Anti-racist education interventions: a randomized-controlled study examining the impact of White racial privilege, Black racial oppression, and race of instructor on affect and attitude among White college students

Scholars have written about the emotional agitation among White students in response to race-based issues (Higginbotham, 1996; Tatum, 1994; Vasquez, 2006). Research has implicated the emotional experience of guilt with the anti-racist concepts of White racial privilege and Black racial oppression. However, methodological issues in the research raise questions about our current understanding of this issue, which has implications on the ability of educators to create effective course curricula and optimal learning environments. Grounded in a theory of guilt and shame and drawing upon tenets of modern forms of racism, I examined the effects of anti-racist education on White students. Specifically, I tested the effects of two factors on four dependent variables. The first factor, called the content factor, was comprised of three levels that exposed participants to statements conveying institutional forms of White racial privilege, Black racial oppression, and a control condition. The second factor, called the race factor, was comprised of two levels that represented the racial background of a confederate instructor: A White instructor and a Black instructor. Interventions (i.e., factor levels), which were embedded within a standardized lecture on racial inequality, were randomly assigned to participants. Exposures to interventions and data collection were facilitated by the use of laptop computers. Main effects and interaction effects among the six conditions on guilt, shame, negation, and racist attitudes were examined. Given the role of self-awareness in experiencing guilt and shame, identification with Whiteness as a moderating variable was also tested. A sample of 153, self-identified White students with a mean age of 21 participated in the study. They were recruited from three, large public universities located in the Western, South Western, and Mid Western United States. Categorical predictors were dummy coded and hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Findings suggest that the interventions of White racial privilege and Black racial oppression, as institutionally focused concepts, exert no effects on guilt, shame, negation and racist attitudes compared to a control condition. Findings showed a main effect for identification with Whiteness, but not a moderating effect. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.