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Examining the Impact of Racialized Space on White Racial Identity

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Examining the Impact of Racialized Space on White Racial Identity Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE August 2017 Whiteness Interrupted: Examining the Impact of Racialized Space on White Racial Identity Marcus Bell Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Bell, Marcus, "Whiteness Interrupted: Examining the Impact of Racialized Space on White Racial Identity" (2017). Dissertations - ALL. 769. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/769 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT What does it mean to be white? This fundamental question stands at the heart of the interdisciplinary field of critical whiteness studies. Critical whiteness studies (CWS) epistemologically and theoretically upends traditional approaches to the study of race and racial inequality by averting the critical gaze from racially subordinate groups and focusing it upon the racially dominant group. Although insightful and highly influential, CWS has not sufficiently incorporated racialized space as a theoretically meaningful concept. Far too often, critical whiteness scholars speak of racial categories and racial experiences in board, spatially generalized terms. My dissertation moves beyond the general question of what does it mean to be white, and instead asks a more specific question: what does it mean to be white in nonwhite racialized spaces? In order to answer this question, I use the responsive interview model to interview 32 white teachers from a hyper-segregated, predominantly black school district in Upstate New York. Contrary to the nearly ubiquitous notion that whites do not see or think of themselves in racialized terms, my interview respondents not only saw themselves as distinctly white, but they also spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what whiteness meant for their personal and professional lives. My findings also show that, within nonwhite racialized spaces, whiteness does not operate as the raceless norm, but instead functions as the racialized other. For the teachers involved in this study, this particular spatial dynamic engendered an experiential and epistemological shift in racial status. As the cultural and numerical minority within predominantly black schools, my interview respondents developed a hyper-sense of racial victimization, one that was specifically at odds with their construction of racial victimization throughout society, writ large. Lastly, interview data also show that racialized space, while highly determinative of racial experience, has a noticeable, yet limited effect on racial ideology. Implications for society today and race relations going forward are also examined. Whiteness Interrupted: Examining the Impact of Racialized Space on White Racial Identity By Marcus Bell B.S. Grand Valley State University, 2010 M.A. Syracuse University, 2014 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Syracuse University August, 2017 Copyright © Marcus Bell 2017 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To start, I would like to thank Dr. Amy Lutz, Dr. Barbara Applebaum, Dr. Arthur Paris, Dr. Prema Kurien, and Dr. Mario Perez for being an amazing dissertation committee. Your guidance and support have been invaluable throughout this long, grueling, and, at times, painful process. I especially would like to acknowledge Dr. Amy Lutz, who constantly provided beneficial advice, assisted me with the IRB, and put in overtime helping me edit and focus my writing. Other graduate professors I would like to thank include Dr. Marjorie DeVault, Dr. Dawn Dow, Dr. Cecilia Green, and Dr. Dalia Rodriguez. All of you played significant roles throughout my time at Syracuse University, and for that, I thank you. Also, I would be remiss if I did not thank Janet Coria. Without you, the sociology department at Syracuse would cease to exist. Next, I would like to thank the amazing people who supported and encouraged me at Grand Valley State University. Dr. Jennifer Stewart, Dr. Richard Yidana, Dr. George Lundskow, Dr. Lisa Hickman, Dr. Mary DeYoung, Dr. Rachel Peterson, and especially Dolli Lutes, all of you took a young talkative know-it-all and successfully prepared him for the rigor and responsibilities of graduate school. I would also like to thank Act on Racism, the Sociology Club, Alpha Kappa Delta, and my McNair Scholars family (Delia, Alfredo, Ebony, Katherine, Wendi, Mallory, and my homeboy Neil). To my city, yes, I mean the actual city of Lansing. You will always be my home. Walnut Elementary School, Pleasant View Elementary School, Pattengill Middle School, Eastern High School, 