ABSTRACT
The twin pandemics of the novel coronavirus and police brutality against African Americans in the spring of 2020 forced educational institutions to immediately switch to online teaching. The shift was traumatic, for various reasons, especially when teaching difficult course content. As the instructor of record for a multiculturalism course and a Black woman, I (Tina) took personal measures to avoid those pitfalls in the fall. This was also true for my Black male graduate assistant assisting me that semester. We assumed a defensive posture by developing strategies to protect our intersectional identities and avoid identity politics. Using collaborative autoethnography, we offer guidelines and recommendations for addressing identity politics in the virtual multicultural classroom. Our virtual platform transcended the limitations of not having face-to-face interactions between us and our students and among our students (Griffin, 2013). A discussion management system, constant mindfulness, and a coping or response management system are identified as effective strategies for creating a safe space to prepare students to be global citizens.
