By: John Strong and Mara Simon
In the past few weeks, the senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, during a heightened time of civil unrest due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spurred the need for a conversation about racism in the physical education setting. This led to a PETE Collaborative meeting focused directly on this issue, a summary of which is provided below.
The two main topics discussed were:
· Race and racism in the Physical Education (PE) classroom (moderated by Dr. Michael Hemphill and Dr. Mara Simon)
· Race and racism in the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) setting (moderated by Dr. Jennifer Walton-Fisette and Dr. Louis Harrison)
In this blog, we attempt to capture the spirit of the discussion and provide a general synopsis of the suggestions that the panel and members provided. It is our hope that this conversation will assist the PE community in an instructive effort leading to systemic change at the institutional, local, state, and national levels.
In a somber and powerful introduction, Dr. Michael Hemphill he addressed the history of police-related killings of people of color across the country over the past months, years and decades. He noted the disparities of deaths in communities and populations of color during the current pandemic and how it is indicative of years of racism, leading to significant inequities, in the current healthcare system. He further expressed concern over the apathy towards racist policies that see black students suspended and expelled at alarming rates in comparison to their white counterparts (Dr. Jared Russell shared this link in the chat to amplify those claims). Dr. Hemphill concluded his introduction by inviting guests to open their minds and identify racism within themselves and the institutions where they work.
Dr. Hemphill was then joined by Dr. Mara Simon, as the two of them kicked off the discussion of race and racism in the PE setting, identifying a common misstep by many physical educators- claiming ‘color-blindness’. PE teachers often mistakenly believe that identifying as ‘colorblind,’ or refusing to ‘see’ someone else’s racialized identity, absolves them of assertions of racism. Yet, this misconception then leads to an inability to acknowledge or ‘see’ racial inequality in today’s society. A colorblind approach is harmful for all school community members because PE teachers believe they are engaged in righteous equality while students of color may feel marginalized because of the inherent discrepancies between the PE teachers’ beliefs and their lived realities. This discrepancy of understanding and beliefs between teachers and students upholds the notion of ‘meritocracy,’ or the idea that all students start at an equal positioning in working towards academic success. Notions of colorblindness and meritocracy are two key examples of how racism manifests covertly and structurally in schools, disenfranchising and disadvantaging students of color. This is in direct opposition to white teachers’ ideas of racism, which are typically conceptualized as “overt” (e.g. name-calling, threatening gestures, blatant discrimination, etc.) Please see this link for further insight into these practices and how to work to overcome them.
Discussion then turned toward the idea of implicit bias (this assessment from Project Implicit was suggested by John Strong) and how many well-meaning white PE teacher professionals inadvertently advance practices of equality rather than equity (an insightful look at that dichotomy can be found here). Thus, the importance of self-reflection and reflexivity cannot be overstated. From here, the conversation moved toward institutional and circumstantial racism embedded within PE and PETE contexts. Traditional teaching practices (such as games that lack appeal to many diverse student populations) as well as teacher preparation settings (e.g. a lack of appropriate on-boarding for students entering urban school placements and an inability/lack of commitment to support systemic issues within the Black Community) are fraught with moments where we as physical educators can make a difference in the educational experiences of students of color by consciously engaging in work that aims to reduce bias, reflecting on the potential for racism within specific contexts, and centering students of color’s lived experiences.
The discussion in the chat extended to the broader discussion, identifying how most institutions do not have a significant course that helps PETE students with regard to teaching in schools with students of color as the majority population. Throughout the entire meeting, folks in the chat identified useful resources for teacher educators to engage in reflexive work, including the books White Fragility, Majority Minority Relations, and Teaching About Social Justice Issues in PE. Additionally, there were many articles mentioned (some of which can be found in the resources link supporting the PE Collaborative) that can support PE teachers and teacher educators to better understand and engage with issues of racial inequity in PE and PETE. Professor John Strong suggested that more exploration of Critical Race Theory can facilitate a greater understanding of the current state of racism in the US. Dr. Simon echoed those sentiments, and identified the importance of overcoming white fragility in order to delve deeper into self-reflection to find solutions to overcome these systemic controls.