1016 Chestnut, 904 Pine, 518 S. Pennsylvania, the dirt road on Sidney Street, Spad’s Pizza, Olympic Broil, the Frandor Deli, 40 cent Hot n’ Now cheeseburgers, the Fieldhouse, Lugnuts Stadium, teen night at Sparty’s, the Dollar, the Lansing Mall, the Meridian Mall, and especially Friday Night Football…my childhood belongs to you. I thank you. I would also to thank my Day-One crew: Larry, Pedro, Dontaye, Corey, Sean, and Mike. You guys are my brothers, period. We’ve had so many amazing times and we’ve created so many amazing memories. From starting food fights at taking limousines at Pattengill to pep rallies and rocking tuxedos to the winter ball at Eastern, I look back on our lives and know that I’m lucky to have you all as fiends. I always hated that Larry was faster than me, I always hated that Corey was taller than me, and I really hated that Sean had a better jump shot than me. I remember when I thought Mike was going to run my spot as starting running back, and I remember contemplating running home after school because I thought Pedro was going to beat me up. Ahh, good times. To Dontaye, I have a confession to make…it was me, not Larry, who got dunked on by Marcus Taylor at Waverly. It’s been 20 years now, I’m finally at peace with it. I’m beyond happy to see you all doing well. You have amazing partners and beautiful families. I know we hardly get to see each other anymore, but please know that I’ll do anything for any of you on any day. If I got it, you got it. We are family and always we will be. I love you all. Other people from the 517 that I would like to thank include Nisha Duke, Erika Isela, Reuben Jackson, Andrea Rosas, Sharese Mathis, Becky Green, Melissa Palacio, Marissa Palacio, Erica V, John Couthen, Emily Marsi, Kyre Blair, Ian Townsend, Matt Duhaime, Damien Bridges, Bernadette Terranova, Ike Davis (superheroes), Staci Hamm, Keesha Williams, Clark Woods, Larry Woods Sr., Kim Woods, Cheryl Rene’e, Larry Burton Sr., Pedro Chavez Sr., Rev. Paul Garrett, Mark Fuller, and especially Lori Burton, Isidra Chavez, Monica Chavez, Shairese Bush, and Christy Hernandez. Oh, and New Marcus and his family. To all the aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces. Auntie Celeste, Auntie Lois, Auntie Brenda, Auntie Nancy, Auntie Judy, Auntie Shelia (R.I.P.), Auntie Pat, Auntie Pam, Uncle Starman, Uncle Paul, Uncle Greedy, Uncle Lawrence, Uncle Duke, Uncle Daryl, Uncle Ozell (R.I.P.), Uncle Chicken, Lil Preston, Dennis, Harry, Chelsea, Mike, Josh, Tina, Shelonda, Jone, Donyea, Sherita, Ebony, Brian (R.I.P.), Eddie (R.I.P.), Elaisha, Lil Rick, Londo, Tre, Isaiah, Eddie, Khoumari, Jasmine, and anyone else that I am forgetting, please know that I love you all and I’m thankful to have you in my life. We are crazy as hell, iv loud, obnoxious, and sometimes, downright ridiculous, but to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are my people, I miss you, dearly. To my brothers and sisters: La Trice, Red, Tasha, Rickey, Leon, Mary, Ray, Justin, Tiffany, and Paul GoHard Hammond (R.I.P.), there simply aren’t enough words to express how much you mean to me. You all have supported and sacrificed for me since we were in diapers. I have memories going all the way back to Franklin Elementary School in Gary, Indiana. When I think about our lives together, the birthdays, the holidays (especially Christmas), the fights (y’all crazy), the dirt road, the tree house, playing spooky-house, getting beat with a switch (it was never my fault, y’all crazy), playing spades, the Blackhawks, Leon’s Pizza, Chestnut Street, Sidney Street, Shepard Street, Holmes, Lyons, Pine, etc., I get emotional. We never really had much, but we always had each other, and for me, that was more than enough. I know that I would not be where I am if not for your love and support. For so long, you were the driving force that kept me going when I wanted to quit. You motivated me, encouraged me, and have always had my back. Each and every one of you are a part me, I take you with me wherever I go. I love you with all of my heart, and that will never change. To my parents, Viola and Ernest Bell. There is no me without you. Everything that’s good in me comes from you. Mom, I watched you pretend not to be hungry so we kids could eat. Pops, I saw you leave to go to work at 5:30 in the morning, even though you had to walk across town in a Michigan winter. You taught us, you sacrificed for us, you punished us, you held us accountable, you kept a roof over our heads, but more than anything else, you loved us. There wasn’t a single time throughout my entire childhood where I questioned whether or not I was loved. Mom, it’s been 15 years since you’ve passed away, but I still remember your voice.
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