Critical Race Theory Lens: Revealing the Outcast Phenomenon Experience Through the Voices of African American Graduate Students

Abstract

This chapter shows that students' counter-storytelling revealed feeling tolerated, invisible, isolated, and judged as well as needing to prove oneself, overcome stereotypes, and act as the spokesperson for one's race based on the dissertation conducted by April M. Clay, one of the authors. Through critical race theory (CRT), it can be gathered from the responses that race and racism affect the African American students' quality of life in school. Whether they said race played a significant role explicitly or implicitly, the participants' counter-stories revealed a shared experience of feeling outcasted.

Citation

Clay, A.M. and Lalas, J.W. (2023), "Critical Race Theory Lens: Revealing the Outcast Phenomenon Experience Through the Voices of African American Graduate Students", Lalas, J.W. and Strikwerda, H.L. (Ed.) Contextualizing Critical Race Theory on Inclusive Education From a Scholar-Practitioner Perspective (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 22), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 19-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620230000022002