Addressing Opportunities for Multicultural Education
April 28, 2023
Shadowing Experience
Breaking far out of the mold of a traditional classroom, I shadowed a childbirth education class. It was a class with six couples and a teacher. One of the mothers was Black and everyone else appeared to be white. The teacher is Latina and passes for white. I know that straddling that line influences her teaching and her work as a midwife. From a macro perspective, midwifery is a fascinating field to consider multicultural education because it is an ancient practice with direct roots in indigenous practices from all corners of the globe. Every evolution of society across every culture has needed midwives. Western medicine has clashed with these practices in many ways that have made the experiences of Black birthing people much more dangerous (Miller, Kliff, & Buchanan, 2023). There was one particular moment in this class that was poignant from the perspective of multicultural education. The Black woman expressed that she was fearful about her birthing experience as a Black woman going into a hospital. Her comment was addressed by another student who offered that fear is normal and encouraged her to use such practices as mantras and breathing exercises. This transitioned the focus away from the initial comment and the educator never returned to the Black mother’s concern.
I had an opportunity to follow up with the educator to ask if anything came of that experience. She shared that she received an email from the Black woman about her discomfort in sharing about her experiences as a Black woman in the class. The educator replied with a long email acknowledging that discomfort and challenge, and in an attempt to be transparent and clear, described what the research says about what Black birthing people are more likely to experience.
Addressing Racial Difference As It Arises
In digesting this experience, the first lens that needs to be considered is the responsibility one has as a multicultural educator. This responsibility is not only to address these moments as they arise, but also anticipate them. In this context, there are different objectives than a K-12 school or a college/university however the guidelines provided by Sensoy and DiAngelo (2017) are helpful. They say teachers should “educate students about the nation’s social history; provide a multitude of perspectives; foster critical thinking and perspective taking; enhance students’ stamina for engaging with challenging ideas; and improve students’ ability to engage with research, raise critical questions, evaluate alternative explanations, tolerate ambiguity, and foster collaboration.” There was an opportunity in this situation to uphold the ethic of anti-racism and multicultural education by catching and naming the failure of this student’s peers to recognize the unique experience of the black mother.
The Role of Shame
Shame also plays an important factor in this educator’s response. Her uncertainty around what is okay or not okay to say and the format in which to say it has led her to not respond in class and to default into explaining the statistical risks. Walter (2017) would argue that in this situation the teacher would be able to respond with greater clarity were she to have a deeper understanding of her misgivings about her racial identity and her path toward allyship. Discomfort about her racial privilege and the power she holds to use a social justice lens to influence the experience of these mothers. Working on this will create space to better determine how to make meaning of these moments.
In this case, it would have been wise to offer different options to the student about how she can be supported and better equipped to overcome her fear and mitigate the statistical risks. I appreciate that this educator chose to respond in a way that could be beneficial. However, it may not have met her needs. Perhaps she needs to talk through it, to understand the risks, to learn what questions to ask, to receive doula recommendations, or any other number of possible solutions. Without fully empathizing and being present for her experience, the teacher’s shame, bias, and prejudice influence her reaction more.
Committing to Speaking Up
The primary takeaway from this situation is that “silence will not protect you.” (Lorde, 2019) While the educator was unable to respond at the primary instance for intervention, they took full advantage of the second opportunity to fully name and address the known risks associated with black birth in American hospitals. I would encourage her to continue to practice addressing racial disparity in her classes despite her uncertainty. In pursuit of multicultural education, Audre Lorde (2019) encourages us by saying, “We can learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak when we are tired.” This is the attitude that multicultural educators need to bring to their teaching and learning.
References
Lorde, A. (2019). The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action Sister Outsider. Penguin Classics.
Miller, C., Kliff, S., & Buchanan, L. (2023, February 12). Childbirth Is Deadlier for Black Families Even When They’re Rich, Expansive Study Finds. The New York Times.
Sensoy, Ö., & DiAngelo, R. J. (2017). Is Everyone Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education (2nd ed.) (Prologue, Chapters 2-10). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Walker, J. (2017). Shame and transformation in the theory and practice of adult learning and education. Journal of Transformative Education, 15(4), 357-374.