Jesuit Higher Education: a Journal

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal Volume 7 | Number 1 Article 5 5-2018 Shadowed by the Veil of the Colorline: An Autoethnography of a Teacher of Color at a Catholic Predominantly White Institution (CPWI) in the United States Sajit Kabadi Metropolitan State University of Denver, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.regis.edu/jhe Recommended Citation Kabadi, Sajit (2018) "Shadowed by the Veil of the Colorline: An Autoethnography of a Teacher of Color at a Catholic Predominantly White Institution (CPWI) in the United States," Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal: Vol. 7 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://epublications.regis.edu/jhe/vol7/iss1/5 This Scholarship is brought to you for free and open access by ePublications at Regis University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal by an authorized administrator of ePublications at Regis University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Kabadi: Shadowed by the Veil of the Colorline Shadowed by the Veil of the Colorline: An Autoethnography of a Teacher of Color at a Catholic Predominantly White Institution (CPWI) in the United States Sajit Kabadi Adjunct Professor of Multicultural Education Metropolitan State University [email protected] Abstract Findings from a case study autoethnography are reported. Catholic education in the United States remains predominantly white demographically. While efforts have been made to address this issue from a student standpoint, more attention is required on racially diversifying the faculty and staff. In order to achieve this, voices of color and their stories must be included in the dialogue. The researcher (also the subject) recalls his first year of teaching at a Catholic Predominantly Catholic Institution (CPWI) over two decades ago in this autoethnography. The qualitative data is analyzed through a critical race theoretical framework based on the work of W. E. B. DuBois. Introduction taking place all over the country. This theme continues to resonate in American Catholic “How does it feel to be a problem?” 1 education. The majority of American Catholic W. E. B. DuBois schools remain predominantly white.5 While Catholic education is allotting greater resources in The dialogue on race in America, framed initially recruiting and retaining students of color, just as within the black and white divide, has expanded to much investment is needed to recruit and retain include other people of color—most notably teachers of color. The experiences of the few Hispanics/Latinos and Asians. This is due to the teachers of color working in Catholic demographic trends projecting Hispanic/Latinos Predominantly White Institutions (CPWI) is the to be the majority ethnic population in the United focus of this study. States by the middle of this century, and to the fact that Asians are currently the largest immigrant Using the qualitative method of autoethnography, population immigrating to the United States.2 the researcher traces his first year teaching at a Since the Immigration and Nationality Act of Catholic Jesuit high school focusing on both 1965, which eliminated immigrant quotas coming personal journal reflections as he was going to the United States, the dialogue on race has through this experience in real time and then gradually begun to include more racial and ethnic analyzing those same entries decades later. This groups; these groups had been previously autoethnographic study utilizes a critical race subjected to either Ellisonian invisibility or were theoretical framework based on W. E. B. DuBois’ “Orientalized” into a monolithic group.3 Despite concepts of the veil, the colorline, and double tremendous advancements that have enabled consciousness as they apply to issues of race in the greater inclusion and equity in America, there United States. This study looks to explore the remains a veil or colorline between the following questions: experiences of white people and people of color as characterized by W. E. B. DuBois in the late What insights can be gleaned from the 19th century during the time of racial experiences of the researcher in his first reconstruction in America, which followed the year teaching and/or being Civil War and the elimination of slavery.4 underrepresented in a CPWI? What insights can be gleaned and can Dr. Martin Luther King once referred to Sunday inform CPWI institutions and the mornings at eleven o’clock as the most segregated hour in America due to segregated church services Jesuit Higher Education 7(1): 27-44 (2018) 27 Kabadi: Shadowed by the Veil of the Colorline researcher himself in working with first Autoethnography presents a researcher’s personal year teachers of color? experience that characterizes and depicts certain What insights can be gleaned by both the cultural practices, beliefs, rituals, and situations CPWI institutions and the researcher in through a unique lens (in this case, an moving forward on racial justice issues in underrepresented person of color) to shed some American Catholic education, particularly light on a particular social justice cause. In this as it pertains to structural racial diversity study, autoethnography combines researcher within these institutions? reflexivity with thick descriptions of his experiences balancing intellectual and Methodology methodological rigor seeking to address three emergent elements in scholarship: The purpose of this article is to explore the personal experiences of the researcher during his To introduce new, evolving ideas about first full year teaching at a CPWI, which in this what constitutes research and data while instance was a Catholic Jesuit high school located simultaneously acknowledging the limits in an affluent suburb of a metropolitan city in the of scientific quantitative data, which can United States. The experience encompasses a overgeneralize ignoring the specific school year, beginning with the researcher moving context detailed data that qualitative, across the country to take this teaching position, narrative data can capture. officially beginning in August and culminating the To take into careful consideration the following July with his selection as the school’s ethics and polarization of research second diversity director in the history of the avoiding the mythology of objectivity of institution. He would succeed another person of the data and impartial bias of the color considered a pioneer and legend of the researcher by focusing on reflexivity. school, who previously had been part of the To take into careful consideration the institution for several decades as a student, athlete, importance of social and cultural teacher, coach, and diversity director. identities and their possible roles in research.9 Autoethnography All three of these aspects are critical to conducting The methodology for this study is research on issues of diversity, inclusion, and autoethnography. Autoethnography is a process racial justice form a critical theoretical perspective. used to analyze cultural experience through Autoethnography is qualitative research used for memoir and autobiography. It presumes that the purpose of collecting nuanced, complex, data research is not neutral or objective, but political in a specific research space. The benefits of this and subjective.6 This technique has postmodernist methodology are that it points out the limits of origins that rose in prominence in the late 20th scientific, positivist knowledge by connecting the century, advocating for more socially just, political personal to the larger contextual conversation. It purposes. Autoethnography combines aspects of stresses the importance of story-telling and ethnography and biography to record personal narrative while being acutely aware of the ethical experiences retrospectively.7 This methodology implications of the research.10 provides the researcher the opportunity, in hindsight, to recall experiences and moments that Why Autoethnography for This Study? provided insight to a particular cultural context, experience, or phenomenology. Autoethnography Autoethnography ensures that the actual voice of uses the subject’s own words to tell his or her own the person or the main subject in the study is stories, which is an important aspect of critical included in the data collection. In too many race theory that emphasizes the importance of instances, abstract theorizing or intellectualization sharing narratives directly from people of color in takes the place of actually including the subjects their own words.8 voices themselves. These important voices are limited muted by attempts to represent. This has a profound effect in environments where certain Jesuit Higher Education 7(1): 27-44 (2018) 28 Kabadi: Shadowed by the Veil of the Colorline voices are severely underrepresented. Attempts to this study prior to presenting the ethnographic speak on people’s behalf about their personal, data results and analysis. It is also important to intimate experiences is counterintuitive to issues note that the author kept a daily journal of justice and compromises the subject’s personal throughout this time period, for personal rather agency. In these instances, the data findings and than professional reasons. This journal served as a conclusions become vulnerable to resource in terms of recall and recollection of overgeneralization and monolithic tendencies. events that took place decades ago. Epiphany in Autoethnography Researcher/Subject Reflexivity Epiphany represents

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