Traditional educational research has often grouped all people of color together when addressing microaggressions. However, a University of Kansas scholar contends that research should specifically target anti-Black aggressions to create more effective policies at both individual and institutional levels.
In 1974, Harvard psychiatrist Chester Pierce introduced the term “microaggressions” to describe the subtle and routine discriminatory acts experienced by African Americans. Over the years, “racial microaggressions” has evolved to encompass the experiences of all people of color. Dorothy Hines, an associate professor of curriculum & teaching and African & African-American studies at KU, advocates in a recent article for a renewed focus on anti-Black aggressions. This approach, she argues, remains true to Pierce’s original concept and highlights the distinct experiences faced by different racial groups within the educational system.
Published in Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, Hines’ article suggests analyzing anti-Black aggressions on three levels: micro, institutional, and macro.
