October 6 with special guest, author Dr. Kraehe

Chapter 6 - Anti-Racist Art Pedagogy: Activating Visual Racial Literacy with Students

"Anti-racist art pedagogy is a practice of courageous witnessing. To witness is to remember rather than hide from history and inherited racial traumas of displacement, enslavement, genocide, police brutality, and other contemporary horrors." (p. 154)

(Re)introductions [5 mins]
Rules of Engagement reminders: [items in italics added by our reading group community]

1. Be curious
2. Be humble AND quiet, listen
3. Be real AND authentic
4. Be vulnerable AND honest (about experiences and lack thereof); be able to say "I don't know"
5. Be willing and open
6. BElieve others and their experience AND be affirming
7. Be personally and collectively safe AND compassionate

Avoiding Common Pitfalls reminders: [items in italics added by our reading group community]

1. De-centering race
2. Vocabulary and definitions
3. Naming
4. Getting stuck
5. Complacency AND risk taking
6. Work with fear

Chapter 6 discussion: Pick two of the 3 topics below for discussion [20 mins]

Reviewing the “Guiding Principles for Anti Racist Art Pedagogy” (pp. 151-154) [10 mins]
1. Political Clarity
2. Protective Care
3. Deep Connection
4. Courageous Witnessing
Making anti-racism a habit. With your physical and social environments in mind, what is working well? What might need additional attention? [10 mins]
- "What [instructional resources] do students see and have access to? Is it a colorblind environment that shows little in the way of racial awareness or does it invite students into dialogue about race, representation, discrimination, and fairness?" (p. 155)
- "Is there space in classroom interactions for students to share their lived realities and ask hard questions? Can they feel confident that their experiences and curiosities will be honored? How might the curriculum become that space?" (p. 155)
"Learning Activities for Visual Racial Literacy" (p. 157): Which engagements resonated with you and why? What might you use in and/or adapt for your classroom? [10 mins]
1. What Color is Flesh? (pp. 158-160)
2. Color Codes (pp. 161-164)
3. Trope Bingo (pp. 165-167)
4. Critical Race Scavenger Hunt (pp. 168-170)
5. Gazing Black (pp. 171-173)
6. "Trying On" Identity (pp. 174-176)
7. Counter-Visual Strategies (pp. 177-179)
8. Reclaiming Visual representations (pp. 180-182)
9. Manipulating Media (pp. 183-187)
10. Anti-Racism Resistance Portraits (pp. 188-191)
11. Monumental Art Problems (pp. 192-195)

Chapters 1-6 Q&A with Dr. Kraehe [50 mins]

Closure and next steps [15 mins]: How can you, individually and collectively, use the content in Kraehe & Acuff's (2021) Race and Art Education to work toward becoming an anti-racist art educator?

Dr. Kraehe Resources:

Journal of Art Education
AAFP
Save Our Schools Teach-In, Oct 10
Race Forward
Anti-Racist Art Teachers
Consider workshopping one or more of the "Learning Activities for Visual Racial Literacy" with parents so they know what it is we do