ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways the construct, whitewashing, is theorized through racist and deficit perspectives in stories about BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or Person of Color) in the media, in education, politics, research, and educational policies. Counter-storytelling/stories is used as a tool to speak against discourses of power, privilege, and racism. This work specifically addresses my reflexivity as a BIPOC researcher who studies these families and adolescents where their stories are often misappropriated among white audiences. This chapter calls attention to the strength of counter-stories by re-storying and eliminating the prevalence of whitewashing in spaces where underrepresented community members’ voices are overlooked and ignored.
