Abstract
The emotional rhetoric in education often sympathizes with white teachers while labeling Black and Brown female students as angry, defiant, and/or disinterested. This is done without considering: (a) how white emotions influence interpretations or (b) how Black and Brown girls feel. This essay interrogates how emotionalities of whiteness traumatize Black and Brown girls. Using critical race theory’s counterstorytelling, it begins with the story of a Black girl and her response to her teacher’s white emotions. Then, the paper demands that teachers, especially those who are white, stop emotionally projecting onto Black and Brown girls and instead begin an honest listening.
Author Biography
Danielle Walker is a second year PhD student and motherscholar in the School of Education & Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research focuses on critical whiteness studies, urban teacher preparedness, and Black feminism in educational justice.
Dr. Cheryl E. Matias is an assistant professor in the School of Education & Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research focuses on emotionality of whiteness in education. Her research also supports motherscholars and woman of Color in the academy.
Robin Brandehoff is a first year PhD student in the School of Education & Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research focuses on traumas experienced by students of Color, particularly incarcerated youth, urban teacher preparedness, and performance education.
Recommended Citation
Walker, D.,
Matias, C. E.,
&
Brandehoff, R.
(2017).
“Who You Callin’ Smartmouth?” Misunderstood Traumatization of Black and Brown Girls.
Occasional Paper Series,
(38).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1127
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons