Over the past few years, White Americans have been exposed to moments of "racial reckonings" –where America was forced to realize racial injustice—often caused by police killings of Black Americans. The summer of 2020 sparked various discussions about White allies and their role in racial justice. Previous scholarship has explored White racial awakenings, also referred to as turning points, when White allies transition into allyship; however, little is known about how these narratives affect White allies' definitions and practices of White allyship. By interviewing self-identifying White allies in college, I examine types of turning point narratives and how they correspond to understandings of ally definitions and practices. I argue that experiencing turning points led White allies to similar definitions and practices of White allyship depending on whether these points occurred in routine or non-routine White experiences. Turning points that arise from typical White experiences (exposure to diversity and education) led White allies to common allyship failures and complicity with racialized structures. Alternatively, turning points resulting from uncommon White experiences (exposure to protests and diverse families) led allies to definitions and practices representing non-complicity with racialized structures. / Master of Science / Over the past few years, White Americans have been exposed to moments of race related dialogues, often caused by police killings of Black Americans. The summer of 2020 sparked various discussions about White allies and their role in racial justice. Previous scholarship has explored White racial awakenings, also referred to as turning points, when White allies transition into allyship; however, little is known about how these narratives affect White allies' definitions and practice of White allyship. By interviewing self-identifying White allies in college, I examine types of turning points and how they correspond ally definitions and practices. I argue that experiencing turning points led White allies to similar definitions and practices of White allyship depending on whether these points occurred in routine or non-routine White experiences. Turning points that arise from typical White experiences (exposure to diversity and education) led White allies to common allyship failures. Alternatively, turning points resulting from uncommon White experiences (exposure to protests and diverse families) led allies to beneficial definitions and practices of allyship.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110380 |
| Date | 31 May 2022 |
| Creators | Robinson, Jacob Elijah |
| Contributors | Sociology, Brunsma, David L., Graves, Ellington T., Reichelmann, Ashley Veronica |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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