ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the author consciousness of the music education profession by sharing her own personal stories, illustrating how specific structures and social actors in ones profession perpetuate and "legitimize an oppressive social order". She illuminates how structures within the music education profession and some of its social actors silence particular voices while applauding others. The author believes that these instances are vivid testaments of my indecisiveness, concern, and psychological grappling with speaking race. she suggests that PWIs not only employ and recruit more African American professors and students, but also immediately reflect on how their environments, decisions, and actions may devalue or discount Africans Americans. For centuries, African Americans have communicated their journey toward achieving equity and social justice in America by displaying their stories in their art, dance, literature, and song. As D. Bradley highlighted, several obstacles contribute to the difficulty of speaking race, including colonialization, institutionalized Whiteness, and managing pluralistic platforms.