Race, racism, and antiracism: The impacts of racialization in our lives
Jessica Chow • Maximillian Jules Gabriel • Tommy Lee • Kevin McNamara
Part 1: Introduction
Description
Rather than understanding race as a fixed biological category, this learning resource introduces race as a social concept shaped by historical, political, and economic forces (Omi & Winant, 2014). It also explains that racism is not only based on individual attitudes or prejudices but can also be embedded in social systems that shape access to power, resources, and opportunities (Bonilla-Silva, 1997). By exploring the chapters, the history of race, racial capitalism, intersectionality, and anti-racism, students will develop the knowledge needed to recognize how racism is produced and maintained in society, and what it means to be anti-racist.
Misconceptions
Many people believe race is something humans are born with. The biological markers we associate with race, such as skin colour, facial features, and hair texture, are features of ethnogeographic ancestry, but not race. Race is not real. Rather, racialization is a social process of assigning emotional, ideological, and behavioural traits to groupings of people who share similar physical traits.
While race itself is a myth, racism is very real. For some reason, some people in Canada believe that racism stopped existing after slavery was outlawed and segregation laws were overturned. These are important milestones towards racial equality, but institutional racism is still very present and actively prevents racialized people from accessing the same social and financial privileges as non-racialized white people.
Critically, racialization and racism manifest differently for different people. The racism that an Indigenous man faces is entirely separate from the racism a Black man faces, and importantly, is separate from how a Black woman is discriminated against. Like race, the concepts of gender, sexuality, disability, age, location, and socioeconomic class are socially constructed spectrums by which people are either marginalized or privileged. Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the differential ways discrimination is specifically intensified against people caught between multiple intersecting identity marginalizations (Crenshaw, 1991).
Rational
This learning resource aims to educate high school-aged students about the history of racialization and racism. By breaking down the foundations of racism, we hope to provide young adults with the necessary knowledge to recognize the harms of perpetuating racism and the tools to practice anti-racism.
References
- Bonilla-Silva, E. (1997). Rethinking racism: Toward a structural interpretation. American Sociological Review, 62(3), 465–480. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657316
- Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
- Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2014). Racial formation in the United States (3rd ed.).
Part 2: Learning design plan
Audience
This educational curriculum is designed for high school-aged teens and young adults. The information being taught is sensitive and must be delivered accurately and respectfully. While it is just as important to have anti-racist education offered to all age ranges, this specific age range is an inflection point for the development of ideologies and social awareness. Learners between the ages of 16 and 19 are old enough to understand the information and young enough to internalize it effectively.
Core Education Units
- The History of race, racialization, and racism
- Racial Capitalism: The evolution of racism
- Intersectionality: The links between racism, misogyny, classism, and more
- Anti-Racism: Working towards an equitable future
Learning Outcomes
Understand and explain the roles that racialization and racism play in everyday activities, interactions, and institutions. Knowing how to make conscious decisions that do not uphold racism is vital to the process of eliminating it. Furthermore, each unit will offer unique insights and learning outcomes:
History of race: Learners will be able to identify how historical race identities and relations have shaped how we see race today.
Racial capitalism: Learners will be able to make connections between race identity and capitalism, and understand how the two concepts influence each other.
Intersectionality: Learners will be able to identify intersectionality and interpret how differing and overlapping identities can influence and shape experiences.
Anti-racism: Learners will be able to define anti-racism in their own words, explaining the key characteristics of anti-racism.
Activities and Assignments
Reflection: Learners can think of their own experiences and relate them to what they’ve learned, and make connections between historical examples and their influence on modern race identity and relations.
Research: Allow learners to find their own examples, support them through their learning journey, since people with different identities and interests may learn more from different perspectives and examples.
Discussions: Give learners an opportunity to discuss with one another, share ideas, gain and exchange knowledge, and reflect on others’ experiences and opinions.
Educational entertainment videos: To engage learners, some educational videos will be used to explain complicated course concepts that learners may struggle to make sense of from reading alone.
Reading comprehension quizzes: Alongside assigned readings of academic texts, historical texts, theoretical texts, and educational videos, learners will be asked a few short quiz questions, which ensure they have caught important passages from the readings.
Part 3: Resources
Textbooks:
- Jenkins, D., & Leroy, J. (Eds.). (2022). Histories of racial capitalism. Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/jenk19074
- Leider, C. M., Dobbs, C. L., & Nerlino, E. (Eds.). (2025). Preparing antiracist teachers: Fostering antiracism and equity in teacher preparation. Routledge.
- Grzanka, P. (2014). Intersectionality (P. Grzanka, Ed.) [Review of Intersectionality ]. Westview Press . https://books.google.ca/books?id=h0tWDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Jenkins, D., & Leroy, J. (Eds.). (2022). Histories of racial capitalism. Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/jenk19074
Scholarly Articles:
- Patrick Wolfe (2006) Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native, Journal of Genocide Research, 8:4, 387-409, DOI: 10.1080/14623520601056240
- Kishimoto, K. (2018). Anti-racist pedagogy: From faculty’s self-reflection to organizing within and beyond the classroom. Race Ethnicity and Education, 21(4), 540–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2016.1248824
- Grosfoguel, R., Oso, L., & Christou, A. (2015). “Racism”, intersectionality and migration studies: framing some theoretical reflections. Identities (Yverdon, Switzerland), 22(6), 635–652. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2014.950974
- Patrick Wolfe (2006) Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native, Journal of Genocide Research, 8:4, 387-409, DOI: 10.1080/14623520601056240
Grey Literature Resources:
Technology Tools:
- Microsoft teams
- Word document
- Brightspace
- Quizlet
Part 4: Project plan
Week 1 (June 1st – 8th):
- Complete the first part of the learning design resource. We will discuss the plans for the inclusion of diverse learners using UDL and CAST principles as well.
- Each pod member has chosen one of the 4 core topics and will research and design their learning module separately:
- The history of race: Kevin
- Racial Capitalism: Maximillian
- Intersectionality: Jessica
- Anti-Racism: Tommy
Week 2 (June 8th – 15th):
- Complete the second part of the resource. We will first work on organizing the modules and learning objectives for each of them, then we will think of effective learning activities and assessments that suit learners’ needs.
- We will check each other’s work to confirm that we remain synchronized with the overarching goal of the Learning Design Assignment.
Week 3 (June 15th – 22nd):
- As a group, we will review and edit all sections, patching any gaps or inconsistencies.
- All 4 learning modules will be combined into a final culmination. We will rotate responsibilities during this period to ensure each pod member establishes familiarity with the entirety of the topic.