Racelighting Black, Indigenous and People of Color in education: a conceptual framework

Abstract

Purpose

This article provides an overviews of the concept of racelighting. Racelighting is “is an act of psychological manipulation where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) receive racial messages that lead them to second-guess their lived experiences with racism”

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper articulates four primary ways that racelighting manifests in the lives and experiences of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).

Findings

There are four common messages that often lead to racelighting: stereotype advancement, resistive actions, inauthentic allyship and misrepresenting the past.

Originality/value

While much has been written about gaslighting, few frameworks articulate how gaslighting occurs in a racialized context.

Citation

Wood, J.L. and Harris III, F. (2024), "Racelighting Black, Indigenous and People of Color in education: a conceptual framework", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 400-409. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-01-2023-0038