programs, and classrooms calls us to start a new historical movement to normalize conversations around the mental health of American teachers of Color. Scholars (see Gay, 2018; Ladson-Billings, 1994, 1995a, 1995b, 2001) argue the need for culturally responsive teachers in urban schools, and I agree. We cannot improve our educational system by diversifying the teaching workforce and producing more culturally responsive teachers if we do not recognize that teachers of Color find themselves on a battlefield. They are torn between remaining in the classroom for their students—to protect and advocate for them—while battling ongoing racism and racial stress in their personal and professional lives. In doing so, teachers of Color find themselves feeling “…forced to choose between their ethics, health, and job, and thus they feel they must leave” (Kohli, 2021, p. 83). By sharing narratives of teachers of Colors, specifically the psychological and physiological effects of racism, racial stress, and racial battle fatigue, Kohli invites us to think critically about the mental and physical health of America's teachers of Color.
As a young gay Latino urban educator of Color, I agree with Kohli about the importance of America acknowledging that despite being a nation built on racist social institutions, there are resilient teachers of Color who have managed to overcome racial stress and battle fatigue and remain in the profession. By communicating the teachers’ stories, Kohli shares three key tools that provide teachers of Color with courage, hope, and persistence—racial literacy, communities of resistance, and organizing for change. Racial literacy involves recognizing that racial injustice exists in the United States and that one has the power to disrupt it. Communities of resistance refer to establishing relationships with other teachers of Colors who have experienced similar racial injustices and hostile climates inside and outside of the classroom. When establishing meaningful relationships, teachers of Color can collectively organize for change and transform communities of Color for the better. In sharing these foundational tools, Kohli reminds readers about the importance for us (justice-oriented human beings) to unite, reimagine, and reclaim education. In doing so, we become a powerful voice that disrupts various forms of oppression and their oppressors.
Moreover, Kohli's text shares racism's impact in the lives of justice-oriented teachers of Color to disrupt the status quo and reimagine education and the teaching profession. However, this timely text could have benefited from including specific innovative education policy recommendations for educational policymakers and other stakeholders to consider. That is, we know that teachers of Color experience racism inside and outside of classrooms, but how do we use these narratives as a blueprint for transformative policies?
Teachers of Color is a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about what being a teacher of Color means in the United States. The text vividly and explicitly shows that in the United States, oppressors flourish off the oppressed. The oppressed are brave for navigating all facets of society that were not designed for them because of their skin color. Conversely, the oppressors, who uphold white supremacy, remain free. Kohli and I leave you with the following: America is our home; however, when will we truly unite and transform our society into the land of the free and home of the brave for all Americans?
