TY - JOUR
T1 - Once You See It, You Can’t Unsee It?: Racial Justice Activism and Articulations of Whiteness Among White Collegiate Athlete Activists
AU - Kluch, Yannick
AU - Calow, Emma
AU - Martin, Eric M.
AU - Scheadler, Travis R.
AU - Mac Intosh, Andrew
AU - Jolly, Shannon
PY - 2023/9/1
Y1 - 2023/9/1
N2 - The goal of this study was to examine how athletes holding privileged racial identities understand their whiteness as they engage in racial justice activism. Drawing from 12 semistructured interviews with white collegiate athletes who have engaged in activism for racial justice, we identified four higher order themes which we situate within a broader discussion of how each theme either reinforces or disrupts racial power: articulations of (a) racial consciousness, (b) white privilege, (c) white empathy, and (d) white accountability. While the white accountability theme has the potential to disrupt racial power due to its relying on rigorous self-critique, the remaining themes pointed to limited understandings of the systemic nature of racism, which can thus inadvertently (re)produce white supremacy even when engaging in activism for racial justice. Limitations, implications, and future directions for research are discussed to empower more white athletes to reflect critically on whiteness and facilitate systemic change.
AB - The goal of this study was to examine how athletes holding privileged racial identities understand their whiteness as they engage in racial justice activism. Drawing from 12 semistructured interviews with white collegiate athletes who have engaged in activism for racial justice, we identified four higher order themes which we situate within a broader discussion of how each theme either reinforces or disrupts racial power: articulations of (a) racial consciousness, (b) white privilege, (c) white empathy, and (d) white accountability. While the white accountability theme has the potential to disrupt racial power due to its relying on rigorous self-critique, the remaining themes pointed to limited understandings of the systemic nature of racism, which can thus inadvertently (re)produce white supremacy even when engaging in activism for racial justice. Limitations, implications, and future directions for research are discussed to empower more white athletes to reflect critically on whiteness and facilitate systemic change.
KW - critical whiteness studies
KW - diversity
KW - equity
KW - intercollegiate sport
KW - race
KW - social justice
UR - https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/kinesiology_facpubs/226
M3 - Article
JO - Kinesiology Faculty Publications and Presentations
JF - Kinesiology Faculty Publications and Presentations
ER -