The conversation then shifted to the second focus of the afternoon, that of race and racism in the PETE setting. Dr. Walton-Fisette began with an introduction that was warmly welcomed by some members of the chat as instructive and beneficial to allies. As Dr. Walton-Fisette demonstrated, to initiate change, we must start at the beginning. Introductions are a crucial part of any beginning. Small steps, like stating your name, how you would like to be addressed, and identifying any privilege related to social identifiers, are easy, honest steps everyone can take to build inclusive environments.
Dr. Walton-Fisette initiated a look at racism in PETE programs by identifying existing research on social justice and antiracism. She pointed out that international educational systems out-pace the US because they overtly teach about social justice issues and oftentimes even comprise parts of their national PE standards. However, rather than simply ‘throwing in’ a Social Justice in PE course, Dr. Walton-Fisette argued this subject matter should be embedded throughout PETE curricula. She went on to direct folks toward a research article that looks critically at the current National PE Standards and Initial PETE Standards for further direction.
Dr. Harrison then delved into the importance of connecting with our students when it comes to enhancing the current state of racism in today’s PETE setting (see this article for further insight). He believes that difficulties with racism, in PETE settings as well as traditional PE classroom settings, often stem from a lack of forthright discussion on the subject, relegating it to, “hushed tones” and secondary importance. Dr. Harrison went on to differentiate current anti-blackness practices (his chapter Race and Ethnicity in Physical Education from the Handbook on Physical Education may be useful), from discussions of racism and social justice in general. He cautioned that losing sight of this will lead to, “continued difficulties,” rather than “getting rid of oppression and anti-blackness in this country.”
The forum intentionally left time at the end for attendees to share out some thoughts on the ideas presented in the first part of the meeting. Dr. Jaimie McMullen noted the challenges related to engaging in “difficult” discussions on race and privilege with predominantly white PETE students, sharing how a class activity resulted in a poor student review on a course evaluation. While Dr. McMullen stated that this did not make her stop using the activity in class but is a significant cause for concern.
This episode then led to a question by Kason O’Neil, “Where do we go from here?” for information, materials, and practices as we move into the upcoming educational semesters. Dr. Harrison was the first to provide the idea of integrating the ideals of social justice across the PETE curriculum. Dr. Walton-Fisette emphasized that “staying silent is no longer okay.” She also echoed Dr. Harrison’s sentiments regarding self-reflection, and pointed out the many resources identified in the chat as well as those in the PE Collaborative files. John Strong dovetailed these suggestions by suggesting the practice of mindfulness. Dr. Hemphill punctuated these answers by bringing the focus of next steps home to the communities where folks live. He suggested that everyone look critically at their native environments and begin to partner with those individuals who intentionally practice socially responsible behaviors.
At this point the conversation moved toward a concluding question: Does this discussion have to be comfortable? Dr. Jared Russell enlightened the collected professionals with a resounding, “No.”
“When you’re evaluating things of this scale in our society, it’s not going to be comfortable,” he continued. Dr. Brian Culp noted that “it’s a marathon not a sprint.” It is my belief that these sentiments will hopefully buoy the efforts of those in weeks, months and years to come.
Quite a bit was covered in this thoughtful exchange, and I hope I’ve assisted readers in gaining a deeper understanding some of the more complex items by adding links. However, in order to arrive at anti-racist and socially just behaviors in our PE and PETE environments, we as a community are going to need to actively participate in a paradigm shift. A shift that reflects the changing faces and needs of our 21st century extended family in order to undermine and eventually eviscerate the vestiges of yesterday’s racist society. Small steps, open minds, mutual understanding and consistent movement towards improvement will eventually ferry us to a more inclusive society that benefits us all.
By: John Strong and Mara Simon